This article was originally posted on Penny Pinching Parent in June of 2008. We are cleaning-up our archives and wanted to re-share these tips with you! Also… just a note now that my little one is 4.5… I think making all her baby food homemade has made her a much healthier eater than average. She’s the kiddo asking to substitute broccoli for french fries when we eat out. It’s all about what your child gets used to and all she has ever known is healthier options.

Make sure you work under the most sanitary conditions possible. This just pretty much means use common sense and scrub your hands, all areas that you will be working on and any equipment you will be using.

•  You don’t need a special food grinder to make baby food, you can use a food processor or a blender. I picked-up a very inexpensive blender that I designated solely to baby food when I was making my daughter’s food and now we can use it for whatever.

• Prepare all of your fruits and vegetable by scrubbing them, peeling and removing seeds.

•  If you make meats, remove any bones, skin, tissue, etc.

•  If a food needs to be cooked, cook it in a small saucepan with as little water as possible… using too much water can “wash out” some of the nutrients.

•  You don’t have to cook separately for your baby, you can mash or blend the food your family is having before it has been seasoned.

•  Other equipment I would suggest that you have on hand would be a sieve and some ice cube trays. The sieve for straining certain vegetables like fresh green beans, which can be a little “stringy” for beginners and the ice cube trays for freezing “batches” of food. I used to make most of my daughter’s meals at the beginning of the week and then freeze the “batches” in ice cube trays covered with plastic wrap. After the food had frozen, I would pop it out and put in labeled freezer bags. I will touch on this a little more in the food storage section. You don’t need one of those expensive baby food kits you see in the stores. )

•  Don’t add salt or sugar to recipes, but experiment with other spices & flavors such as as cinnamon, lemon, lime, garlic, parsley, ginger, vanilla, etc.

•  There are certain baby foods that you make that just won’t freeze well, usually they are fruits & vegetables that contain large amounts of water like zucchini or yellow squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon.

•  You can use organic ingredients if you want, it might cost a little more, but you still will not be paying anywhere near what you would for canned organic baby food.

•  Always try to but the freshest ingredients and use them within a day or two. If something is out of season, it’s okay to use frozen. I used to use frozen green beans all the time, just to save me prep time and because of nitrates… speaking of nitrates. There are certain foods that you will want to avoid buying fresh and making your own baby food with in order to avoid exposure to nitrates. The most likely sources of nitrates are beets, carrots, green beans, spinach, and squash. I would suggest you buy frozen varieties of these items to prepare and limit your child’s exposure to these foods early on.

To Store Homemade Baby Food:

• If you will not be using the food you have made right away, then you can store most items in the fridge in an air tight container for up to 3 days. I would suggest freezing it if you are not going to use the rest right away.

•  It you want to make food and freeze it, then you can pour the pureed food into ice cube trays and cover them with foil or plastic wrap. When the mixture is froze, pop the cubes out and put them into labeled freezer bags. (When I first bought my ice cube trays, I measured how much a ice cube slot held. That way I would know is my daughter was getting say 3 cubes of something, she was getting approximately 3 tablespoons).

•   You can keep homemade baby food in the freezer for approximately 3 months.

To Thaw Or Reheat Homemade Baby Food:

• What I would suggest is that in the morning, you pop a days worth of food in the fridge(into air tight containers)… you can expect the cubes to take about 4 hours or so to thaw.

•  If you need to quickly thaw food, you can thaw in the microwave. Just be sure to stir and make sure it’s not too hot. You want the food to feel about the same temp as your finger… you shouldn’t really be able to feel hot or cold.

•  Do not use food again after it has been heated and not eaten.. just pitch it.

•  Having these little cubes allows you to mix and match flavors and customize your baby’s food.

Traveling With Homemade Baby Food:

• You can travel quite easily homemade baby food. Just use a cooler and take your prepared cubes along with you. When we would go out to eat or somewhere to visit, we usually would just go ahead and heat the food ahead of time and then take a warming pack in a cooler with us to keep the food warm.

•  If you are traveling on vacation, you can take cubes along with you or make food when you get there.

Some Very Basic Homemade Baby Food Recipes

For single fruits and vegetables that need to be cooked:

These include: sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, squash, beets, peas, carrots, pumpkin, broccoli, cauliflower, apples, pears, butternut squash, peaches, apricots, spinach, etc.

Directions:

Wash, peel, remove seeds and chop (don’t need to remove seed from squash, zucchini).

Cook with just enough water to cover food in a small saucepan. You will want to cook until they are tender to a fork, usually anywhere from 5-10 minutes. You can steam a lot of items if you prefer.

Transfer food to blender or food processor, add a little of the cooking water and puree to desired consistency… adding more water as needed. Also, at this time add any spices or flavors you want.

It’s really that easy! In the beginning I did run green beans and peas through a sieve to remove some of the stringy parts and have a smooth consistency, but other than that, that’s pretty much all you need to do.

Also, as I mentioned above… you can combine a different cubes to make vegetable or fruit blends for your little one.

For single fruit or vegetables that do not require cooking:

These include avocado, really ripe pears, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, bananas, nectarines, mango, papaya, etc.

Directions:

Peel and remove any seeds, then blend or mash to desired consistency- add a little water as needed.

For meats:

You can make homemade baby food with chicken, beef or pork. All you need to do is prep it by removing any bones, skin, tissue, etc. then cook it until tender. Blend it with some of the water you cooked it in and there you have it.

Eggs and Tofu:

Eggs and Tofu are also great sources of protein for little ones… just make sure no whites until 1 year or when your pediatrician gives you the okay. You can blend tofu and make a baby food puree like all the fruits, meats and vegetables above. As for eggs, you can make egg yolk omelets, scrambled egg yolks or even hard boiled egg yolks.

Some Great Sites With Homemade Baby Food Recipes:

Here are some links to sites that have some great homemade baby food recipes. You will find all sorts of very delicious treats for your baby.

Wholesome Baby Food- This is my all time favorite site. It is so detailed. You will find great recipes, charts on when to introduce certain foods and nutritional information.

Homemade Baby Food Recipes- Another great site. Here you will find great recipes based on age.

Recipe Goldmine- A great source of homemade baby food recipes.

National Network For Childcare- A great comprehensive site with tips and recipes.