With all the chemicals and toxins found in pre-packaged baby food these days, it's important to know what exactly is in your baby food. And the only way to know, is to prepare it yourself!
Making homemade baby food is easier than you think. No, you don't need to cook and grind and mash everyday. Just make a large batch once a week or once every 2 weeks, and freeze the excess! Your baby food will stay fresh in the freezer for 1-3 months.
You can steam, bake or boil vegetables, fruits and meats, let them cool a bit, then use a blender or a food mill to make a purée. Store the purée in safe, BPA-free baby food storage cubes, stick 1 or 2 in the refrigerator for immediate needs, and freeze the rest. Don't forget to label the cubes so you'll know what they are and when they were made. Then, when it's time for a feeding, simply take a cube, thaw, and reheat. It's that simple!
What can you serve as baby's first foods? Here are a few:
- Squash
- Sweet potato
- Potato
- Carrots
- Sayote
- Apple
- Avocado
- Banana
- Pear
- Papaya
You can mix your purées with fresh breastmilk or formula to achieve the right consistency. When baby is a little older, you can serve:
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Brown rice
- Oatmeal
- Tofu
- Asparagus
- Ampalaya
- Melons
- Citrus fruits
- Meat and fish
Wait for 4-5 days before introducing a new food to check for allergies. After you have introduced each food, you can combine them for different tastes and textures (e.g., squash and sweet potato, apple and carrot, chicken, asparagus and brown rice, and so on).
By feeding your baby homemade food, you can control what and how much of each ingredient goes into each serving, introduce your baby to new tastes and textures (instead of the static taste of store-bought baby food), and hopefully your baby will grow into an adventurous and non-picky eater!
