I am looking to start making homemade baby food and was wondering what the best products on the market are from start to finish? There are so many things in the store I don't know where to begin. Do you recommend separate products to steam/cook and then another to puree? And what about all the freezer trays for storage?
Thanks for all the advice and feedback! This is sure to be a great help in a couple months when I am able to give my baby solids.
I mostly used a fork to mash up what we were eating. If I was adding salt or spicy seasoning I'd pull some out for the little one beforehand.
All I did was take steamed vegetables (or fruit) and puree in the food processor. Then freeze in ice cube trays, pop'em out once frozen and put them in a labeled baggie - take one out and there you have a serving! It was SOOO easy. Did it with sweet potatoes, squash, apples, pears, green beans....I was amazed how easy it was. And I bought all organic so I felt really good about what I was feeding her. I had no idea it would be so easy.
If you don't have a food processor you can mash by hand, will just take longer.
good luck!
IMO, the "best products" are the ones you have on hand already. :) Meaning, pots/pans, blender or food processor you already own, ice cube trays, spoons and spatulas, etc. :)
You might want to buy BPA-free ice cube trays, though, or other BPA-free plastic storage stuff.
I was amazed at how well our plain ol' cheap blender did in pureeing stuff. :)
We steamed in a pot with a metal steamer insert (the old fashioned kind), pureed in a mini processor and froze in ice cube trays and stored in the freezer in zip lock bags. You do not need any special equipment.
I love making baby food! I just steam veggies and use fresh fruits. I throw them in the food processer, and use ice cube trays to separate them! I usually make about a weeks-worth of food at a time, so its not like I have to do it every day... I do use Gerber baby cereal though :)
I added the cost, and, for me, home made baby food is about $0.20 a day, and store bought baby food is about $1.25 a day! What a savings!!!
I bought a stick blender and put the puree in Baby Cubes:
http://www.buybuybaby.com/product.asp?SKU=15153997&RN...;
I think it's ridiculous they sell $150 products to steam and puree food. You have all you need in your pantry. Or you can go pretty cheap like me. Stick blender was about $30 and Baby Cubes were $10.
These days, I puree whatever I make for ourselves.
I used the food processor I already had.
I bought the ice cube trays with the lids from Babies R us.
I used freezer ziplocs to store the frozen food cubes in. I also wrote on the ziploc what the food was and the day I made it.
For traveling, I bought a bunch of the rubbermaid little 4 ounze square tupperwares with the red lids. They were purfect for putting 2 cubes of food in!
As far as food, I tried to get fresh, but got lazy towards the end and did frozen. For fruits, i just boil in hot water on the stove to make them soft, then put in food processor to puree them. For veggies, I did the same thing, but note that in the frozen section at the grocery store, they have those Steamers where you just put in the microwave for 4-5 minutes and they are cooked! then i put directly in the food processor and done! This was the best for me since I am a working mom and needed to save as much time as I could at night. Also, the Steamers will come in varieties too, so my son could get a mix of veggies just like the baby food jars.
I have now taught/convinced all my friends having babies to go this route and they all love how easy it is!
How fun!! I always loved making my kids baby food!!
With my first we tried and made everything! I steamed veggies and fruit in a steamer (looked like a very small colander) and then put it into the blender. At the time I did not have any special equipment or things. I poured into ice cube tray with a lid.
With my second I registered for a Beaba. A baby food maker. I love it!! Though I can't make very large quantities of things. It steams fruit and veggies and then mixes it. It's super easy. Now that my baby is no longer eating purred food, I use it to steam apples, carrots, asparagus, broccoli. It's so much safer than microwaving!!!
There a bunch of cookbooks out there too. I have a few but never really followed one specifically. They have some ideas but now you can find so much on the internet.
I made all sorts of veggie purees and would take two or three and mix them together.
You can add the small star pasta or rice to add texture as well.
Fresh fruits and veggis puree then freeze in ice trays ,after they freeze place in freezer bags .they will keep for a long time. When cooking veggis and fruits depending on the age of your child you can make them creamy or chunky! works GREAT! And very healthy!
I just heard that the "Magic Bullet" company now makes a specific product just for making baby food. You use the containers to make, freeze, and/or store the foods that you make. It looks pretty cool.
Blender or food processor is all you need to puree up things.
** and as a side note because I have weird gut feeling about this lately: Please dont store stuff in plastic or heat in plastic. I have strong feelings that plastics is one of the things that's killin us. I'm trying to eliminate most plastics in my home (it isnt easy trust me). Mason jars are good for storing and reheating in, so I'm sort of going that route.
If your asking what types of food, my son just loves squash and sweet potatoes. He also loves, pears, mangos, bananas, really anything. Like Meredith said whatever you are eating just give it to the baby. They will love it.
I just wanted to add that you should checkout the website wholesomebabyfood.com. I always found it very useful with the latest reccomendations for when introduce foods and lots of baby food recipes.
