Anyone Make Their Own Baby Food?

I made my own baby food with my third baby. I found this book that answers all of your questions about making baby food, and was a great resource. It's called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I checked it out from my local library, but I kept on renewing it, because it was such a good book to have on hand, so I would definitely recommend buying it. It tells you all the things you need to know about making food for your baby.

We had a Kidco Baby Food Mill (look on amazon.com)that worked great--you could really put just about anything into it! As our second-born got older and we had leftovers, we would turn that into his next day meal. When using corn or green peas, it leaves the outer skin of the vegetable in the grinder. The texture was very nice too. We would mix the veggies together in the grinder. It was MUCH less expensive than all of the money we spent on baby food on our first son! I think it went right in the dishwasher too, but now I can't remember since that kid is 3 1/2 now...good luck!

I also have the book Super Baby Food, by Ruth Yaron (2nd edition, revised).

I used her instructions, which are easy to understand, simple to do, and healthy to boot, to make baby food for my son. He really liked most of what I made for him. I made big batches and froze them according to her instructions.

She has a month-by-month feeding guide built into the book, so you can start right where you are. I recommend reading or at least skimming through all the intro stuff to get a feel for what the book is like first.

Her book also has tons of fantastic ideas for toddler finger foods and other healthy snacks, plus a whole section on Fun Stuff, with food decorating, cake & party ideas, and arts and crafts.

There's a section on food safety, so I was able to gently re-educate my mom on choking hazards etc.

This book is fantastic for exactly what you are asking- it will answer all of your questions quickly and you can implement her ideas immediately. (from what I remember from the book, you do need a blender, and a chopper is handy though not necessary. You do not need a food processor or anything else fancy).

Hi D..

I made all of my daughters food and would love to share the process and the results!

My daughter was strictly breastfed- which is also great for the budget since I didn't have to buy formula or new clothes, post-partum (it helps take off the weight).

She started on solids between 10-11 months, when she became interested in what we were eating.

We began with steamed and then pureed organic sweet potatoes mixed with breast milk that I would pump that morning and store in a glass bottle in the fridge. The consistency was thin like store bought baby food. A couple weeks later I added some pureed steamed organic kale to the mix. And soon, just kale alone with the breast milk. Then came spinach, brown rice baby cereal, collards, a lot of green and yes, bitter stuff mixed with breast milk- which sweetened it up a tad. Then we added apple and pear.

I wanted to begin with veggies because the ones we used consist of less sugar and more essential nutrients. We also wanted our daughter to have a palette for good veggies and ethnic foods- not just the sweet stuff and it worked! She eats everything at 2 years!

I always made sure to use the "steaming" water in the puree process to thin the veggies out and make the blending easier. And yes, I would get an old glass blender, or a new one, and puree the food to baby food consistency. I say glass, because you'll want to avoid putting anything warm in a plastic blender since it can leach harmful chemicals (xenoestrogens) into your babe's food.

Lastly, I would make enough food for the week,store and freeze it in 4 oz glass jelly jars which can be bought at any conventional grocery or hardware store. The breast milk would be pumped fresh every morning. The rice cereal would be added fresh as well. The only thing I froze was the veggie puree.

Good luck!!

A.

A. R.
Free Market Organics
http://www.freemarketorganics.com

Hi D.,
I made my own baby food for all three of my children. Yes, you do need a blender to get the food pureed enough for baby. A GREAT book to get is "Feed Me I'm Yours". It is a book made by 5 moms with great and simple baby food idea's let alone many ideas for young kids (treats, snacks, holiday ideas). I used this book so much it was falling apart!! I usually just threw what ever we were eating in the blender for baby and baby ate what we were eating (after we did one food at a time). It is great and a lot cheaper and healthier (no preservatives). Many moms don't realize just how easy this is.....I also froze the food in ice cube trays and when we were out and about put a cube of food in a jar and by the time it was time to eat, it was thawed and ready (if not, I ran the jar under some hot water). Hope you can get the book, its so helpful. Good luck and bon appetit! C.

Yes, it is really quite easy! I steam most any fruit or veggie and use a blender or my Magic Bullet. The Magic Bullet works very well for baby food. I blended it pretty well at first and then you can leave it chunkier as your child gets a little older. I use ice cube trays, freeze the portions and then store them in freezer safe zip lock bags. Each night I get out 3 servings and put them in bowls, covered with saran wrap for the next day. It works pretty well and I know exactly what my baby is eating! I have also cooked chicken on the stove with fresh onion, some veggies, parsley and pureed that also. Good luck!

