Anyone else planning to make homemade baby food?

[stickylizard]

I have always made my kids food. It helped because the one time we went to visit my grandma and took Ella's bowl and spoon and bib and bottle... we forgot her food! So i bought a jar and she wouldnt eat it!

I would go to my local fruit and veg shop cus its nicer and way cheaper than the supermarket, buy some of everything then come home, boil it all and puree it. I bought an Avent food blender on ebay because the small amount i made then didnt get caught under the blades plus it was only 99p and real easy to clean!

I made sweet potato, cauliflower, brocolli and potato, leek, celeriac, parsnip... all kinds. I found green veg did puree very watery due to their water content but i used to wait til they had cooled and so steamed off, and usualky mix with carrot or root veg.

Fruit was simple, i just cooked a few bits like plums and apples and other bitter fruits (skins left on for fibre) , the rest you can wash and puree as is because if youre freezing them it kills any germs that would otherwise be killed during cooking. Steer clear of pineapple and kiwi because they give my kids still bad nappy rash and a sore tongue! Also bananas though a favourite with most babies, can cause constipation so use in moderation or mixed with something fibrous!.

I expressed milk once or twice a day from when Toby was 5 days old and froze in Lansinoh bags, id add an ounce or so to a puree to smooth it out and give a familiar edge to it. My son still has ebm on his cereal for breakfast :]

Dont forget you can mix them together as well! I bought some cheap lidded pots, tiny ones for £1 for 5 in a pound shop (checking BPA free) and would defrost 3 at a time to make a mixed puree when serving.

From 6-7 months you can also boil simple meats and fish and pasta to puree (spaghetti purees well). Also once bubs is less satisfied with purees alone for breakfast you can try strips of toast or very milky weetabix or porridge oats (i used ready brek after checking and being happy with the ingredients). then later bubs can eat pureed versions of what you eat. By 9 months my son was off purees and just had what we had but mashed a little with a fork. But he had 6 teeth by then, i think thats early?

From day one we also tried soft carrot batons etc as finger foods and now he can pretty much feed himself. I check ingredients of everything i buy and if theres something in there i dont understand i dont buy it! Youd be surprised how much crap is in some baby brands. Not all though, my kids have a lot of Organix and Ella's Kitchen dried snacks (mini rice cakes, oat bars, raisins etc)

Sorry for the looooong post, hth! Xxx

 

[HappyBump25]

I currently do. I've just started giving some jarred foods (mostly fruit, as so much is out of season and I'm big on introducing variety). What's funny is, there hasn't been anything I've made that DS won't eat. Including anything green you can think of! However, if I try to give him something green out of a jar--like green beans or peas--he will gag he hates it so much! lol

My best advice is buy what's in season, make large batches (at least after you know LO likes it), and freeze! It's generally good for 6-8 weeks.

 

[Louppey]

I did with Coralie, Annabel Karmel's weaning book is fab. Loads of lovely recipes that smelt lush when I was cooking them

 

[xdxxtx]

I did with my first baby and am definitely going to do it again. I steamed up whatever vegetable/fruit it was until soft (and if it's a fruit that's already soft, I still steamed it a little) and then pureed and froze in an ice cube tray. I ended up with tons of freezer bags full of yummy frozen food cubes. A quick zap in the microwave or leaving them in the fridge for a few hours thawed 'em out nicely.

 

[surprisedmama]

I started thinking about the very nutrients that I was trying to protect and how I was destroying them by all the microwaving.

Also, I couldn't afford to invest in 100% glass storage for baby food, so, I didn't want to think about what was leeching into my baby food from the plastic from microwaving and freezing and thawing.

Yep, this has solidified simply doing baby led weaning this time around.

 

[PreggyEggy]

I did baby led weaning myself, but a few weeks ago someone sent me a very interesting blog post about jarred food that I thought I would share. It's a real eye opener, I'm extremely glad I didn't do jarred food now!

https://www.thealphaparent.com/2013/02/the-truth-about-baby-food-jars.html

 

[Swanny]

Yes I did this with my son and am planning on doing it again. I got the annabel karmel weaning book, blended all sorts starting with carrots, butternut squash etc then mixed two of them together, gradually adding in chicken, fish.

I bought ice cube trays with lids and freezed it up and used to give 1-2 ice cube portions to start off with.

It's definately less expensive it takes time but if you make up huge batches you are set up for ages.

x

 

[sheldonsmommy]

If you're freezing, make sure you date it so they're not in there too long, and write what it is! I was frequently mixing stuff up.

 

[Mummy Bean]

We started with home made purees but he took to food so well that 90% of the time he just eats what we eat, depending what it is either he has it mashed and spoon fed or just put on his tray and he feeds him self. we do have the odd jar for when out or if were eating something not appropriate.

Actually made us eat a lot healthier as a family as i now cook from scratch with no salt and lot more meat and veg.

 

[Jchihuahua]

I made all my daughter's food and pureed it all and it took forever but with my son I did baby led weaning from 6 months. He just ate exactly what we ate, not pureed or mashed or anything and it was so much easier!

 

[bekkie]

some, yep - but not all I'm sure, With DS we would blend our food and mix with store bought natural apple sauce and it worked really well. There were still times we bought food though like if we forgot it at home, or if we were out longer than expected and I'm sure it'll be the same this time around

 

[Brightstarshi]

yes,starting with fruit then steamed veggies x

 

[mrs.e.e]

I made everything for my daughter it was easy to do and her taste in food now is amazing ( at 3) she will eat anything from olives and meze to meat + veg I used annabel karmal ( I think that's how you spell it ) . I do however regret not using any pre prepared meals as travelling with her when she was younger was a nightmare, she was physically sick when she ate processed foods and even now she gets stomach ache if she eats anything of convenience. I'm definitely doing combined this time around.

 

[calliebaby]

I made all of my son's pureed foods. I would steam the veggies and then use either the water left over from steaming or my breastmilk to make it smooth. I then put the puree in ice cube trays, froze them and then stored in zip lock bags. So easy.

 

[wishfulone]

Such great tips!! I never considered how using only fresh might make them intolerant of processed. I will make sure I mix in some canned foods from time to time. I also love the idea of freezing in ice cub trays for re-use! What a great way to measure out different amounts at a time!

 

[Cazran25]

I think I'd like to try and do this - I will be at home so should have a bit of time to make batches of things and I always seem to make extra whenever I cook for DH!

I may keep jars for trips out and things for convenience but if bubs is going to the grandparents for the day I'm sure they would prefer to feed him/her with proper food too.

 

[Lil_Pixie]

Another blw mummy here

We started weaning Xander at 5.5 months (when he was ready) his first food was a piece of broccoli and a green bean. He never had any purées/mashed food or anything put in his mouth at all and he's a wonderful eater. There are some things I'll do differently this time round but weaning is one thing I'm sure I'll do exactly the same next time.

 

[feistymomma]

I made everything for my kids, and I plan to do the same with this one. I grow most of our fruits and veggies and preserve them myself, so it is only natural for me to make my own baby food. I find it quite simple. I do not give any solids until 6 months, and then I start with things such as sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas. I always wait to introduce fruits. You will have a much pickier eater if you start off with a lot of fruits.

 

[wishfulone]

Oh my. I also have a large garden and I can lots of food. It didnt even dawn on me to can homemade baby food!! I thought I would just make a couple of days worth of food at a time and refridgerate it or make larger batches and freeze it. What a good idea to can it!

 

[30pkfr]

This is so much help ladies as i am also planning to do this, i am a newbie so deffo got alot of useful info including the book you ladies was talking about! Will deffo be following to get as much tips as poss!