Learn To Make Your Own Baby Food

If you are the parent of a young baby, your pediatrician would have certainly told you that till the baby is four to six months old, she does not need anything more than mother’s milk or formula. They contain almost all the essential nutrients and liquids that the baby needs for her age.

As your baby approaches her half-birthday mark, you know you have to start her on solid foods soon enough. You now start to worry about what kind of baby food would be ideal for her. Should you be giving her the ready to eat baby food available in almost all supermarkets? Or is it better to give her home made baby food? Would making baby food at home involve a lot of effort and take up a lot of time?

Making baby food is very easy and if you plan carefully enough, you can do so with very little effort. The most important reason to give your baby home made baby food is that it will certainly be more nutritious, being made from fresh vegetables and fruits, than the ready made stuff available in the markets. Also, it is very easy to make baby food at home. Finally, though this may be less of a priority, it will save you money.

Make sure that your baby is at least four months old before you start her on solid foods. Generally babies are between four and seven months when they first start eating some solid food. Start slowly and introduce just one food at a time. This will help the baby savor the taste and will also help you identify fairly easily, any food allergies that may be present in your baby. Do not force your baby to eat anything – reintroduce the food after a few days.

Let us now see the best way of making and storing baby food so that you can save on your time and your efforts. You have to make sure that all fruits and vegetables you would like to feed the baby are cooked. Other than bananas and avocados, almost all vegetables and fruits can be cooked. Once your baby is about ten months old, you may be able to start her on some raw fruits though you should consult your pediatrician before doing so.

Cook the fruits and vegetables that you would like to use using a steam-cooker. Steam-cookers are easily available in most stores or you can even buy one online. Once you have cooked them, you can use a food processor or blender to smooth them out and to ensure that there are no uncomfortable lumps, so that your baby can easily swallow the food.

If you are going to serve your baby right away, take a little in a serving bowl and after ensuring that it is not hot, you can feed her with a soft-tipped spoon. You can store the remaining food in small ice-trays and freeze them. Whenever you need to feed your baby, just pull out one or two cubes of the fruit or vegetable, warm it in the microwave and feed your baby.
As you can see, by just sparing a few minutes a day, you can easily make and store baby food at home.