D.
I made all of my son's food. I never bought one jar of baby food and it was very simple. I would suggest a blender. By any vegetable that you can steam or cook to be very soft or fruit and put in the blender until runny. I froze mine in ice cube trays. I was probably making baby food every weekend.
Enjoy
R. S.

D., i am a mom of 3 boys, yes i made some of my own baby food, i would put them in a blender, and then pour them into the ice cube tray, and freeze them, then when done, i would put into plastic baggies, then just thaw and serve, usually in microwave, they kinda like it a bit warm any way, this worked great too for outings, just grab a few cubes, and put in container, by time meal time it was melted and ready to go, or leave in warm car heats it up too, quick and easy, and you can make alot in one sitting without buying a bunch of storage containers, my kids loved it, and it was nice and handy too, D. s

Hi D.,

I made all my own baby food. I used to take frozen veggies and mix with just a little water and blend it in the blender. I froze some. You can place them in sandwich bags to reheat later. I didn't add any spices. I would recommend getting a blender or food processer. It is worth you money. Check out FreeCycle.net. You might find one there for free.

L. :)

Hi D.. When I was nannying for triplets, their mom and I decided to make their own food-for many obvious reasons! We did use a food processor/blender. It was the simplest thing ever! We actually took mostly all of the food, except for what they would be eating that day, and put it into ice cube trays and then into the freezer. Once they were hard we transported them into large ziploc bags. When it was time to feed, we popped them into small bowls and into the microwave for 15 or 20 seconds and dinner was served! There were a few veggies we did (pardon me for not remembering which ones-this was about 2 years ago) that were a little thick for them, so we added a small ammount of water in with them when blending. No added sugar and their older sister could enjoy steamed veggies with the triplets!

Good Luck!

Hi D.-
The book Super Baby Food is brilliant and has methods for making your own baby food and freezing it in ice cube trays. We never fed our daughter commercial food - homemade is easy and so much healthier (not to mention less expensive!). Good luck!

hello,
I am not an expert at making my own baby food-but I do it on occassion. what I do is steam the vegetables in a steamer. It sounds like you're already doing that so this shouldn't be too hard. I usually just take a day and steam a bunch of things. I especially like to steam yams and carrots. Then, I went and bought a handheld food processor. I have used it so many times for other things like making soup, etc. The best part is that you just put the appliance right into a bowl to mash it up. I would suggest you get something like a blender, food processor of some type though...doing it by hand wouldn't do the job and it would be a lot of work. I usually put the water from the steamer back into the food to make it the right consistancy and I make it more watery than I like because after freezing, a lot of the water goes back into the food-making it perfect baby food! I would suggest getting either a hand-held blender/processor ( I have a Braun hand held processor that I got from Drugstore.com and I love it. It came with a few other accessories, I think it was under $70, maybe around $60? I can't remember) Anyways, if you like to cook, you'll be using this appliance more and more in the kitchen so it's worth the investment. It's like a traditional processor and blender in one! Good luck!

For the first little while I would recommend using some kind of blender as a chopper probably won't get the food mushy enough for a baby that age, the chopper will work fine when your baby is old enough to handle bigger bits.
We made quite a bit of baby food. I liked when they came out with those plastic baby food jars instead of the glass so we would buy some of the food and use those, you can also use plain ice cube trays to freeze the food then pop the cubes into baggies and freeze until you need them. They have special baby food trays for freezing but the ice cube trays work just as well and probably a heck of a lot cheaper.
We liked to make a lot of sweet potatoes as those seemed to be the easiest to mash and all my kids liked those best but we also made peas, carrots, regular potatoes, etc. Green beans are ok but they tend to be really watery...I don;t think I ever did cauliflower but I think that would mash up fairly well.
We saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves and yes its healthier...good luck.
K. H.

Hello D.
I have been trying to make as much baby food for my son as I can. My husband and I bought a magic bullet and it works great with making baby foods. I steam the veggies (in the magic bullet container) and then add meat and water and then blend it up. You can even store it in the magic bullet container themselves. I like it because you only have to get one thing dirty. Good Luck.
N. G

Wow, you've gotten a lot of great advice! I too made my own baby food for my last two children. The only thing I can add is if you don't want to buy a book, look online for recipes - for FREE :) Good luck!

