“Did you get his cooler? Do you have his cup? Where’s his spoon? Make sure you grab a bib! Is this going to be enough for him to eat?!”
This is the conversation my husband and I have almost every time we step out of our house these days. Our son is nine months, which means he’s eating solid foods. While it is very exciting for us to watch our baby join us in the most important time of the day (mealtime), it started out also being the most stressful time of the day.
I was worried about how I would find the time to not only make dinner for myself and my main man but also include my little guy and give him the healthiest options available. I knew I wanted to make his food but was really not sure where to start.
I hear moms say, “Wow, you make all his food? I don’t have the time!” or “I wish I could do that, I just don’t even know where to start.”
I felt the same way. I did a lot of reading and compared it to what I had learned while getting my degree, and now I have a fail-safe system. And I want to share it with you. This is how I make my own baby food in under an hour!
What You Need to Make Your Own Babyfood
- A Blender of some sort (I use a Vitamix®) or Food Processor
- A few pots, preferably one with a steamer.
- Apple Corer
- Cookie Sheets
- Storage containers (I love my Snapware® containers. There are many different sizes, you can write on the top with a permanent marker, and it snaps on all four sides, so the baby can throw it and not make a mess! I bought my two sets of 26 pieces at Costco, and Amazon also has the sets available.)
An Appropriate Menu When It’s Time to Start
The following menu is what I started my son with, and is appropriate for 4-6-month-olds (although I recommend waiting until as close to 6 months as possible to introduce solids). I like these foods because they allowed me to mix and match to give him a variety of tastes.
- Grains: Rice and Oatmeal
- Fruits: Apples, Pears, Bananas, Avocado
- Vegetables: Sweet potatoes, Butternut squash, Green Bean, carrots
Steps to Follow When Preparing Food
These are steps I follow when I’m preparing the week’s worth of food. I find it to be MUCH easier to do everything at the same time.
Preparing Grains
I usually make my grains twice a week. Initially, I ground up the grains because he was just starting to get used to the texture and chewing. I do not have to do this anymore, but for new eaters, I recommend putting the grains into a food processor or using the dry grains container on the Vitamix®. You can grind up a large amount and store it, or grind the amount you’re cooking at that time.
Preparing grains for babies isn’t much different than preparing grains for adults. I would recommend not using a stock with rice until the baby is ready to tolerate that (closer to eight months), and add more liquid to the ratio than you usually would.
Organic Rolled Oats
- Make sure you cook these slowly. They should not be covered and take about 30 minutes on low heat. It will make them creamier and easier for baby to swallow.
- Ratio: 1/4 ground oats: 1 cup of water
Organic Brown Rice
- Ratio: 1/4 cup rice powder: 1 cup of water
Preparing Bananas and Avocados
A few tips I find helpful: Bananas and avocados do not require preparation. These are my go-to’s when I have nothing ready for baby! Both are able to be mushed with a fork and eaten raw. I also mix them together!
- The more yellow the banana, the sweeter it will be
- I mush the banana up in the skin, so it is soft once I peel it. I find it easier to do that than try to mush it with a fork.
- Avocados are riper when the skin is dark green/brown.
How to Easily Prepare an Avocado
- Cut the avocado length-wise with a knife.
- If only using half, use the half without the seed in it; store the half with the seed in a plastic bag in the refrigerator until the next meal.
- If the knife you are using is sharp, “slap” the seed with the knife blade to get it stuck in the seed and turn the knife. The seed will pop right out the avocado meat.
- I like to slice the avocado while it is still in the skin.
- Using a tablespoon, slide the spoon between the meat and the skin. Lift the meat out of the skin with the spoon.
Preparing Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Pears, Carrots, and Green Beans
I am the multitasking queen when it comes to being in the kitchen. I usually do this during nap time, so I want to get as much done as I can in a short hour. This is how I make that happen.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Sweet Potatoes
- Using a fork, poke three or four sets of holes in the sweet potatoes. I roast up to seven at a time!
- Lay them on a cookie sheet.
- Roast them for at least an hour to an hour and a half.
- You will know they are done when the natural sugars have caramelized and are “oozing” out of the holes. You can also smell them and they should be soft to the touch.
Butternut Squash
- The biggest difficulty I hear about these type of squashes are cutting them in half! If you do not feel comfortable cutting squashed, you can buy them already split at Publix.
- Once they are split, use a big spoon and clean all the seeds out of both sides.
- Brush the inside with olive oil, and lay the halves flat side down on the cookie sheets.
- Put them in the oven with the sweet potatoes.
- Roast them for about an hour
- The neck of the squash will probably finish before the bottom. You can cut that part off and allow the thicker bottom part to roast until soft.
- Peel the skins off and place the vegetables in the blender. Add water as needed. I always have a measuring cup of water to add as I’m pureeing the foods.
- Puree the foods, and continue to add liquid until you get the consistency your little one can tolerate.
- THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART! ADD AS MUCH WATER AS YOU NEED TO ALLOW THE TEXTURE TO THIN AND THE BLADE TO MOVE FREELY!!
Apples
- I do a bag of apples at a time. The size of your pot will decide the number of apples you can steam at once.
- Peel all the apples
- Using a corer (or a paring knife), core the apple, and place the slices into the pot.
- Add about one inch of water; you want enough to cover the bottom of the pot and create steam.
- Cover the apples, and cook them on medium-high heat until they are fork tender, usually about 15-18 minutes.
TIP: Keep the water and use it to either cook the oatmeal or add to the vegetables to sweeten them up!!
Pears
- Same process as apples, however, they do not need to be peeled. Just wash the skins really well.
- Pears will cook faster than apples, so should only need about 8-10 minutes.
Carrots
- Peel the carrots
- Cut them in half; then quarter the larger end of the carrot.
- Put carrots into the steamer basket and cover the pot.
- Fill the pot halfway with water and bring to a boil.
- Cook the carrots until fork tender, and very orange!
- Carrots require a lot of water to puree.
Green Beans
- Fresh green beans come whole or with the ends snapped off.
- I put the whole green beans in the steamer, and steam until soft and bright green.
- Once steamed, put in the blender and puree.
This is a great way to save money, know exactly what your baby is eating, and start their relationship with food in the right direction. There are a multitude of websites that can help you prepare baby food. My favorite is Wholesome Baby Food.
Bon Appetit! What are your favorite homemade baby food recipes?
