I received a baby food maker as a baby shower gift when I was pregnant with Brody and I was certain that I would make all his baby food for the first 6+ months. Let’s just say I made one batch of sweet potatoes, forgot to peel off the skin, he hated them and I never made another batch! They made those easy baby food pouches that you could pick up at the store and he loved them, so that’s what we did.
I swore when I was pregnant with my second that I was going to give it another try. I’m so glad that I did. I actually started having fun with it and she was enjoying what I was making. It became a very rewarding experience. I’m not going to go into the details of how much money this saves you compared to buying baby food, but I promise you it saves a lot.
These baby cookers are definitely not mandatory because you can cook your own food and then throw it in a blender to puree; but I will say, I love having the steamer and blender in one to make mine. Just register for one!
So this is all you need to do:
1. Pick your fruits and vegetables and chop them up.
2. Steam one vegetable at a time in your cooker.
3. Puree steamed food.
4. Place pureed food in ice trays or baby food trays (I shared my favorites at the end of this post.)
5. Place Trays in Freezer.
6. Once frozen, place each one in a zip lock bag and label with name and date.
When I first started making the baby food, I used to mix together a few flavors before I froze them, but I decided I much prefer to freeze all the foods separately and then I can pick and choose what I want to feed her for each meal.
:: Favorite Foods to Puree ::
Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash
Corn (I mostly use canned corn)
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Green Beans
Lentils
Black Eyed Peas
Peas (frozen)
Spinach (fresh)
Kale (fresh)
Avocado
Apple
Blueberries
Pineapple
Watermelon
Strawberries
Mango
:: Favorite Baby Food Combinations ::
Banana/Avocado/Oatmeal
Spinach/Pineapple/Coconut Water
Blueberries/Kale/Banana
Sweet Potato/Corn/Apple
Squash/Green Beans/Cauliflower
Lentils/Sweet Potatoes/Kale
Squash/Zucchini/Apple
Peas/Squash/Quinoa
Sweet Potatoes/Corn/Broccoli
:: Favorite Baby Food Items ::
Boon Baby Spoons // Silicon Ice Trays // OXO Baby Freezer Cubes // Beaba Baby Cooker // Beaba Silicon Multiportion Tray with Lid // Reusable Food Pouch // Infantino Squeeze Station
Suction Baby Food Bowls // Suction Sectioned Plate // Silicon Bibs // Skip Hop Plate and Bowl Set // Baby food silicon place mat and Bowl in One (square) // Silicon Place mat and plate (round)
I hope this helps you guys! I wanted to share this because I felt it was a pretty intimidating process at first for some reason, but it can really be easy and enjoyable. Your baby will let you know if they don’t like a certain food or food combination. Just try a new version the next time.
What are your favorite combinations of baby food??
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I've always thought that I would make, at least some, baby food once that time comes. Will be pinning this for later!
Definitely pinning this for use in the near future! I will have to try out those recipes/combos!
I do the exact same steps when making Oliver's food. I recently started making ground puréed turkey in my Baby Brezza and he loves it! Even though it looks so gross and grey! When I get lazy I'll pick up some pouches to have on hand but I always feel so quilty because I know I could of made the exact same thing for a fraction of the price!
I love the idea of making your own baby food. I definitely hope to in the future!
This looks like something I should keep for the future! 😉
I remember those days when I used to make baby food for my two kids, they eat everything!! Ironically now that they are older they are so picky hahaha
xo Sheree
http://poshclassymom.com
IG: @poshclassymom
Great post!! Saving this!
This is so helpful! While I don't have kids yet, I'm bookmarking this for when I do. Thanks for sharing!
I would love to make my own baby food one day and those steamers/pureers sound amazing!!
Thank you so much for sharing! HC is getting close to the age of trying food, so this is a lifesaver on trying to figure out what to do first and things that are necessary!
great post! i loved making violet's babys food so i'm sure I'll do it again for our next baby! xo jillian – cornflake dreams
Thanks so much for your thoughts on this topic!
I would love to make baby food when/if we are blessed again.
I'm saving this!! <3