As a new parent, there are so many decisions to make.  We worry about making the right choices for our babies, or more aptly, we worry most about making the wrong choices. Ultimately, we just want what is best for our little ones.  We want our kids to grow up healthy and strong.  Providing good nutrition from the beginning is key to health and longevity.  The easiest way to accomplish that is to make your own baby food.

I know, it sounds daunting, but hear me out.  It’s really quite simple.  The first thing you need is good, fresh fruits and vegetables.  If it’s available to you, always go for the organic produce. It greatly reduces the amount of toxins introduced into your baby’s body.  Local, organic produce is even better. 

What to feed your baby?

Get several types of fruits and vegetables.  Find sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans, carrots, apples, pears, peaches, plums, and anything else that is in season.  If you’re making your baby’s first solid foods, try to stay away from gassy vegetables like broccoli and brussels sprouts, as you don’t want your little one to have an upset tummy.  When in doubt, you can always introduce them later on.

Before you start cooking, fill your sink with cool water and add a splash of white vinegar. Soak your produce for 15 minutes, then use a soft brush to clean them.  Rinse them with clean, cool water. This will clean any dirt, germs, or waxy residue from your produce.  Dry your produce.  Peel and chop your produce into pieces no larger than 1” as this will ensure even cooking.  

There are several ways you can cook your produce.  First of all, you can use a steamer basket in a pot of simmering water to steam cook your produce.  This ensures the maximum amount of nutrients retained in the food.  Another way to cook your produce is to use a crock pot.  For juicy produce like apples, pears, and peaches, you can just put it in the crock pot as is.  Cook on low for a couple of hours until the fruit starts to break down.  Then use an immersion blender right in the crock pot to puree it.  For harder produce like squash and sweet potatoes, you will need to add a bit of water to the bottom of the crock pot.  This will keep them from burning and sticking to the bottom of the crock.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can cool the produce, then put it into a regular blender.  You may have to add a tad of the cooking water to it to blend it thoroughly.

When you’ve finished cooking and pureeing your produce, you can put your freshly cooked baby food into ice cube trays or silicone molds and put them in the freezer.  Once they are frozen, take them out of the trays and put the food cubes into freezer food storage bags.  Be sure to label the outside with the date and contents.  I always found it easiest to put individual cubes into the snack size bags, then put the snack bags into a gallon sized bag.  When you want to use it, pull out a snack sized bag and drop it into a bowl of hot water to warm it up.  This allows you to avoid using the microwave, which can add unnecessary radiation to your food.

If you make enough baby food at once, you will only have to do it one time.  By the time you use what you’ve made, your baby will be ready for small pieces instead of pureed food.  It’s a huge time saver, it reduces waste from store bought food containers, and it supports the local economy if you’re able to buy from your local farmers.  It’s an easy and cost effective way to give your baby a great start with solid foods.