Homemade Baby Food

Ever wanted to make your own baby food but thought you didn't have the time? Well, if you cook for yourself, you have plenty of time to cook for you baby. You just need to know a few simple tips and know about an amazing website.

First, for more tips than I could ever list, along with recipes and guidelines of when to start various food with your little one, visit: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

That website is amazing!!

Second, but a couple new ice cube trays. Reserve those for making baby food. You can also buy covered trays, but if you don't want to spend the extra money, you can cover your trays with plastic wrap or here is what we did: We had several thin cutting mats. We cut one to the size/shape of our ice cube trays and used that as our covers.

Third, have some type of blender available. For quick and easy clean-up, I would recommend a Magic Bullet style blender, or a hand blender.

Fourth, if you have a vegetable steamer hidden away that you thought you would never use, dig it out! It will be your new best friend! If not, you can easily steam your fruits and vegetables on the stove top using just a small amount of water in the bottom of your pan. (Note, if doing it on the stove top, you will need to keep a closer eye on your food. If you use a steamer, you can basically set it and forget it, which is great with a little one to keep up with!)

Fifth, decide when you will make your food. I usually did about a week in advance. Personally, I usually found an hour or so each weekend to make the food for the upcoming week. I would cut an acorn squash in half and put it in a cake pan with an inch of water and roast it in the oven for an hour. While that was going, I might throw green beans in the food steamer and apples in a pan on the stove. Then simply mash them up and put them in the ice cube trays.

Once your food cubes are frozen, simply pop out of the trays and store in labeled freezer safe resealable plastic bags.

If I noticed I was running low on something, I would simply make that food while I made dinner one night during the week.

Once you begin to make Baby Food Making part of your routine, it becomes just that: Routine.

As for reheating the food, it was also simple. If I thought about it in advance, I took one or two cubes out of the freezer and set them in a bowl in the fridge to thaw. Then I would set the bowl in some hot water just before serving to heat the food to the desired temperature.

I never once felt stressed about preparing food. But again, I referenced the above website on a regular basis for tips and ideas. I made all of my son's food, he never once had any pre-made, store-bought baby food. I figured that if I could cook for myself and my husband, then I should cook for our son as well.

If you have any questions, please let me know and I can give you any advice or support you need.