My son is a very healthy 5 year old, but when he was about 6 months old, he REFUSED to eat baby food, or baby cereal! My husband and I used a food chopper and pureed our food (whatever we made for ourselves) and my son ate it with alot of enthusiasm! We always ate healthy meals so the Dr. said it was probably better for my son than baby food, since it was more natural! He ate Steak dinners, Chow Mein, Pork Chops, all kinds of stuff! Good Luck! Angela

I did and my baby loved it. I got like, a smoothie blender from Target for blending, as well as a food grinder. For the early foods, you really do want to blend and not chop, but both were pretty inexpensive. To store extra, use clean ice cube trays. At least with my trays, cubes average about 1 ounce. Put the trays in freezer bags, and then, once frozen, remove from the trays and just keep in freezer bags. I really liked "The Top 100 Baby Purees" by Anna Karmel; my kid loved pretty much everything in it.

I made baby food for both my kids and it was so easy. I bought a kit by Fresh Baby google fresh baby and you will see it. You can buy the kit at USA Baby, Outpost, or online. It has a video or DVD, a cookbook and 2 freezer trays. I bought 2 extra trays and that made things easier. I used a Kichten Aid food processor, but you need a blender at least, a microwave, and a Corningware with a cover. After you cook them in the microwave (about 6-7min), you puree them in the food processor and freeze them in the trays. The next day pop them out of the trays and store in labeld zip-lock bags for up to a month in the freezer. I would usually make stuff on the weekends since I worked and usually would have about 6 different things in the freezer to pick from. Have fun and Good luck!!

I would buy a magic bullet - they are wonderful for everything (I make a smoothie every morning for myself in one)! Blend your fruit, veggies, whatever (you will need to add water to get the right consistancy) then pour into ice cube trays to freeze. When frozen, place in ziplock & label. Super simple!!

I have made my own and used store bought with all my children. With my fourth baby, I discovered the KidCo food grinder which works wonderful when they get a little older. Whatever you are having, put some in the grinder and it comes out as baby mush. Depending on the consistency you're looking for, you may have to add a little water and stir it up. You could also check the library for books on baby food. One that I like is Super Baby Food.
Good luck!

I make my own baby food. I have a book "First Meals" that has been helpful. You can check it out at: http://www.amazon.com/First-Meals-Expanded-Annabel-Karmel...

I find that a blender or a food mill is really helpful--especially if you have a child with texture issues :) All you need to do is steam/cook the food and blend it until it reaches the texture you want. You may need to add some water to the puree depending on your child's needs. I make up extra and freeze it in ice cube trays. When they're frozen I pop them out and put them in a freezer bag. When I'm ready to use them I just defrost and serve. 1-2 cubes is generally a serving for a 6 month old.

Good luck!

Hi D.,
I always used a blender, but your chopper may do. I steamed the veggies until real soft, put in blender, used the veggie water to help blend, then spooned blend into ice cube trays. If you have covered ice cube trays, great, if not, use plastic wrap. The cubes were perfect portions. You can do this for any blend, meat, spaghetti + meatballs (when older), fruits (apples and/or pears cooked in pot with a wee bit of water. Just warm and serve, so easy. If going out, put in covered bowl to warm when at a friends. Good luck to you, K.

I made my own babyfood. It is way cheaper! I used a baby food mill (you can buy them at Babies R Us for about 12 dollars), masher (like for potatoes), and a blender. When they are really little, the blender and mill are more helpful than just chopping or mashing because it needs to be thin and runny. I just steamed the vegetables until they were soft and then put them through the food mill. My child's first food was avocado. Take a ripe avocado, slice in half, scoop out the middle and mash with a fork. Perfect first food. I still freeze just about anything in ice cube trays. It is a great way to know how much to make (portion wise) and makes feeding him so easy. After freezing in the tray, you can pop them out and stick them in a freezer bag and they won't stick together. My child started out with one to two cubes as his whole meal and now each serving of soup, veggies, fruit, whatever, is three cubes.

PS- you can't refreeze frozen vegetables after they have been cooked.

HI! I made my own baby food for both of my children. I have mostly used a blender, but I think a chopper would work too. I just added water to the blending/chopping food (after it was steamed and soft). I would freeze the pured food in ice cube trays and then I could pull out a cube or two at a time to thaw and be ready for a meal. I've also used recycled (from family) baby food containers. I would be careful using plastic just because of the BPA's. And I know you have to be careful with the glass containers. Maybe ice cube trays are the best way to go. I loved making my own baby food and I hope you do too!

