Making your own baby food seems more tasking that it is. For those of you who meal prep, making your own baby food is a breeze. There’s no need to spend tons of money on processed baby food, that are full of who knows what, any longer. Here is a simple guide to making your own baby food.
Supplies Needed
When making your own baby food there are a couple of different items you will need. First, you will want to purchase your fresh fruit and veggies. Make sure you aren’t only buying foods that you are partial too as you want your baby to experience all foods and make their own judgments on what they do and do not like.
Next, you will need storing trays for the food once it’s prepared. You can grab some cheap ice cube trays and wrap them in saran wrap for storage or you can purchase a silicone baby food freezer tray that are made specifically for freezing and storing baby food.
I use the Simple Kitchen silicone freezer tray because I love the clip on lid and it’s extremely easier to pop the food out and clean. Ice cube trays are a pain to clean and are roughly only 1 oz of food where the silicone baby food tray is 2 oz which is the same amount as store bought baby food. If you want your baby to slurp down some fresh food, grab some baby food pouches too.
Cooking the Food
When it comes to fruits, most of them are quick and easy to make. Start by washing all of the fruit, peeling them, and then dicing them into pieces. With veggies, it’s a little more difficult. You will need to first wash the veggies, then you will need to steam or boil them until soft. You can use either method but steaming is preferred as it retains the most nutrients. Once soft, dice them into pieces as well.
Once you have your veggies and fruits ready to go, you will then place them in the food processor along with an ounce or two of clean, plain water, formula, or breastmilk and then puree to your desire. It is very important to keep them separate if you are just starting solids, you can read more about that here.
Storing the Food
Once all the foods are mixed and pureed, you will want the food to cool if warm, then pour into your storage tray and pop in the freezer. Once the food is frozen you can place each one into Ziploc bags or individual Tupperware containers. Make sure to label each food so you don’t forget or have to guess which is which later one.
Yes, making your own baby food is more time consuming than the convenience of store bought baby food but just keep in mind how much healthier it is for your baby. You don’t have to worry about foreign objects or chemicals in your baby’s food any longer and you are giving your baby a jump start to a healthy life.
Thanks for the great tutorial. When my youngest was a baby I used to make baby food for him sometimes. It is great for baby and it also allows you to save money when grocery shopping too.
Making your own baby food is way healthier than buying processed food. Besides knowing what goes in there, you get to mix different veggies and meat to create different meals. Love the cute trays.
I made food for both of my boys and I agree that it isn’t as difficult as some people say it is. I actually bought a ton of organic fruits and veggies (frozen) in bulk from Whole Foods and got a discount. It was great to know everything that my boys were eating, but I must admit that I was thrilled when I was able to give my Baby Bullet to someone else!
I agree with you it is easier to buy on the supermarket but the healthier alternative for food is to make them. Me too I do not like too much chemicals on my babies food. Thank you so much for the tutorial.
I love the idea of making your own baby food. I cannot believe some of the extras that can end up in our foods this day. I never would have thought this was this easy to do at home though.
When I was weaning my son I always made his own food. We even bought a baby food maker which had a blender and a steamer built into it, it was great! I used to put his purees in bowls though, not the trays or ice cube containers people use sometimes. I miss making all those things now.
Too stinking cute. Your images show the same baby food maker I used with my last son, now nearly 6 years old. I am very fond of making one’s own baby food to give them the very best. After all, I like my food as close to home as possible as well. If I go out, I prefer farm to table restaurants. You are right, it is not as cumbersome as people may think.
I made baby food for my boys. It wasn’t as hard as many people think – and you made it look really easy! I loved that I could choose a healthier option. And, even with organic foods, it was WAY cheaper than processed baby food!
I love the idea of making my own baby food for my future little ones! You cook food for yourself, why wouldn’t you do the same for your tiny humans without teeth? This is a great, easy tutorial – I’m pinning this for future reference, thanks!
How easy is this?? At least the way you’ve explained it. I have always been intimidated by this and never tried it with my Kiddies..now I wish I had.