Homemade Baby Food Ideas for Healthy Meals
Try these homemade baby food ideas
for healthy, preservative-free meals when baby is ready for solid food.
It’s not as time consuming as it might seem.
Out of three children, only one of ours was a big eater.
And guess what?
He was the only one who insisted on having store bought baby food.
It had to be out of a little jar or it didn’t look like food to him.
This was actually not my preferred option, so I always looked for the most healthy, preservative-free brands.
The problem was there were not very many brand options 30 years ago. Not like there are now.
Now there are no baby food jars. It’s little plastic tubs, or pouches, or squeezies, or any variation of simple ways to feed baby.
Most of you baby-parents probably want healthy options, though.
I can’t think of anything healthier than making it yourself.
(However, I don’t want to guilt any busy momma into thinking she has to do it all. Pick your priorities.)
But if you have time, and wish to, we rounded up some recipe/technique sources to consider for homemade baby food.
Homemade and Healthy Baby Food Ideas
To start with you might want to read up on the current ways that baby food is processed for store shelves.
Amara.com has a vested interest in convincing you that their way is healthier, but at the same time, they educate all of us. This post is an in depth explanation on commercial baby food.
They go into detail about the source of the baby food puree, how they process the foods, and why those techniques take out some of the good nutrients in order to make them shelf safe.
The very high heats many baby food companies use to pasteurize the food kills good nutrients along with the ingredients that cause spoilage.
After reading up on the reasons to make your own baby food, you might want to know
Which tools you to invest in to simplify making baby food at home.
Puree food from the table for baby.
If baby is old enough to have pureed table food, there are several tools that make it easy to feed baby what you’re eating. Or the things that are good for them, anyway.
- An immersion/hand blender, such as the Sage Spoonfuls Baby Food Maker.
- Ninja-style small jar blender, or the small jar for any blender.
- Green Sprouts Baby Food Mill is a portable hand grinder that goes anywhere you go. Baby food in a few minutes, as long as baby can eat what’s on your table. Note that this is for older babies, as it grinds, not purees. You could add juice or water to make it thinner, but it would have bigger lumps. This post by babyfoodmakerguide.com has a comprehensive list of portable food grinders. So you have choices.
- Starfrit Stainless Food Mill is not as portable, but has more use options than the Green Sprouts type food grinder. It has 3 grinder sizes, and the legs allow it to sit atop almost any bowl.
- Since ripe bananas can be introduced at 4 to 5 months as a first baby food, all you need is a fork and a strong hand! Keep in mind that bananas are not as fibrous as some other fruits, so vary their use in case of constipation.
Best Machines to Puree and freeze baby meals ahead of time.
When you go out or if baby stays at Grandma’s for the day, having baby meals already prepared and ready to grab can be a lifesaver.
For this you purchase the fruits and vegetables extra for baby, and prepare them specifically as baby food. It’s best not to season or sweeten baby food unnecessarily.
Some tools to produce baby meals in bigger quantities could be:
- Beaba Babycook sounds like a workhorse machine. It can defrost, steam, blend and reheat frozen fruits and vegetables in 15 minutes while you sing lullabies. It’s compact and easy to clean. Sounds like number one is a fitting spot for this $150 +/- machine.
- The Baby Bullet appears to be a good second place fit. It’s also compact, much more affordable, at $50 +/-, and comes with some handy-dandy accessories. It comes with 20 storage containers that fit into a tray. The downside: it has to be hand washed.
- Cuisinart BFM1000 Baby Food Maker and Bottle Warmer doubles up on the job. Besides the bottle warmer, it multi-tasks steaming, pulsing and pureeing. The $80 +/- machine comes with a 4 cup bowl and recipe book, making batch cooking an art form.
- Our fourth choice is Baby Brezza all in one Glass Baby Food maker. It steams and blends in one dishwasher safe glass bowl.
So that gives you a few machines to choose from if you want to puree or blend batches of baby food.
However, you don’t have to have a designated baby food maker. You can use the blender you already use for your family.
Containers for storing bulk baby food in the freezer.
Any tiny glass or safe plastic storage containers with lids can work for freezing your batches of baby food.
There are, however, some handy items made specifically for this, including the containers that come with the Baby Bullet, above.
Here are a few more:
- Infantino Food Station and a 50 pack of food pouches for making your own squeeze food pouches.
- BabyGearLab.com rates OXO Tot Glass Baby Blocks with Silicone lids as the best option for freezing food. They consider plastic an inferior product for keeping baby’s food safe enough. The Baby Blocks come with a fitted tray that holds 4 blocks.
- WeanGreen Baby Starter Set, made of tempered glass, comes in a set of 6 containers, 2 of 3 sizes, with tabbed lids.
- Kiddo Feedo Freezer Tray freezes 6 – 2.6 oz. portions in a silicone tray with its own cover. The frozen portions pop out easily for thawing and heating. The silicone undergoes strict safety tests, and can withstand oven heat up to 446*.
Websites with helpful and informative baby food tips.
Just copy and paste these urls into your search engine to find helpful tips on healthy home made baby food.
- kidfoodideas.wordpress.com
- babygearlab.com/topics/nursing-feeding
- babylist.com/hello-baby/best-baby-food-makers
- amaraorganicfoods.com/blogs/blog/the-ugly-truth-about-baby-food-pouches
