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| How to Make Homemade Baby Food |
By:
C. L. Hendricks |
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Have you been wondering about how to make homemade baby food? Have you
also wondered if there is actually any benefit to taking the time to
make your baby’s food? If so, then here’s what some parents report about
their experiences with making homemade baby food.
“My children's first solid foods were items straight from my kitchen.
No commercial jars of baby foods here! My husband and I felt that we
wanted to start our children off right. I breastfed without
supplementation, and making my own baby food seemed the next natural step.
We started off with the basics: Fresh banana, boiled chicken, mashed
carrots, and the like. I purchased a very inexpensive hand-grind baby
food mill and it was as easy as opening a jar - and a lot cheaper! This
was nearly 20 years ago now, and I have very fond memories of watching my
children's faces as they would try a new food for the very first
time.”
“Neither of my children ever ate a bite of jarred/canned baby food. In
less than an hour on the weekends, I would be able to prepare and
freeze enough food for the week. I felt better knowing exactly what they ate
and keeping sugar and preservatives to a minimum. At four and seven,
they are healthy, active little boys!”
“Making homemade baby food is highly individualized and for many items
like fruits and vegetables, wash-peel-cook-mash is the only instruction
that is ever needed. You may be thinking, “It’s not that easy is it?”
Actually, it is that easy and there is no need to make it complicated
by adding precise measurements. Another reason that we seldom use
precise measurements is that one parent may be able to squeeze 10 servings
out of one baked sweet potato while another parent may only be able to
yield 6 servings.”
Here are some actual baby food recipes and instruction for delicious
and nutritious homemade baby food:
Apple Purée: Take one apple, peel and core it, chop into dices and
steam in a scant amount of water, in a pot on the stove, until tender then
mash into a texture appropriate for your infant. If you need to create
a thinner apple(sauce) puree, simply add more liquid and blend.
Banana Purée: peel a ripe banana, slice into small pieces, transfer the
pieces to a bowl and then grab a fork and mash the banana.
Vegetables: Fresh or frozen vegetables and fruit should be washed and
peeled. Cook over low heat in a small amount of water. Cool and puree or
mash. Carrots are really easy to puree in the blender with just a
little water to get the same consistency of jarred baby food. A food mill
is also a good choice, since you can vary the texture of the food.
Chicken-Veggie Baby Stew: “This is a recipe for a sort-of "baby stew" I
got from my sister-in-law in Chile. Take a chicken breast, a potato,
two carrots, Swiss chard and a piece of pumpkin (you could use squash)
add a little bit of water and cook covered in a pot. Do not salt or
season. When the chicken is fully cooked and the vegetables are tender,
puree in a blender. You can make a bigger recipe, then divide the food
into portions and freeze it for when you need it. It makes a healthy,
tasty baby food, for less than store-bought foods.
Cinnamon Apple Ham: “My oldest son's favorite homemade baby food was
cinnamon apples and ham. I would peel and core two medium apples and boil
them for about 15 minutes. Not complete mush, but no longer crunchy.
I'd then cube the apple and add a half a cup of cubed ham into our small
food processor (a blender would work, too). I would add about a
teaspoon of cinnamon and blend. I would set out enough for one meal, then
refrigerate or freeze the rest in two or three small meal-sized
containers.
Hope you enjoy learning how to make homemade baby food. Just remember
the variety of foods will only be limited by your imagination. Have fun. |
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