Check out Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. It's a great book that I've used through 2 kids and will for another one on the way. You do need a blender - any cheap one will work - and ice cube trays. I found nice covered ones at Tupperware and Goodwill. There are a lot of tips for older kids' snacks and adult nutrition as well. My kids loved it and it forced me to have fresh produce in the house that I would eat too!
Good luck!

I did make my own baby food - it was sooooooo much cheaper!! I can't say that I've found any evidence of it being healthier, but in my mind, it is :) We bought mostly organic veggies & fruits - and actually grew our own squash & pumpkins. We started out with sweet potatoes - baked w/a little water or steamed - and pureed them to the consistency of the cereal my son started out with (using a little of the cooking liquid so as not to lose any of the nutrients that may have leached out during cooking). He loved his sweet potatoes! Once we established that he had no allergies to a food (usually 3-4 days later), we started with another food.

He seemed to love everything that was orange or yellow in color at first (sweet tatoes, pumpkin, squash, carrots, etc). He also loved apples. To start, we did not use any seasonings. Once he learned to love the taste of food, we added a little nutmeg & cinnamon to the apples - he went crazy for them! So I did the same with the pumpkin & sweet potatoes - just a little bit of flavor, not too much. And then we could make little baby "combo meals" - and I gave each one a funny name to entertain him at mealtime. He loved "Sweet PoSquApple Sauce" a lot (sweet potatoes, squash & apple sauce). He also liked "Sweet PotUmpkin" (sweet potato & pumpkin). Can you tell he was starting solids in early fall?

We also started on green veggies when he was able to tolerate more txture. Peas are hard to puree and get all the little skins taken care of ... same with beans.

A great first food for babies is avocado - lots of healthy fats, a mild flavor & mushy texture. My son still loves avocado - and I still love to get pictures of the colorful mess it leaves on his face. (he's 14 months now).

My method was always to puree in the blender (again, with a bit of cooking liquid, if available, or purified water) - any old blender will do, you don't need anything fancy - mine is a $12 cheap-o. I then poured the puree into ice cube trays, and when frozen solid, I stored them in the freezer in gallon size freezer storage bags.

As he was able to tolerate more texture, I stopped cooking the fruit and just peeled and pureed it fresh w/a bit of water. He loved mango the best.

I figure I saved at least $20 a week doing it this way - my son is a big eater, and would eat 2 of the larger size baby food's at one meal - and still be hungry (I got a bunch of baby food as a present from a friend, and used some of the green veggies b/c Gerber did a much better job pureeing them than I did). So even when they were on sale (2/$1.00), when you're going through 6 containers a day, that's $21/week in baby food. I could buy a couple of pounds of sweet potatoes and make enough to feed him for at least a week.

Although he is only 14 months old, I am proud of the healthy start I gave my son - he learned to love the taste of fresh foods, and that is something he has not lost. He will not eat the canned fruits & veggies. Some people found it to be an inconvenience - but I found when I prepared foods in big batches, I could get it all done in about 20 minutes a few times a week.

I am not at all opposed to the commercially available baby foods - it was purely an economical decision for me and my husband to make our son's food. We did have some of the premade foods on hand, for travelling, etc.

Sorry for the long post - if you're really interested in doing your own food, I recommend "The Super Baby Food Book" - also check out the following websites: http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
http://www.wholesometoddlerfood.com/

Good luck!!

I loved making my own baby food. I have 3 children and made most of their baby food. I really liked the book, Mommy Made* and Daddy too! Home Cooking For A Healthy Baby & Toddler.
I used a steamer and blender to puree the foods and then would freeze the food in ice cube trays. Once frozen, I would then store the frozen cubes in an airtight container.
My kids really preferred the taste of homemade veggies..and I felt proud giving them the best!
Good luck & have fun!

L.

I don't know that a chopper is enough...you may need a blender to make it more pureed/finer. And I froze mine in ice cube trays, then put the cubes in freezer bags and pulled out a cube or two at a time to thaw to feed my son. It worked GREAT!

