I have to say, even though I can’t do it every single time, there is something incredibly satisfying about being able to take a bunch of beautiful, fresh ingredients & blend them into a lovely creamy baby meal. I started buying organic jarred baby food when Sam came along but it cost a fortune and she didn’t love it either. With Sophie I decided to make my own which not only saved me some money but I loved that I knew exactly what went into that food I was shoving in her mouth. I learned that the shelf baby food has to be flash heated so it can maintain shelf stability but that zaps a bunch of the good ingredients, ugh! I can’t think of a better time to splurge on fresh, organic ingredients than when it’s for a developing mind & body.
Fast forward 8 years & here I am again, albeit, I have to admit, I’m a bit rusty…
That’s where you guys come in! A few weeks ago I posted a picture of some homemade food on my IG & asked if anyone would be interested in swapping some baby food recipes & as always, you were totally game.
So let’s do this. In the comments below leave your favorite baby food recipes, tips & tricks for creating & storing, or any other nugget that has to do with homemade baby food. I’ll go ahead and start…
Little man’s favorite that he will open his mouth for until he’s in a food coma is sweet potato, mango, avocado & cream cheese (I might even lick the spoon with that one) Also my can’t live without tool is my Bamix stick blender. It’s a splurge for sure but I’ve had it for over 10 years & use it all the time for perfect mashed potatoes, velvety blended soups & now baby food. After my cast iron skillet & chef’s knife it’s my favorite tool in the kitchen for sure.
Ok, now your turn!! Maybe we can get 25 recipes below? Maybe???
This is one of my son’s favorite! I use different lentils and freeze in small containers. Perfect to take out when there’s nothing else readily available. It takes a minute in the microwave and I mix with cereal and he loves it!
https://colorfulrecipes.com/veggie-lentil-yummy-in-ma-tummy-baby-puree/
I’m a huge fan of the ice cube trays for sizing and storage. I freeze them in 1 oz cubes and then store in plastic bags. Super easy to just take out however many ounces I need at a time and defrost overnight in the fridge.
Bring on the creative combos- I need inspiration!
Hi Natasha,
My favorites are sweet potatoes mashed into a purée and thinned down with breastmilk. My absolute favorite though is kale, apple and pear. I love that combo so much I even use it as a smoothie (with soymilk so it has a delicious nutty finish). I hope your little man likes it if you decide to try! 😀
Try the wholesome baby foods website! It’s been a while since we were at the baby food stage but her recipes are awesome!
Easy Toddler Meals is a good site/insta account when you get to finger foods too!
Some of my little guys favorites:
Avocado & coconut oil
Butternut squash, apples, & coconut oil
Banana, coconut oil, & cinnamon
Blueberries & coconut milk yogurt (unsweetened)
Sweet potatoes & coconut oil combined with any fruit (apples, pears, mangos, etc.)
You can tell I love coconut oil? LOL. I steam everything (except for banana and avocado). I do add water to make the purées thin and creamy, I would use breastmilk but I am an undersupplyer so any of my milk little guy needs to drink straight from the tap.
I’m excited to see more fun combos! My little guy is 7 months old so we are starting to explore more 🙂
My favorite recipe is this one (butternut squash, apple, carrot and curry powder): https://www.babyfoode.com/blog/2014/10/30/apples-butternut-squash-carrots-curry-puree
My baby loved it (I tried it too and it was pretty tasty).
I love Michelle’s BabyFoode blog for quick recipe ideas! I used her 4 months of organic baby purees in 4 hours post to get started and now am hooked! We use an immersion blender since it’s what we had already. My lifesaver item is this flexible blender cup:
https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Squeeze-Silicone-Measuring-Stay-Cool/dp/B015CQZKHE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1541267551&sr=8-1&keywords=oxo+immersion+blender+cup
When work is crazy and I know I won’t have a lot of time to chop up food and peel I buy the frozen organic veggies or pre-chopped things from Trader Joe’s. You can just pop a bag of those in the steamer basket and it makes it SO EASY.
Totally down for this! I don’t really have any at this point (still trying to suss out what solids little dude likes) so eager to see everyone else’s!
My husband makes all the baby food but our sweet little 10 month old has a VERY sensitive tummy. She was born 6 weeks early. She can’t eat any dairy and the grains we tried (rice cereal and oatmeal) bind her. So we are always trying stuff that also makes her go. She loves her peas and carrots. My husband also does a lot of blends to make it better.
She likes Apples and broccoli.
He also recently did a mix of pumpkin, cinnamon and pears.
Finally her pooping medicine every day is prunes, pears and some cloves.
He also freezes everything into cubes. I will say as she gets older it is hard to keep up!
The combos that my daughter loved were a cherry & blueberry purée that i would mix in some oatmeal with and a zucchini & pear purée. I can see why she liked them, they were yummy. The cherry/blueberry combo i swear would go in a cobbler very nicely!! 😉No different than adult food, just puréed instead of whole. I also used the ice cube method to freeze portion sizes and then once frozen, store in freezer bags.
I purchased the Sage Spoonfuls cookbook 4 years ago when I was making homemade food for my first baby and still use it today with baby #3, who LOVES his purees (and now lots of table foods as well.) It’s sectioned off by baby age and the author tells you how to prepare each item, as well as what other foods it tastes yummy with.
Using that book as a guide, I just steam a bunch of fruits and veggies by themselves, freeze them in ice cube trays, then store the cubes in ziplocks in the freezer. When it’s mealtime, I pull out a combo of 3-4 different cubes (right now I have carrots, squash, zucchini, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, etc) and heat them in the microwave and my almost 9-month-old devours it!
I have made a lot of different things for my 1 year old (she turned 1 last Monday) but her homemade cereal is definitely her favorite.
Ingredients:
Quinoa
Steel cut oats
Apples
Prunes
Apricots
Pears
Mangoes
Cinnamon
I cook this on low heat and purée it with organic coconut now for all good fats that it contains(I used to puree with breastmilk From 6-9 months).
I portion it into baby food pouches I got from amazon and store them in the freezer, it is good for up to 3 months. She has one everyday, the ingredients are packed with amazing nutrients and helps with easy bowel movements.
I’ve also just introduced peanuts to her by making by making my own oats and peanut flour. I use the flour to make pancake on sundays. I mix banana, eggs, almond milk, cinnamon and vanilla extract. I add the flour to it and it is so delicious. We all have that for breakfast.