How to Make Homemade Baby Food

If you have ever read the labels on certain baby foods, you might be surprised by what is actually added. Some of them are as simple as the fruit or vegetable of choice and water and others have ingredients that can not even be pronounced. Here are some simple tips on how to make homemade baby food for your little one.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Fresh fruits and vegetables

1. Get the okay from your pediatrician to start your baby on solid foods. With most babies, they allow rice cereal anywhere from four to six months. Once that is established, you can move on to fruits and vegetables.
2. Browse the baby aisle at your local grocery store to see what fruits and vegetables are suitable at various stages. For instance, it is not recommended to give a baby citrus fruits until after his first birthday.
3. Buy a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, bananas, pears, apples and peaches. Buy smaller quantities of each until you are sure that your baby likes the new food.
4. Clean the selected fruit or vegetable and cut it in half. Don't worry about peeling it just yet. There is no need to cut green beans, peas or corn in half.
5. Place the fruit or vegetable flat in a baking dish with enough water to cover about 1/4 of the fruit or vegetable. Bananas do not need to be baked, so skip to the last step.
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for about one hour. Check to make sure that you are not burning the fruit or vegetables and that there is enough water in the baking dish. If the fruit or vegetable is soft at one hour, remove from the oven. If not, continue baking until it is soft.
7. Peel the fruit or vegetable once it is cooled and place in the food processor. Let it blend while slowly adding filtered water until you reach a desired consistency.

Tips & Warnings

• Preparing fresh peas are a lot of work. Using a bag of frozen peas with no added salt is easier.
• Once you know what your baby will eat, blend flavors together, such as peach and banana.
• If you add too much water to your homemade baby food, add some baby cereal to thicken it up.
• For older babies, just chop the fruit and vegetables into small soft pieces, rather than mashing completely.
• Wait three to five days after trying a new fruit or vegetable before starting another so you can better pinpoint food allergies.
• Certain vegetables, such as carrots and spinach, contain nitrates. Talk to your doctor about organic alternatives or just avoid these altogether.