Homemade Baby Food Recipes

A lot of people are choosing to make their own baby food now because of things such as recalls and the dangers of feeding their baby foods that may contain produce sprayed with harmful chemicals.

Although organic baby food is now available in most locations, some people are still worried that the food might be contaminated or that someone might knowingly put something harmful into the food.

But before you start making your own homemade baby food, you should be aware of a few important points or order to make baby food that is the safest, healthiest food you can feed your baby.

1. Try to use only organic produce when possible.
2. Use filtered water, rather than tap water.
3. Never add salt or sugar to baby food!
4. Make your baby's food from fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits. Canned vegetables have lost too much nutrition and taste, and may be processed with chemicals or sodium.
5. Be sure your baby has tried each individual food individually before putting it into a recipe. If your baby is allergic to something, you need to know exactly what it is. By feeding him one single food at a time first, you can identify allergies easily.
6. As your baby's pediatrician about any recipes if you're not sure if they're good for your baby. Your pediatrician will be able to tell you if the food will be safe and nutritionally sound.

Green Beans

• filtered water
• fresh green beans, stringed and broken

Steam green beans until very soft. Process until very smooth. Add a small amount of the filtered water if necessary to thin it down to a smooth consistency.

Applesauce

• 6 whole apples
• filtered water

Peel and core apples, then cut into cubes. Boil the apples until very soft, then process until very smooth.

Peas and Carrots

• 16 ounces frozen peas or fresh peas
• 2 cups peeled and diced carrots
• filtered water

Cook the peas and carrots in the water until very soft. Then blend until very smooth, using a bit of the cooking water to thin, if needed.

Brocc-o-Carrot

• 1 head fresh broccoli
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into large slices
• filtered water

Steam broccoli and carrots until very soft. Blend until very smooth, using a bit of the steaming water to thin, if needed.

Chick-a-ricey

• 16 ounces organic sodium-free chicken broth
• 2 cups filtered water
• 1 chicken breast, carefully skinned, deboned, and chopped
• 1 cup rice
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced

Cook the chicken breast in the broth and water until done. Remove and allow to cool. Use about 2.5 cups of the broth to cook the 1 cup of rice and the carrots until the rice and carrots are both soft. Combine and rice and carrots with the chopped chicken in your food mill or processor. Blend with a small amount of the broth until very smooth and serve. Freeze leftovers up to three months, or refrigerate and use within 2-3 days.

NOTE: You can freeze your homemade baby food by putting it into ice cube trays. When frozen solid, remove the cubes and place into freezer bags. Be sure to label and date the bags. Use within 3 months. When needed, take 2-4 cubes out of the freezer and reheat gently.

Baby food grinders are very helpful, because standard blenders and food processors can overprocess your baby's food and make it watery.

You can buy hand-crank baby food mills, or you can buy electric models. I prefer the hand-cranked models because they're less expensive and they make it easier to avoid overprocessing, but electric models can be very helpful if you don't have a lot of time, energy, or patience to use a hand-cranked model.