How To Make Easy Healthy Baby Food

Making healthy baby food is really quite easy, especially if you have the right tools and some extra time. Discover how to make easy, healthy baby food. Discover the the best tools and easy steps to make your own baby food, 100% natural with no additives or preservatives. Learn how to store your baby food in individual servings in the freezer to save space, preserve for 3 months, and use only what is needed, alleviating waste of food. Provide your baby a well-rounded meal including meats, fruits, vegetables, and multi-grains at each meal. Know exactly what you are feeding your baby to determine allergies and to avoid additives and preservatives that may be allergens or not healthy substances for your baby.

The tools that you need to make baby food:

Vegetable/Fruit Steamer

Vitamix Blender or other heavy duty blender

Chopping Block

Sharp knives

Silicone molds or ice trays

Freezer Bags ( I prefer quart size)

Permanent marker for labeling bags.

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Gather your fruits, vegetables, and low fat meats (chicken, turkey, or lamb). It does not take a large quantity of food to make baby food. It is best if you know where the food came from and know the foods are chemical and hormone free. Of course, the reality is we usually don't have that privilege.

A little food goes a very long way. One chicken breast makes about 8-10 servings. Two cups of fruits or vegetables makes about 15 ice cubes of food. Use candy silicone molds for small servings and muffin silicone pans for large servings.

For this demonstration, I chose peaches, strawberries, red potatoes, yellow squash, zucchini squash, green beans and lean beef/sweet potato mash. Wash and dry all fruits and vegetables. Peel peaches and potatoes. Soak chopped peaches in 1/4 tsp salt added to 4 cups of water to keep from turning brown for 10 minutes. Cut ends off yellow and zucchini squash, but do not peel them. Cut green tips off strawberries. Cut the fruits and vegetables into small chunks in their only little pile until you have approximately 2 cups each. (We will address the beef and sweet potato mash later).

Chop fruits and vegetables into small pieces (husbands make great choppers!)

Add 1" of water to steamer. Use the short steamer pot to steam the food since it is a small amount for each fruit and vegetable. Do not add any spices. Steam each set of fruits and vegetables for 15 minutes by letting the water come to a boil with the steamer pot of food covered on top. Steam potatoes 20 minutes.

Use the short pot steamer for most food with 1" of water in pot. Steam 15 minutes. Steam potatoes 20 minutes.

Remove steamer pot of food and pour into a bowl with 1/2 cup of the water used to steam the food. Let it cool. Return the steamer to the pot and add another group of food. If you know your baby is not allergic to any of the foods, you may use the same liquid for the vegetables. Replace the liquid after steaming fruit to avoid carry-over of tart taste to vegetables.

When the food is cool, place in the Vitamix Blender or heavy duty blender and mix on high speed for 1 minute. Make certain you have added the 1/2 of the water used to steam the food, so it mixes without burning up your blender.

Add 1/2 cup (more or less depending on desired consistency) of the s liquid (cooled) used to steam the food.

Pour or spoon pureed baby food into silicone molds. I prefer to use candy silicone molds or ice trays for fruits and muffin silicone ice trays for vegetables and meats. If you use a silicone mold that doesn't have a solid edge, you will need to have your silicone mold on a cookie sheet to keep it stable while you place it in the freezer. Place the molds uncovered in your freezer until it is frozen solid (a few hours-overnight if needed).

Strawberries and Zucchini Squash in Ice tray molds

Red Potatoes and Squash in Silicone Molds

While the baby food is freezing. Label your freezer bags with a permanent marker: name of fruit or vegetable, date and expiration date (3 months from the date you make it). Label if it is a tummy friendly food or to avoid the food with loose stools. Label if you should mix anything with it.

Remove silicone molds and/or ice trays from freezer when the cubes are totally frozen. Pop cubes out of silicone molds. Run warm water on the bottom of ice trays to remove cubes. Place cubes in the labeled freezer bags and return to the freezer.

food popping out of mold onto cleaned glass cutting board.

Place frozen cubes in freezer bags with date, expiration date, name of food and how to prepare or mix with food.

To serve:

Remove desired amount from the freezer. Place in covered bowl in fridge to thaw. When thawed, set bowl in warm water to warm food up.

Frozen strawberries, potatoes, zucchini squash, and peaches before thawing to feed baby. Cover with plastic wrap and let thaw in fridge. For traveling, store in sealed plastic container. After food is thawed, Place bowl in warm water 30 minutes before feeding baby.

Tummy friendly baby food

lean chicken, turkey, lamb

carrots

potatoes

squash

applesauce (made with honeycrisp apples)

bananas

avocados

Foods to avoid when your baby has loose stools; feed in moderation to avoid diarrhea

red meats

sweet potatoes (small amounts are ok if baby is sick and this is a favorite, not large amounts

berries

peaches

mangos

kiwi

citrus

beets

Cereal

Babies need iron-fortified cereal because it supplies large amounts of iron and other nutrients.

