Establishing healthy eating habits is important right from the beginning. Making baby's food and serving a wide variety of fresh and nutritious fruits and veggies creates a healthy baby with an educated palate that is more likely to be a flexible eater. Making baby food takes some extra time, planningand effort but it’s really fairly easy and inexpensive if you have the right tools. I started feeding my baby solids at four months old and I started preparing and freezing foods when he was around three and half months old. Over time I’ve created a pretty smooth system that works really well for my family, so I thought I would share.

First, I recommend a baby food maker that steams and purees.

Second, I recommend some sort of freezer/storage trays.

Third, you will need freezer storage containers.

Fourth, you need containers for thawing the pods out to serve to baby.

Last, you will need lots of yummy, fresh fruits and vegetables. The following is a list of starter foods in the order I introduced them to my baby:

• sweet potatoes
• avocado
• butternut squash
• sweet peas
• mango
• apples
• green beans
• banana
• yellow squash
• pears
• zucchini
• plums
• carrots
• papaya

You have the tools and the foods, now what?

1. Wash your fruits and veggies well.
2. Chop, cut, or prepare to place in the steamer/chopper
3. If needed, place the recommended amount of water in the steamer and steam
4. Pour out the steam water
5. Add desired amount of breast milk/formula to create smooth puree (fruits and veggies with a high water content need very little to no added liquid but thicker foods such as sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and green beans require a good amount of liquid to get smooth)
6. Puree until you’ve reached desired consistency. In the beginning puree needs to be very smooth, almost liquid consistency
7. Scoop into freezer tray, label, and date
8. Freeze
9. Once frozen, pop out the food pods and store in a freezer container.
10. When you’re ready to serve, put food pod in an individual container and place it in the refrigerator overnight
11. Right before serving, I heat water in a glass bowl in the microwave for 3 minutes and I place the container of food in the hot water to warm to room temperature.
12. Serve to baby…..bon appetit!

Making baby food is very gratifying to me. I enjoy feeding my baby a wide variety of healthy, nutritious foods, concocting different recipes, and watching my baby as he eats the yummy goodness. If this sounds like something you’re interested in, give it a go. Your baby won’t be disappointed!

Tips:

• Whenever possible, eat along side of baby to model good eating behaviors
• You can puree using water instead of breast milk/formula but I have a little guy so I always use formula for the added nutrients. I started making baby food with my breast milk but couldn’t keep up with supply so this is when formula was introduced into my baby’s diet.
• Always taste baby’s food before serving it to baby, you want to make sure that it taste yummy and that the temperature is good
• Baby food pods are safe to remain in the freezer from 3 to 6 months and in the refrigerator for 48-72 hours. However, the sooner you serve them, the fresher they are. Make sure to date your containers.
• I add oatmeal cereal to thicken up very thin purees. I often mix fruits with oatmeal cereal in the mornings for a delicious, nutritious breakfast.

Visit my blog: speechbaby.net for homemade baby food pictures, recipes, and product details.