How to Make Your Own Baby Food

Homemade vs store-bought baby food

Both store homemade and store-bought baby food can be nutritious, so it is up to you which you prefer to give your baby.  The main differences between home-made and store-bought baby food is that store-bought baby food is usually more convenient, but they can have sugar, salt and modified starch added and are usually more expensive. 

Store-bought baby food usually also comes in 1 texture (pureed), so for older babies who have already mastered purreed foods, they are not appropriate.  Once your baby is eating purreed foods well, the texture should be gradually upgraded to help them learn how to eat solid foods.

Making your own baby food may sound like a lot of work, but it doesn’t have to be.  All you need to do is cook, puree, and if you choose, freeze the ‘leftovers’.  You can use almost any fruit, vegetable, and meat to make your baby’s food. 

Try it!  Homemade baby food in a flash

  1. Wash your hands and equipment.
  2. Wash, scrub and peel the vegetables/fruit if needed.
  3. Cook the vegetables/fruit until soft and let cool.
  4. Mash/blend until you have the texture you want (pureed, lumpy, minced).  You can also add some water if you need to.  You do not need to sugar, salt, spices, or butter. 
  5. Put any food that you are not using into the fridge right away. 
  6. If you would like, you can freeze ‘leftovers’ in small freezer jars or ice cube trays.
  7. Once the baby food is frozen, you can transfer the baby food into a plastic freezer bag and store it.  Make sure you date and label the bad so you know when it was made.

If you are unsure about the type of food or texture to give to your baby, check out the chart below

Baby’s age

Signs your baby is ready

Type of food to offer your baby

Texture

Caution!!

Birth to 6 months

 

Breastmilk is best!

Make sure you give your baby Vitamin D drops.

Liquid

If you choose not to breastfeed, formula with added iron is the next best choice.

Your baby does not need anything else to drink besides breastmilk

6 months

Sit with support

Can hold head up

Reaches out for food

Can open mouth when offered food  and eat from a spoon

Continue with breastfeeding.

Continue giving Vit D drops

Add foods with iron such as meat, fish, egg yolks, and baby cereals with added iron

Pureed, smooth, thick, strained, no lumps

 

 

6-12 months

Can sit without support

Can turn away if he or she doesn’t want any more food

Starting to finger feed

Starting to crawl

Starting to walk with help

Continue to breastfeed

Try new foods one at time.  Wait 3 days before trying a new food.  Look for allergies/intolerances.

Ripe fruit

Cooked vegetables

Dry cereal/crackers

Well-cooked meat

Pasta (macaroni, cut up spaghetti)

Finger-size hard cheese chunks (mozzarella or cheddar)

Gradually increase to soft, mashed, no lumps .

Gradually increase to soft lumps

Gradually increase to minced/soft foods

Gradually increase to bite-sized and finger foods that dissolve easily if mixed with saliva

 

 

12 months

 

Try new foods from the 4 food groups.

Give baby what your family normal eats at meals.

 

 

 

Things to avoid feeding your baby

  • DO NOT give your baby food from a bottle.  Always feed baby with a spoon.
  • DO NOT add salt, sugar, extra seasonings and spices to your baby’s food.  Baby will not think the food is bland.
  • Babies Do NOT need juice.  DO NOT give your baby powdered juice mixes, lemonade, ice tea, pop.  If you must give your baby juice, give them 100% real fruit juice and limit it to ½ cup per day.
  • DO NOT give your infant cow’s milk to drink until at least 9 months of age. 
  • DO NOT give your baby honey until they are at least 1 year old as they are at risk of getting botulism poisoning.
  • DO NOT give your baby egg whites until at least 1 year of age (egg yolks are ok). 
  • DO NOT give your baby 1% or 2% milk until they are at least 2 years old.   Baby needs the extra fat to grow.
  • DO NOT give foods that can cause baby to choke:  hot dog pieces, popcorn, candies, raw, hard vegetables, nuts and seeds, chips, whole grapes, fish with bones
  • DO NOT give your baby foods that are thick and stick to the roof of the mouth like peanut butter and cream cheese

Check out these links for more information on starting solids:

Introducing Solids

Feeding Baby Solid Foods

 

Questions

How long can I store my homemade baby food?

Answer: Once you make your baby food, make sure you put anything you are not using into the fridge right away.  Anything fresh can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.  If you are planning to freeze your leftovers in a fridge freezer, it can be kept for 2 months but if it is stored in a deep freezer, it can be kept 6 months.  If you thaw out frozen baby food, DO NOT re-freeze.

How do I thaw out my baby food?

Answer: Never thaw out frozen baby food on the counter because it can make your baby sick.  Safer ways of thawing food is by leaving it in the fridge or heating it in a saucepan of hot water or microwave.  When you heat food, there can be ‘hot spots’ that can burn your baby’s mouth so make sure you stir the food well and check the temperature before feeding your baby.