{"id":23601,"date":"2013-04-12T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2013-04-12T13:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/?p=23601"},"modified":"2013-04-12T15:09:39","modified_gmt":"2013-04-12T19:09:39","slug":"homemade-baby-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/homemade-baby-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Homemade Baby Food"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/04\/008-800x533.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-23740\" alt=\"How to Make Baby Food\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/04\/008-800x533.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/04\/008-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/04\/008-800x533-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>by contributing writer\u00a0<a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/KPuG0A\">Brandy\u00a0Ferguson<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Whether you begin feeding your baby solid foods at an early age or follow more of a <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.keeperofthehome.org\/2011\/07\/feeding-babies-a-relaxed-common-sense-approach.html\" target=\"_blank\">baby-led weaning<\/a> later on,<strong> homemade baby food is easy to make<\/strong>.\u00a0 Not only is homemade fresher and often more nutritious, it can also be <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.keeperofthehome.org\/2008\/02\/raising-healthy-eaters-making-your-own-baby-food.html\" target=\"_blank\">much less expensive<\/a> than the store-bought varieties.<\/p>\n<p>With our eighth baby, I waited until he was 8 or 9 months old, and tried to take my cue from him for when he was ready to try solid foods.\u00a0 Many foods, I simply mashed with a fork and offered to him, which he accepted with great success.<\/p>\n<p>Since he did enjoy a smoother texture, I experimented with just a few purees and made several of his favorites to keep in the freezer.<\/p>\n<p>I bought <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00BFCT0XA\/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B00BFCT0XA&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=thehaphou-20\" target=\"_blank\">these handy trays<\/a> for freezing, but you can just as easily use BPA-free ice-cube trays.\u00a0 Once frozen, just pop them out and store in freezer bags until ready to thaw and serve.<\/p>\n<h3>Good First Foods<\/h3>\n<p>When your baby is ready, here are a few easy foods to start with that <strong>require nothing more than a fork for mashing<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ripe, mashed avocado<\/li>\n<li>ripe, mashed banana<\/li>\n<li>baked, mashed sweet potato<\/li>\n<li>steamed, mashed squash<\/li>\n<li>cooked egg yolks (no whites, thinned with water)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Vegetables<\/h3>\n<p>While it&#8217;s not always necessary to puree your baby&#8217;s foods, some moms prefer to do so.\u00a0 For most vegetables, the process of making baby food is generally the same.\u00a0 Steam or boil the vegetables until tender, then mash or place in a food processor and pulse until smooth.\u00a0 When necessary, add a bit of filtered water to thin any veggie purees and make them the right consistency for your baby.<\/p>\n<p>One great benefit of making baby food ahead of time and keeping in the freezer is the ability to have it ready to either serve your baby at home or even toss it into a diaper bag for later that day.<\/p>\n<p>A few great veggies for experimenting with include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/butternut-squash-puree.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Butternut Squash<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/homemade-baby-food-carrots.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Carrots<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Green Beans, Peas, Broccoli<\/li>\n<li>Sweet Potatoes<\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/garlic-mashed-cauliflower.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Mashed Cauliflower<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not only can you serve these veggie purees to your baby, you can also add them into sauces, chili, and even some soups as a way to sneak in foods that your older and <a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/picky-eaters-ebook\/\" target=\"_blank\">pickier children<\/a> wouldn&#8217;t eat otherwise.<\/p>\n<h3>Fruits<\/h3>\n<p>Fruits can sometimes take a while longer to steam, but the process works the same.\u00a0 Steam or boil, then process or mash until completely smooth.\u00a0 Again, you can skip the puree process entirely if your baby is ready.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.discountqueens.com\/homemade-baby-food-applesauce\/\" target=\"_blank\">Apples <\/a>\u00a0(I find organic applesauce at Costco for much less expensive than homemade.)<\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/homemade-baby-food-pears.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Pears<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/weelicious.com\/2009\/08\/11\/plum-banana-puree\/\" target=\"_blank\">Plum &amp; Banana Puree<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com\/mangobabyfoodrecipes.htm#.UWCBa5PvtqU\" target=\"_blank\">Mango<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.simplybabyfoodrecipes.net\/search\/label\/6%20to%208%20Month%20Purees\" target=\"_blank\">Blueberries<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Teething Biscuits<\/h3>\n<p>Once your baby begins cutting teeth, you might decide to <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.babble.com\/family-kitchen\/2011\/01\/29\/new-school-teething-biscuits-baby-biscotti\/\" target=\"_blank\">make your own teething biscotti<\/a>, too.<\/p>\n<h3>Vegetable Casserole for Toddlers<\/h3>\n<p><a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/veggie-casserole-toddler-food.htm\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone  wp-image-23611\" alt=\"Toddler Veggie Casserole\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/03\/038-800x533.jpg\" width=\"512\" height=\"341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/03\/038-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/files\/2013\/03\/038-800x533-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Once your older baby has a few teeth and has moved on to a bigger variety of foods, not only can you experiment and mix and match the fruit and veggie puree combinations (or just serve them softer, bite-size chunks), but you can begin offering him\/her foods with a bit more texture and variety, too.<\/p>\n<p>This recipe for <a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/themarathonmom.com\/veggie-casserole-toddler-food.htm\" target=\"_blank\">Toddler Veggie Casserole<\/a> is extremely flexible.\u00a0 You can choose any vegetables that your baby or toddler tolerates well and even add a bit of garlic, onion, butter and\/or cheese, if you prefer.\u00a0 Our one-year-old and two-year-old boys love it!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/author\/brandy\/\">More recipes from Brandy<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by contributing writer\u00a0Brandy\u00a0Ferguson Whether you begin feeding your baby solid foods at an early age or follow more of a baby-led weaning later on, homemade baby food is easy to make.\u00a0 Not only is homemade fresher and often more nutritious, it can also be much less expensive than the store-bought varieties. With our eighth baby, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":23608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2791],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-real-food-food","8":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Homemade Baby Food  - The Happy Housewife\u2122 :: Cooking<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/cooking\/homemade-baby-food\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Homemade Baby Food  - The Happy Housewife\u2122 :: Cooking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by contributing writer\u00a0Brandy\u00a0Ferguson Whether you begin feeding your baby solid foods at an early age or follow more of a baby-led weaning later on, homemade baby food is easy to make.\u00a0 Not only is homemade fresher and often more nutritious, it can also be much less expensive than the store-bought varieties. 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