Having a baby is exciting until you realize
you have another hungry mouth to feed. As you begin to wean your little one and
transition to solid foods, you’ll likely begin making your own baby food. While
you could go the store-bought route, pureeing their food yourself is much more
affordable, albeit a bit more work.
Here’s how to simplify the prep, storage and even feeding process. With these tips, making your own baby food will be a breeze.
1. Get the Necessary Equipment
Food accounts for more than half of all choking episodes, with
infants being among those most at risk. Because babies’ airways are so small,
you must thoroughly puree or mash up any food you prepare for them. Stocking up
on a few pieces of kitchen equipment can make this process easier and ensure no
small seeds or bits of food end up in their mouths.
Make sure you have a blender or food processor on hand as well as a hand masher and vegetable peeler for foods with a more fibrous outer layer. After boiling, steaming or microwaving the food, mash or blend with water or breast milk until the consistency is a bit runny. Strain foods with seeds through a sieve to further minimize choking hazards.
2. Start With One Ingredient
Making baby food isn’t quite like making a
breakfast smoothie. Instead of blending five or six different ingredients,
you’ll want to begin with just one. Choose mild foods like sweet potatoes or
avocados and blend them individually. Then, once they reach the desired
consistency, you can feed them to your little one.
This one-ingredient strategy is important as your baby transitions to solid foods. Introduce each food one at a time with two to four days between each to help detect any allergies. Once they’ve tried a few different foods and seem to tolerate them — or even enjoy them — you can begin mixing them to create new flavor combinations.
3. Stir In Herbs
You might also try adding herbs to your baby
food purees to nurture their growing palate. Introducing different flavors in
this way will also teach your little one to expect change with food. Regardless
of how much they love sweet potatoes, they can’t eat them their entire lives.
Stir in mild herbs and spices like chives, sage and cinnamon and base them on combinations you like. Hard-boiled egg yolk with chive, sage and butternut squash and cinnamon with sweet potatoes are just a few tasty options.
4. Use Frozen Produce
Depending on your budget, fresh fruits and
vegetables are easy to prepare and nutritious. Plus, you can rest easy knowing
they don’t contain any added salt or sugars. However, you can use frozen foods,
too as long as they don’t contain any additional ingredients or preservatives.
Likewise, you’ll also want to cook all frozen food first and mash or puree it just as you would with fresh ingredients. Doing so makes the food easier for your baby to digest and obviously easier to puree.
5. Bulk Prep
One of the easiest ways to save time when
making food is to bulk prep meals. Otherwise, you’ll be in the kitchen
chopping, boiling and blending before every meal. Make your life easier by
preparing a few days worth of baby food at a time. Then, store it in mason jars
in the fridge, labeling each jar with the type of food and the date.
You may also choose to freeze the food to store for up to one month. Simply pour the pureed food into ice cube trays and freeze. Then, just pop them out and store in an airtight container or ziploc bag until you’re ready to thaw them and feed them to your baby. Just don’t refreeze foods that contain breast milk as it may spoil or lose vital nutrients in the process.
6. Use a Squeeze Station
If ice cubes seem like too much work, consider
using a squeeze station. This handy device has three syringe-like tubes that
you can squeeze directly into plastic pouches. When you’re done, all you have
to do is take the contraption apart and stick it in the dishwasher.
Like the cubed baby food, you can store these pouches in the freezer for up to a month. Plus, you’ll save a ton of money purchasing and making your own pouches instead of buying individual packs from the supermarket.
7. Get a Refillable Feeding Spoon
You could also skip the pouches altogether and
use a refillable feeding spoon. This option is especially wise if your budget
is tight or you’re more eco-conscious. The ergonomic spoon and squeezable
bottle make feeding a breeze. Plus, a removable cap allows for easy refills and
cleaning.
A refillable feeding spoon will also help your child transition from sucking on a pouch to using utensils. Since your baby won’t be pouch feeding for very long, it’s smart to have this helpful spoon on hand to help them develop more sophisticated movements of the lips, tongue and palate.
Saving Time and Money
When it comes to feeding your baby, their
nutrition isn’t the only thing to consider. While feeding them the proper
nutrients is essential, being able to do so affordably and effectively is also
important. As you transition your little one from a liquid to a solid diet,
keep looking for creative ways to cut costs and save time. Hopefully, the tips
above will help you to do just that.