Mix 1 cube fruit with 1 Tablespoon of rice cereal or oatmeal (Gerber instant) along with breast milk or formula to desired consistency. Mix a tart fruit with a bland fruit once you have established your baby is not allergic to any specific fruits. Ex: Strawberry/banana, peaches/applesauce, mango/banana.

+Note- if you used rolled oats, blend until it is powdered and cook each time you prepare food for 1-2 minutes to make it easier to digest.

Citrus

Do to the high acid in citrus, babies may be sensitive to the acidity and may develop a diaper rash or redness around the mouth. If you decide to give it a try, only give tiny pieces of the meaty portion with membranes and seeds remove. Better yet, feed your baby strawberries for Vitamin C and leave citrus for over one year old.

How To Cook Meat For Baby Food

Cook chicken or turkey cut up in chunks in a sauce pan of water boiling for 15-20 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Lamb should be cooked at a lower temperature for a longer period of time 45-60 minutes until it is tender.

Beef can be introduced at 6 months. Babies start losing iron at this time and benefit from eating pureed beef. Cook low fat ground beef or chuck roast by boiling until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Save liquid to add to blender to puree it in the blender.

Browned lean ground beef

I have not added any spices to baby food until I made a mixture of cooked ground beef and sweet potatoes; you can safely add a touch (tiny pinch) of garlic powder NOT garlic salt. You can also add thyme and oregano. You will probably want to add one spice at a time to rule out allergies. Use fresh herbs from your garden if you have them or buy fresh herbs. Make certain babies can tolerate the food before adding spices and herbs.

steamed sweet potatoes

Lean Ground Beef Sweet Potato Mash

1 pound very lean ground beef

1 sweet potato (chopped)

1/2 tsp. olive oil

tiny pinch of garlic powder

tiny pinch of oregano (fresh)

tiny pinch of thyme (fresh)

1/2 cup (more or less depending on desired consistency) water from steamer pot

(DO NOT ADD SALT OR PEPPER UNTIL AGE 1)

Directions:

Cook meat in skillet until totally browned.

Steam sweet potato until tender 15-20 minutes.

Let the beef and sweet potato cool. (if it is too hot, it can damage your blender.)

Add to Vitamix or heavy duty blender.

Add 1/2 tsp olive oil and spice/herbs. Add 1/2 cup (more or less) water from steamer. Puree to desired consistency.

Freeze in silicone molds. I like to use small servings of beef, so baby gets some protein and iron in more meals.

frozen beef/sweet potato mash

Older babies, starting around 8 months, can start eating a chunkier texture if they have safely been eating pureed food for several months. Babies start developing a pincher grasp around 9 months and can start eating pea size chunks of (steamed) soft fruits if they have tolerated thicker consistencies of baby food. Make certain the fruits are steamed to be very soft before giving any pea size fruits to babies to prevent choking.

Important Tips:

Just like all children and adults, babies need a wide variety of foods to get the iron, vitamins, and mineral needed to be healthy. Encourage babies to try different foods even if they don't like it. Keep introducing new foods. This will also help them to not be picky eaters as they get older.

Mix food with instant baby rice cereal or instant baby oatmeal for additional iron and nutrients.

Use the boiled water from the steamer to mix in the blender since the liquid was sterilized during the steaming process. You may also use breast milk or formula.

To avoid browning of bananas or peaches, add 1/4 tsp salt to 4 cups of water along with 2 cups of the chopped fruit for 10 minutes before steaming fruit.

Replace liquid in between steaming each food if you are not sure if your baby is allergic or if it is a tart fruit like peaches, mangos, or strawberries.

Make sure the water comes to a boil before you start timing the steaming time. (15 minutes for fruits/most vegetables; 20 minutes for root vegetables: sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets, etc.

Make certain your baby gets plenty of iron from beef, iron-fortified cereal, tofu, and beans, since babies start losing their iron by 6 months.

Once your baby demonstrates toleration of a variety of foods, have fun with foods and mix foods together with herbs to create their own dishes.

Homemade baby food is easy to take to daycare.

Breakfast: Place 2 cubes of fruit in a plastic container the night before to thaw. Have daycare remove from fridge and place in warm water 30 minutes before mealtime. Add 1 Tablespoon of iron fortified rice cereal or oatmeal along with formula or breast milk and stir until desired consistency.

Lunch: Simply place 3-4 different cubes in a plastic container in the fridge the night before. Take to daycare and have them remove from fridge 30 minutes before mealtime and place in a bowl of warm water before feeding baby.

I hope you enjoy making your baby homemade baby food and I hope your baby finds it yummy! Follow along at www.lovingpetite.com for more Fun With Food delicious recipes, Ga. Vacation Rentals, and Petite Fashion Over 60. You may find some of these items on My Amazon Storefront.

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I would love to know how you enjoyed this technique for making baby food. What is your baby's favorite food? Please leave your comments below.