After baby #1 I decided I need to do things differently when it comes to baby food. I didn't know a whole lot about making homemade baby food (or how cheap and easy it is), and resorted to buying the baby food pouches at the store. The baby food pouches cost more than the jars, but I loved them because my baby seemed to eat everything that came in them! When I found out reusable baby food pouches were available on the market, I got really excited to try making homemade baby food!
Little one (16-months) mostly eats what we eat for meals, but we are on the road a lot so I wanted to make some homemade baby food to put in pouches for when we are in the car. I was super excited to try out the Fresh FoodsCook-n-Blend Baby Food maker as it made my preparations super simple (it also has amazing reviews on Amazon)! I like that it steams, mashes, purees and defrosts all in one machine. There are two blend levels depending on the age of your baby and whether you want the baby food to have a smooth or chunky texture. I tried a veggie-apple mix first, and then an fruit/oatmeal mixture. The biggest preparation I had was to cut up my fruits/veggies and then press the steam button. The baby food maker comes with a recipe book that also has a “cook time chart” for all the different fruits and vegetables so you know how long to steam them.
**UPDATE: The Fresh Foods Baby Food Maker is discontinued. A good alternative is the Magic BulletBaby(cheaper but does not steam food)or the BEABA Baby Food Maker(very similar to the Fresh Foods, and highly rated).
I like that it has two separate baskets to cook your baby food in, so that if you are cooking vegetables with different cooking times, you can separate them. Genius!
Makes the process of making baby food super simple
Small Appliance-doesn't take up too much space
It's so much healthier to steam your own baby food than to buy it in the jars at the store!
Can make up to 4 meals in ashortsteam session
There is an up-front cost to buy it, but it's still much more cost-effective than buying baby food
Easy to wash
Multiple texture options, double steamer basket, and dishwasher safe
Next thing on my list is to get the Infantino Squeeze station. My sister LOVES hers and I was jealous of all her neatly filled and dated food pouches. Here's how it works:
Frozen: There are a variety of opinions about how long frozen baby food keeps in the freezer, but most say to use it before 3 months time. The reason it does not last as long as regular frozen fruits and vegetables is because the food is not frozen in its original form (it has been cooked).
refrigerated: Up to 48 hours
Glass Jars: If you would rather freeze your baby food in glass jars, make sure and buy ones especially for freezer use (do not use empty Gerber or other baby food jars as they are not made for freezing).
Extra Tip: You can freeze fruits and vegetables, use them in homemade baby food recipes, and then re-freeze the baby food that you have made. You should not however, use frozen fruits and vegetables that have been cooked, and then freeze them again. In other words, once something has been cooked, it should only be frozen once.
This is my daughter's favorite and is the most simple. If you have the baby food maker all you have to do is chop up the sweet potato and press the steam button! If you don't, wash your sweet potato, poke it several times with a fork and put it in the oven (375°) for about 45 min-to and hour depending on the size of the sweet potato. Peel of the skin and mash it up with a fork. Easiest baby food around!
Apple-Banana-Blueberry-Oatmeal
This one is a fun breakfast blend. I steam one one apple with about 1/4 cup water and then blend with 1/4 cup blueberries, 1 banana, and some baby oatmeal.
Banana-Avacado
This is another very simple recipe: Peel both the banana and the avocado and mash them together.
Here are a couple of recipes from the Fresh Food's Baby Maker:
Solid foods can be introduced in any order, but most pediatricians recommend starting with a single-ingredient food that is easy to digest like pureed sweet potato, carrot, banana and/or avocado. Other options include pureed meats, poultry, beans and iron-fortified baby cereals like rice cereal or oatmeal.
Fresh-cooked vegetables and fruits can be pureed with no added salt, sugar, fat or other unnecessary additives. To minimize vitamin loss, boil fresh vegetables or fruits in a covered saucepan with a small amount of water. Or, steam them until just tender enough to either puree, mash or eat as a finger food.
Stage 1 (typically 4-6 months old): Start with purees (liquified foods) and begin with one to two tablespoons at a feeding. Stage 2 (typically 6-9 months old): At this stage, you can give your child thicker-consistency purees, and increase the volume to two to four tablespoons at a feeding.
They're a great option for one of your baby's first veggies, because they're naturally sweet, but not as sweet as most fruits. They're also easy to puree or cube once they've been peeled and cooked.
During stage 1, you want to start with weaning foods like soft and pureed foods; think soft cooked sticks and pureed fruits and vegetables, yoghurt, and mashed avocado. Some vegetables that are great to start with are: Parsnip. Broccoli.
Eating solid foods is an exciting milestone. But you might wonder what to start with and when to introduce certain foods like Cheerios and other cereals. According to Dr. Whitney Casares, babies start eating Cheerios at about eight months to nine months old.
We found no evidence to suggest that homemade purees and family brands are generally safer, with lower metal levels, than store-bought baby food. Our study includes a new parent's guide of popular baby foods to serve, limit, and avoid, based on our tests.
Baby purees are often best served at room temperature, but don't be tempted to partially reheat food for your baby to avoid having to wait for it to cool. Unless served cold straight from the fridge, baby purees should always be reheated until piping hot, which means steaming throughout, to kill off bacteria.
It takes time: Purchasing baby food off the shelf doesn't require much effort. Mixing up homemade baby food isn't difficult, but it does take time. Storage can be tricky: Making batches of baby food ahead of time means you need storage space in your refrigerator and freezer.
Most commercial baby foods are fine—but homemade baby foods, when prepared properly, can have a nutritional and economical edge. Compared to equal amounts of home-prepared fruits and vegetables, commercial baby foods tend to have more sugar, more sodium, and less fiber, and they're much more expensive.
When compared to homemade baby food, store-bought baby food is higher in sodium and sugar, according to a 2017 study. On top of that, further research has shown that popular infant food pouches contain significantly more sugar per serving than jarred baby food.
We found no evidence to suggest that homemade purees and family brands are generally safer, with lower metal levels, than store-bought baby food. Our study includes a new parent's guide of popular baby foods to serve, limit, and avoid, based on our tests.
Puree: At first, food should be completely pureed. As your baby grows and develops, move to mashing and then dicing into small pieces. Blend, food process or grind and strain until the texture is safe for your baby's stage of development. Add water, breastmilk or formula if needed to achieve the desired consistency.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) recommends starting with simple items, like mashed banana or avocado. 6 You can then slowly incorporate new foods and flavors, such as beets, broccoli, and pureed meats. Reserve chunkier textures for older babies.
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