Finding the local group of moms who gather together at the Farm in Beaumont was a godsend for me- a stay at home mom who rarely has a reason to leave the house unless it is to head to the grocery store. It is amazing how therapeutic it can be to gather together with other moms and rehash each of our birthing stories, discuss cloth diapers vs. disposable and of course, breastfeeding. It is no surprise that when a group of women get together the topic tends to jump around, up and down and all over and no one will have any idea how you ended up on such a subject as sore nipples. As this was happening today in a normal girly chatty kind of way, we ended up on the subject of making baby food at home. Being that food is my passion and with my chef background, I enjoy spending time in the kitchen and have no problem making the extra time to whip up batches of fruit and vegetable purees. I know other women do not feel the same way, but I had no idea what a struggle it is for so many busy moms!
Making your own baby food at home can be time consuming and you may find yourself becoming less and less motivated to create fancy purees for your little one. There are many reasons to make baby food at home such as a sense of control over what you are feeding your baby or the money you can save by buying a couple veggies rather than armfuls of little jars. If you are receiving WIC checks, as many of us are in Southern California, you may decide that the free jars of baby food you receive are enough, but if you want to attempt the homemade route, try these tips to make it a little easier on yourself.
Skip the puree step- a lot of the time you spend making baby food is spent pureeing little batches of fruits and vegetables and then storing them. Another option is to simply serve your baby appropriately sized chunks of either mushy fruits or steamed fruits and vegetables. Avocados and bananas are easy things to cut up and serve your little one raw, or you can steam some baby carrot sticks, chunks of sweet potato, or steam apples for little ones with no teeth. For smaller babies you can steam them to the point of extreme mushiness so there will be no choking hazard. If you decide to do this, prepare for a lot of mess and keep your little one supervised so that they do not choke. The biggest con may just be that your baby may take a lot longer to eat, which can be a problem if you have places to go and need them to fill their little bellies in a hurry. However, as someone brought up today in the mom group, letting your baby feed herself may result in a less picky eater.
No equipment? No problem! - I was very lucky that I received a fancy and expensive baby food maker as a gift or else I may have never spent the money. Although these can be fun to use and keep life simple for us at home baby food makers, they are not as necessary as some people make them out to be. What do you think moms did before all of these fancy tools were invented? Your other options are to steam veggies the same way you would for your family and then blend it in a regular blender until smooth, steam and mash with a fork, or purchase a very cheap little food mill that smooshes your steamed veggies and fruits. It is all just as effective as the fancy makers you see at Babies R Us.
Keep it simple one of the common complaints about making baby food seems to be that moms think the recipes are too complicated. They will buy a baby food maker and then search through baby cookbooks looking for the right things to cook for their baby. My advice if you want to make your own baby food is to never ever look inside of a baby cookbook until they are older and you are feeling more adventurous. These cookbooks contain complicated and unnecessary recipes that contain a large amount of ingredients and many extra steps. Babies dont need 5 course meals and fancy flavors; they are pretty content with simple little tastes. If you need ideas, inspire yourself by browsing the baby food aisle at the grocery store and see what they put in those little jars. You will find a lot of simple labels such as sweet potato, winter squash, apple, pear, apple blueberry, etc. Baby asparagus risotto might sound exciting, but is it really worth the extra time when your little one rejects half the stuff you give them anyway?
Frozen is your friend if you are one of those moms who never seems to have enough hours in the day and find any extra task on the to-do list a giant annoyance, dont be discouraged by the extra time it takes to make baby food. I have a fantastic shortcut for you! You can make baby food without peeling, chopping, or even pulling out a cutting board at all. The secret is in the frozen aisle of your grocery store. Frozen fruits and vegetables are still a fantastic source of vitamins and nutrients the same as fresh, but with frozen fruits and vegetables, they are already peeled and chopped for you. Now all you have to do is open the bag, steam the contents and blend.
Here are a few baby food recipes that I utilize regularly. They are quick and very easy so I can throw them together in between cooking dinner for the rest of the family or even while the little one naps
Sweet Potato and Livers
Eeew livers?! I know, I know. It doesnt sound tasty, but did you know that breast milk has very low levels of iron? This is why many doctors recommend feeding baby iron-fortified cereals. But some moms dont like these cereals, or if you would rather feed your baby whole foods, liver is a great source of iron.
Boil about cup chicken livers in 1/3 cup broth or water for about 10 minutes, until the livers are cooked through. Blend them in the cooking liquid or breast milk and then set aside. Next steam some cubed sweet potato and then puree, adding water as needed. Add in the liver puree and blend until mixed. Experiment with the sweet potato liver ratio that your baby will like. I usually make a 1:4 ratio with livers being the 1.
Baby smoothie
Chunk up a banana and puree in your baby food maker or blender without water at first. Add in a jar of Earths Best apple blueberry baby food and puree. Add in water if you need it or else serve as is.
Chicken Apple
Cut up some cooked chicken and place in your baby food maker. Puree until the chicken looks like dry little tiny clumps. Add in a little water (maybe a tsp) and some apple puree that you made yourself or that you bought and puree until blended and smooth.
Peas and Carrots
Steam some frozen sweet peas and then puree with a little water. Either steam some carrots and puree or use a jar of carrot puree. (in this case jarred baby food is a good idea. Carrots can contain a type of bacteria that the companies who make baby food will check for to make sure that it is clean.) Blend the two together.
Baby Rice
Steam of brown rice until it is slightly overcooked. In your baby food maker, blend the rice with water or breast milk until it is smooth.
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