I am a mom of 9 month-old twin boys, and I love to make my own baby food! when I started with solids at 6 months, I bought a cheap-o mini-cuisinart (I think it was about $30 a Kohl's), and it's been my favorite toy ever since :) You have to puree completely when you start, and then get chunkier once your baby is used to that(about 8 months). at 6 months, I gave them iron-fortified brown rice cereal mixed with my milk for breakfast. The I introduced vegetables first (always!!! do this!! it makes life SO much easier down the road!). I steam veggies for at least 10 minutes, although I usually just leave them on the stove and forget about them for a bit longer to make them nice and mushy. some veggies are quick (ie. zuccini), and some veggies take forever (ie. carrots). then mix a little water and the softened veggies in your mini-cuisinart, and waa-la! dinner! it's so easy. once you introduce fruit, just cut it up and blend! I started adding whole milk yogurt to fruit at 9 months, and I also add chicken, tofu, etc. to their food and make it more interesting now that they are older. for the most part, I usually feed them a modified version of what my family is eating. Here are a few tips: invest in a steamer and a mini-cuisinart! add a bit of water to your food if it is not blending very well. butternut squash, pumpkin, and sweet potato are a pain to do from scratch. I buy those in the baby food jars, even for my older boys (I add hidden veggie purees to a lot of their foods). Have some baby food on hand if you don't have anything to blend, or to add to your home-made baby food. re-use baby food jars by filling them up with your own purees for food on the go. really, I was a little unsure at first about making my own food, but it's no problem, and now I do it all the time! I hope this helps. C. ps. my babies are GREAT eaters, and eat everything! I think making my own baby food helped a lot, because I could get a lot more creative, and introduce them to a variety of tastes.

I did. I used a blender and blended cooked vegetables down. You can also purchase a baby food grinder at Target or Walmart - this makes for smoother food. But if you puree it long enough it will work in a blender. I also would blend, then scoop into an icetray, then freeze. Once frozen I would pop 1-2 "food" cubes into a ziplock bag/container. This would be about the right serving size. My son loved the sweet potatoes! Broccoli, green peas/beans, all veggies work. Plus you can do fruit too - but I usually just hand mashed a banana or any soft fruit.

Good Luck - MJ...mother of 2.

Hi there!
I have 2 children 3 and almost 1 and made all my own baby food for both of them including rice cereal and oatmeal cereal. For the fruits and veggies I would steam them and then blend them with a little bit of water. I'm not sure if a chopper would make them smooth enough for a 6 month old but I never tried it so maybe. I usually made really big batches of all different kinds of fruits and veggies. After I pureed them I would pour them into ice cube trays and then after they were frozen I would put the cubes in ziploc bags and store them in the freezer. A cube is 2 ounces so it is a perfect serving size for 6 month olds. Here is a great website that I used for a lot of my baby foods and when to feed my kids what. http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/
Hope that helps and good luck!
K.

My DD started solids at 4 months and is now 9 months. She eats A LOT and still breastfeeds! We would be broke if I wasn't making her food. I suplement with organic baby food jars when I need to but the bulk is homemade. I am in love with "Super Baby Foods" by Ruth Yarin (sp?). Even if you weren't going to follow her food plan (which is really easy), there is a lot of information about when to introduce, how to prepare, and store foods.

I work full time too, so the time it takes is definately managable.

I have found that a mini chopper is much faster than my processor for everyday use (both cuisinart), but when batching foods to freeze my food processor is best.

Good luck! You can do it!

I do believe that there is a book written by Ruth Yuron about making your own baby food. I may have the last name wrong, but it's close.

Hi! I made my own baby food with both of my children. It's so much easier than you might think. First of all, buy this book - Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron - it was my bible while my babies were small. She goes through everything from picking your produce, to preparing, freezing extras, etc. And most importantly, what to stay away from while they're small. I wouldn't venture into your own baby food making without it. Fantastic book. (Although, you have to take it all with a grain of salt, like any other author. She can be a little over the top sometimes.) I stored extra baby food in ice cube trays in the freezer. When you need dinner, you just pop out a cube of green beans, sweet potatoes, etc. You will most definitely need a blender or food processor. Good Luck! Have fun with it!

Hi D.,
A blender or a small food processer would be the way to go.With the left over food, put it in ice cube trays, and freeze it. Then you can just take out the amount you want.

Hi! Back when my girls were just starting on solids I bought the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and it was a great guide for making homemade food. Particularly with what foods are okay to introduce at various times. I always used a blender, pureed everything after cooking and then made food cubes (with ice trays) and stored them in freezer bags once frozen. You might be able to get away with mashing things up...bananas and steamed carrots for sure. I would always designate one food-making day a month and then didn't have to worry about it again.

Each night I'd usually strategize the next day's meals by taking the cubes I wanted out of the freezer and letting them defrost in the fridge overnight (in little plastic containers). I'm not gonna lie, it's putzy and more work, but gives you peace of mind knowing what your kids are eating. And it's definitely healthier. And now it's almost farmer's market season so you can get all of the locally grown produce, which is even better for the kids. Good luck!

