I am so excited to be writing this post today. We got the go ahead from our pediatrician and can now start introducing solids to baby Julian. This is probably one of the most exciting parts of motherhood for me. Of course I have been going on Pinterest already and finding foods to give Julian. You can check out what I have found on this Pinterest board here. In this post I am going to list the items I find to be essential for making your own baby food and I will share some of the foods that Julian has already tried.
Supplies
Now some of the things I have are not completely necessary. You can use whatever you have at home or something similar. There is no need to use the exact same things that I use.
I bought my baby bullet blender from goodwill for only $11 and I couldn’t be happier with the purchase. You do not need to have this exact blender to purée the food. You can use your standard blender and it’ll work just fine.
I also like to use the little containers that came with it, however, I wouldn’t recommend using these in the freezer since they are plastic and can break once the food freezes and expands. I also really like these ones from Green Sprouts that are glass and freezer safe. Another great way of storing pre-made baby food is to freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop them into a labeled ziplock bag. I found this mold at a baby consignment event for only $3 but this one is almost identical and under $10.
For the actual feeding part I like to use just these spoons by munchkin and any bowls that I already have at home.
Prep
One of the very first things that I introduced was sweet potato. I just boiled the potato until it was very soft and tender and stuck it in the blender with breastmilk until it was the right consistency. Remember that for first foods you want it to be a really runny consistency with no chunks.
Another food that we have tried are avocados. It is one of his favorite things to eat and very easy to make. You just take a whole avocado and place it in the blender with some breastmilk or formula and blend until it is the right consistency. I used a whole large avocado and it made three 4 oz servings.
You can do the same with carrots. Boil them and add some milk or even a little bit of the cooking water to blend. It is super easy to make your own baby food at home.
Once you have tried a couple of different foods on their own, you can start combining them together. For example if you have tried carrots and apples and your baby seems to have enjoyed both of the,, make him a puree of the two items combined.
Storing and Defrosting
There are certain steps you need to take as far as storing and defrosting baby food so that it is safe for your baby to eat. I prefer to store baby food in the freezer because it will keep longer, about 3 months. If you do store it in the refrigerator make sure you use it within about 3-5 days so that it stays fresh.
Defrosting baby food is like science. There are three ways that I like to do it. The first one is taking it from the freezer and placing in the fridge the night before you are going to use it. It will take the food about 12-15 hours to defrost completely in the fridge so make sure you plan ahead and start defrosting with enough time.
The second way that I like to defrost baby food, and actually, my favorite way of defrosting baby food is to place it in hot water. I will take the food out of the freezer and place the frozen jar in a container that has some hot water in it. This doesn't take as long but it will require about 15 minutes to completely defrost all the way.
The third way is in case you completely forgot to take out some food and your baby is having a meltdown because he is hungry and wants to eat NOW! You can place the food in a microwave safe container and microwave it in 20 second increments until it is completely defrosted. If you decide to use this method make sure you mix the food between time increments to avoid hot spots and burning your baby when you feed him the food.
Remember that I am not a professional and I am just sharing our experience with introducing solids. Always consult your pediatrician first and be on the lookout for any signs of allergic reactions when introducing new foods.
Try your hand at making your own baby food and let me know how it goes.
No comments