Everything You Need To Know About Making, Storing, Freezing, And Defrosting Your Own Baby Food

Convenience foods have become a major market in the modern world, and for babies as well as adults. But in many cases pre-made baby food is actually not as cheap or as nutritious as making it yourself.

As well as the environmental concerns of masses of plastic packaging, manufacturing and so on, the overall cost of pre-made baby food can be considerably higher than making it yourself. At the end of the day, the best homemade baby foods are the most simple ones that make use of fresh ingredients you have on hand. This guide will help you get started in making your own homemade baby food, from choosing new foods to introduce, to the basics of eating stages and puree, and even how to best store it for use.

The Basics Of Baby Food

When people talk about moving a baby from an entirely milk diet onto a more solid diet, they talk about it in stages. Stage one is a very smooth puree that is used in the early days of solid foods, to ease the baby through the food transition. Stage two is slightly thicker, and stage three is thicker and more textured, with lumps and things to chew on.

Along with food stages, there are also milestones for certain foods such as cheese, meats, eggs and so on, which doctors recommend not starting your child on until they reach a certain age. You should always listen to your doctor’s recommendations!

Tools You’ll Need

In order to make your own purees, you’ll need two main things. The first is a good steamer. Most of the fruits and vegetables that go into purees need to be steamed first so they are soft and easy to eat, particularly for babies with no teeth. Of course steaming isn’t the only method you can use to cook baby food, you can also bake, boil and microwave food. However many parents find that steaming suits their needs, and it preserves most of the nutritional content of food. The second thing is a reasonably quality blender of some kind. Whether that’s a stick blender or a jug blender is up to you, and will likely depend on whether you need (or want) to make baby food purees in bulk. Most blenders can get steamed and soft foods very smooth, but it’s worth looking for one that has a puree or liquefy

The second thing you’ll need to make your own baby food is a reasonably high quality blender. Whether that’s a stick blender or a jug blender is up to you, and will likely depend on whether you need (or want) to make baby food purees in bulk. Most blenders can get steamed and soft foods very smooth, but it’s worth looking for one that has a puree, grind or liquefy option if they’re available.

How To Puree Anything

Essentially, pureeing food is simple, and for most fruits and vegetables the process is the same. First, you clean, deseed and peel (not in all cases) and dice your produce. Then you cook it, either by steaming, baking, microwaving or boiling. Not all fruits and vegetables need to be cooked, but hard ones do. If you have cooked the produce, you’ll need to let it cool a little bit before you pop it in the blender and make it smooth.

If the mixture is dry, you can add extra liquid in the form of the steaming liquid (not for all vegetables, particularly those high in nitrates), plain water, breastmilk or formula. For parents making the food in bulk to be eaten later, you can leave your purees dry and then thin them later, just before they’re served.

Introducing New Foods

When it comes to introducing new foods to your baby, you should always listen to your doctor’s advice. However, for reference, we’ve provided a conservative list of foods that can be introduced at different ages.

Storing Homemade Baby Food

Homemade baby food doesn’t last that long in the fridge. This is a good thing because it shows just how fresh the food you’re making is, without any added preservatives. However, because the food won’t keep for a long time in the fridge you’ll need to come up with another option.

Most parents prefer to freeze their homemade baby food. Freezing the food ensures that it will keep for up to three months, but most recommendations advise that the food should be eaten within 1 month. This allows parents to prep baby food in bulk for the week, or the month, in advance.

One easy way to freeze baby food is using ice cube trays. You can buy these very cheaply, and they’re space savers in the freezer. To freeze the food just fill the ice cube trays up with the puree you have made, then cover with plastic wrap and pop into the freezer.

Once it has fully frozen you can empty the trays out and store them in freezer bags, labelled with the purees ingredients and the date. Remember to measure the size of your ice cube trays when you’re spooning the purees in, so you know how many cubes will constitute a meal for your child.

When it comes time to feed your little one the food that you’ve prepared, the process is simple. First, you take out the required number of frozen puree cubes that you need, and then thaw them in the fridge. If your thawed puree is a little thick, you can thin it out by mixing in a liquid such as water, breastmilk or formula. Some babies prefer their food warmed, but be careful if you’re heating it in a microwave as heat spots can develop.

Do you make your own homemade baby food?