WE made all our baby food for both our boys. Yo uare right, its WAY healthier, much easier on the budget ,and tastes great too!

www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great free site to help get you started. I would make the food (I have a small 2 cup chopper from Target that was $10, it lasted for two kids and its still going strong for other jobs I use it for now!)

I would make hte food and put it in the chopper, blend it up,and hten freeze in ice cube trays, and whe nfrozen transfer to a container or baggie marked with the contents and date. Each ice cube slot is just about an ounce!

When I made baby food, I steamed the veggies or fruits, blended them, then froze the extra in an ice cube tray. Once frozen, you just pop the cubes out into a freezer bag and you have little individual servings. If you don't have a blender, a hand mixer might work. Bananas are easy because you can hand mash them. Good luck!

I did this the most with my third too. I used the food mill a lot. It is Munchkin brand and it was from Target or Babies R Us. The premise is you put cooked food in it, press down on and and then turn the mill. It worked great and I used it a lot for veggies, but it worked with meat too. It wasn't much (maybe $6 or so). Also I cooked a lot of pumpkin and added ginger to get him used to different flavors (plus what else do you do with the eyes and mouth of jackolanterns)! It freezes well too. I put it into the little plastic containers to freeze it. After awhile I just milled whatever we were having for supper and he ate it along with us. I am all about streamlining :)

The easiest for me was a Braun hand held "food blender" (not the official name and not a hand held mixer with two beaters). It's long and thin with one blade on the bottom. It fits into a cup and is perfect size for baby food. I found a blender far too large and hard to clean. Sorry I don't know the exact name.

YES! And I love it! I love to cook anyway, so "cooking" for my baby is fun too. I use wholesomebabyfood.com as a reference source and for recipes. It's super easy, healthier, AND cheaper than the pre made stuff! Of course it does involve more time than just buying pre-made jars of food. All you need is clean ice cube trays, a blender, and some fresh or frozen veggies and fruits! Hope that helps.

Hi D.,
I made baby food for all 4 of mine without a blender. I used a $9.00 baby food grinder called the kidco food mill. I used frozen organic vegetables in the winter and freshed steamed vegies in the summer. Just put into food mill, turn the little hand-operated crank handle, and voila! Extra was frozen in ice cube trays and then put into freezer ziplock bags for serving size blocks.

I think eating the "real" food helped all of mine develop their palettes for vegetables. Ten years later they all enjoy steamed broccoli (even without butter!).

A nice soft finger food is tofu cut up into little chunks. No real flavor, but a pleasing consistency and easy to eat.

Oh, one more thing. As they got a bit older, I would put a little of our dinner throught the food grinder (a tablespoon of rice and a bit of our kale stew for example) and the baby would get used to the taste of the meals we eat around here.

A great book is "Feeding the Whole Family" by Cynthia Lair.
Have fun!

Anabel Karmel is a gourmet chef from Britain with a slew of fantastic cookbooks for homemade babyfood and she also has an equally fantastic website with even more recipes for free at www.anabelkarmel.com.

Other books to check out; Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron, The Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn(this book is great for everything you can imagine to live on the cheap, but has an extensive section on cost saving but wonderful ideas for baby such as food recipes, homemade wipes, etc.) Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica, has just put out a book called "Deceptively Delicious" and its good. Though the recipes are adapted for the older picky eater, its core is based on puree foods, and you might be surprised to find some ideas you hadn't thought of. At the bare minimum, you can save it for when the little one starts eating solids.

Seinfeld is currently in a legal battle over this book with the Cordon Blue chef she apparently plagarized/stole all of the recipes from. Google it for the very juicy story of intrigue. I have since seen the other book called "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapin and it is far superior to the Seinfeld book, but its true...many of the recipes are exact copies, but with different names.

For all of these recipes, a steamer or cheap metal steaming tray and a strainer are all you really need. Just go to any store like Walmart, Fleetfarm, and some grocery stores like Cub and go to the canning section. You can find very good, heavy duty, but affordable strainers, and mills. I purchased a Foley Mill from Fleet Farm that is just wonderful. Even a simple potato strainer for making spaztle is good. I too have the food mill from BabiesruUs and it is good on the road or at home, but if you really get into this, you'll want something that has greater capacity or you'll be preping all day. Regular ice cube trays are good for storage, smaller sized canning jars are better (if you are into canning! And as someone said elsewhere use caution with food storage! Don't refreeze anything once thawed!), and babiesrus and www.onestepahead.com both sell actual airtight containers made especially for freezing and storing homemade babyfood.