What is your baby’s nutrition worth to you?
Today’s guest post comes to us from Emma Claire at CookNovel who writes about baby food recipes so that you can make your baby food right at home.
When our children were little (today, at the time of this post they are 8, 6 and 3 respectively), we used the BEABA Babycook steam cooker/blender to make our baby food. We put the food in ice cube trays and put them in the freezer and pulled them out when we needed them.
Making food for our children without preservatives and all of the extras of store-bought food off of the shelf helped us feel good about what our children ate while growing at such critical stages in their brain development. Even to this day, we only buy Horizon brand organic milk with DHA labeled on the container.
The nutrition our children receive is one of the most important decisions a parent can make. We hope you can use some of these recipes for your own little ones. Thanks for the great article, Emma.
Enjoy.
– Will
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5 Delicious wholesome homemade baby food recipes for your baby
When it comes to your baby, there’s no such thing as “trying too hard”, particularly when it comes to their food.
Cooking your baby’s food at home might take some extra time, which can be a problem for busy parents but there are several good reasons why you should consider homemade and wholesome baby food.
- Since you’re the one that makes the food, you’ll know exactly what your baby is eating, down to the last ingredient. No preservatives, no colorants, no extra sugar. Just want you chose to eat.
- It can be more affordable. This is not always the case but high-quality, organic, pre-packaged baby food tends to be pretty expensive. Luckily, making your own baby food can help you cut on the costs.
- You can personalize your baby’s food based on what they like. This can help you gradually introduce new things in their diets, take out the foods they don’t like and eliminate any allergy risks.
- You can share your food with your baby by making their food with similar ingredients as the one you used for your family’s dinner, saving time and money!
Now that you know why making your baby’s food at home is so convenient, it’s time to look at some of the most wholesome baby food recipes out there so you can make sure you’re giving your baby nothing but the best!
Delicious apple, oatmeal and pumpkin baby food
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Ingredients:
½ cup of unsweetened apple sauce.
½ cup of pumpkin, pureed.
1 ½ cup of cooked rolled oats. (Unsweetened)
Cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg to taste. (Remember not to use too much as to not to overwhelm your baby’s palate)
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Instructions:
Step 1: Mix the unsweetened applesauce, pureed pumpkin and the cooked oatmeal together.
Step 2: Gradually add the cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger and taste it. Add more spices if necessary.
Step 3: Stir everything until perfectly mixed and blend if necessary.
This recipe is fantastic for babies aged 6-8 months.
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Creamed peas and nuggets
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Ingredients:
4 cups of peas, preferably fresh.
1 cup of whole milk
2 tbsp. of flour
2 tbsp. of butter
Chicken
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Instructions:
Step 1: In a sauce pan, mix the flour with melted butter. Cook no longer than a minute.
Step 2: Add the milk and mix as you do it to prevent any lumps.
Step 3: Add salt and pepper to taste. You can also add other spices if you feel it’s appropriate.
Step 4: Cook while stirring until the mix starts to thicken.
Step 5: Add the peas and cook them for about five minutes or until they’re heated through.
Step 6: Add chicken
Since this recipe has dairy consult with your pediatrician before introducing it to your baby’s diet.
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Squash and rice puree
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Ingredients:
1 cup of mashed butternut squash
½ cup of fresh water
¼ cup of rice of your choosing.
Yogurt (optional)
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Instructions:
Step 1: Using a blender or a food processor mix your mashed squash and the water. Slowly integrate the rice until perfectly blended.
Step 2: If your baby doesn’t like the consistency add more water to thin it or, if your baby can eat dairy, add yogurt to thicken it.
This recipe is perfect for babies 8 months old or more!
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Banana Avocado Baby Food
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Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado
1 ripe banana
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Instructions:
Step 1: Peel and de-pit your avocado
Step 2: Remove the avocado meat and mash it with a food masher or a fork.
Step 3: Peel your banana and mash it with a food masher or a fork.
Step 4: Blend everything together in a food processor or a blender until you reach the desired consistency.
This recipe is perfect for babies between 6 – 4 months and it doesn’t need to be cooked so you can make it in a pinch.
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Sweet potato soup
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Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of sweet potatoes, cooked.
1 tbsp. of flour
1 tbsp. of butter
1 ½ cups of chicken broth
¼ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup of whole milk
You can use cinnamon instead or nutmeg or, if you prefer it, you can also use 1/8 of nutmeg and 1/8 of ginger for extra flavor.
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Instructions:
Step 1: Melt the butter and mix it with the flour in a saucepan. Mix until it acquires a caramel-like color.
Step 2: Slowly add the broth while mixing the entire way to prevent any lumps. Keep the soup simmering and slowly stir in the potatoes and whatever spices you chose.
Step 3: Cook for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Mix using a food processor or a blender (Top 5 best personal blenders for smoothies). Add the milk when you serve the baby food.
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Storing homemade baby food
If there’s a downside to homemade baby food is the fact that it doesn’t keep as long as pre-packed food.
There are two ways you can store baby food, in the freezer or the fridge.
Fridge
You can store your homemade baby food in the fridge for up to 48 hours, as long as you keep it in an airtight container.
Freezer
You can also freeze your baby food so it lasts from 1-3 months.
The best way of doing this is not adding liquids (such as milk or broth) to the food until it’s time to eat it:
- Puree the base of your baby food and freeze it in ice cube trays.
- Take out only the baby food cubes you’ll need. (1 cube is optimal for young babies)
- Thaw the pureed baby food and integrate the liquids
- Reheat and serve
What do you think of these recipes?
Do you know any others that you think need to be included in this list? Do you have any doubts? Questions? Suggestions? Want to let us know if your baby liked the food? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to share with your friends and family if you found this article useful.
Thanks for reading!
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About the Guest Post Author
I’m Emma, founder of CookNovel blog, and I’m absolutely in love with food blogs. I’d like to share the interesting recipes, food tips and top lists of kitchen gadgets. I’m a foodie at heart but being the mother of 3 kids, it’s not always easy to keep up with fancy dinners… so I rely on the support of other blogging moms like me to help along the way.
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