If you want complete control over your baby’s diet, making your own is a better option than buying baby food. Baby foods that come in cans or bags are often processed, loaded with sodium and sugar, and can be expensive. When making your own baby food at home, you can pick your baby’s favorite fruits, vegetables, and meats, steam them in a food processor, puree them, and refrigerate them. The food you cook yourself for your baby is not only the most nutritious, but also the best tasting.
choose ingredients
Use ripe fresh produce. Produce is most nutritious and tastes best when it is fully ripe. If you don’t want to add sugar and salt to your food, it’s important to choose ripe produce—otherwise, they’ll taste dull. Pick those agricultural products that are brighter in color, mature and not rotten [1], and determine their specific ripening time according to the characteristics of each fruit.
When produce is in its prime, the easiest place to find these fresh produce is the farmers market. Because vendors generally only sell fruits and vegetables in peak season.
You can use frozen or canned fruits and vegetables, but fresh is best. Preservatives are usually added to frozen or canned food. If you decide to buy this kind, read the label instructions carefully before buying.
Choose organic produce. Many fresh fruits and vegetables are sprayed with pesticides and other chemicals before they are harvested. If possible, shop for food in the greens section of your supermarket so you can be sure that the food you prepare for your baby is chemical-free.
Some fruits and vegetables are more susceptible to pest infestations than others. Apples, for example, are sprayed with more pesticides than any other produce, so if you’re looking to buy organic apples, you might want to do a little work. [2] Avocados, on the other hand, need only a little spray.
Know which foods your baby can eat. Some babies are ready to eat solid foods by as young as four months, while others are not. Talk to your pediatrician about starting your baby on solid foods. When your baby is ready to eat, the transition should be slow, starting with just a few foods.
Babies can switch from breast milk or baby food to easy-to-digest fruits and vegetables like bananas, squash, sweet potatoes, and apples. [3]
Babies who are already eating solid foods and are 4 to 8 months old can eat easy-to-digest vegetables, fruits, meats, beans, and grains. [4]X
Talk to your doctor to find out when to introduce mash and finger foods to your baby’s diet. It’s important to do this after some of your baby’s abilities have already been developed. [5]
Know what foods your baby should not eat. There are certain foods that should not be eaten by babies under the age of one because they can trigger allergies and other medical conditions. Never give these types of foods to your baby until they are a year old:[6]
Dairy products made with unpasteurized milk
Honey
expired canned food
home canned food
Food in a squashed jar.
prepare baby food
Wash and peel. Use a brush to clean the skin off fruits and vegetables, especially if it’s not organic. Be sure to wash off all the dirt on it. If there are vegetables and fruits with skin, use a peeler to peel off the skin, because the thick skin will be difficult for children to bite.
Cut the food into slices about 3 cm thick. Because when you steam these foods, in order for them to heat evenly, they must be cut into slices of the same size. Whether it’s slicing pumpkin or sweet potatoes, all kinds of food need to be sliced with a sharp knife.
Bananas and other soft foods should be mashed before steaming.
Just be sure to use a clean cutting board and knife. If you are handling more than one type of food, wash the cutting board and knives in hot, soapy water after handling the food.
Steam food. Put the cut food into the steamer and put it into the soup pot, add more than ten centimeters of water to the big soup pot, cover the pot, put it on the stove, and heat it with medium-high heat. After 5-10 minutes, remove the lid once the food has softened.
Use a clean fork to check that the food is really tender.
Steamed foods will come out softer than if you’d normally make them yourself because they’re completely soft once you puree them.
Only use water to steam food. Don’t add butter, salt, sugar, or other condiments unless you’re sure your baby can digest them.
Puree food in a food processor. Process the softened food in a food processor until it’s fully mashed. If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a blender, food grinder, or potato masher.
If your baby is under 6 months old, you want to make sure there are no lumps left. Older babies can already eat mashed food and don’t need to eat pureed food. Talk to your doctor before deciding how much to process your food.
Heat the meat to the right temperature before making the meat puree. If you’re serving meat, chicken, or fish to an older baby, be sure to heat them to the right temperature to kill bacteria. The temperature can be determined with a meat thermometer. Meat should be heated to 71°C, chicken to 74°C and fish to 63°C.
Cook the meat until it is pureed like other foods. You can stir it up with tomatoes or some other tasty treats.
Strain the food to remove residue by breaking up all solids through a fine-mesh strainer. This last step is used to make sure the food can be digested by your baby’s system.
Storage and reheating of baby food
Store baby food in clean jars with airtight lids to keep the food fresh and prevent it from becoming contaminated. Food can be stored in the refrigerator for two days (one day for meat and fish). [7]
If you’re storing food in the freezer, make sure you’re using freezer-safe containers. Baby food can be stored in the refrigerator for one month.
Always remember to label the type of food and the date it was produced.
When reheating frozen baby food, do it thoroughly. It is best heated to 74 degrees Celsius.
Do not thaw baby food at room temperature, as this can allow bacteria to grow. It is safer to reheat food thoroughly before eating.