Infant Homemade Baby Food - Forest Grove, OR

ONe of my favorite inexpensive breakfast foods that my 10 month old son LOVES and has eaten for 3 months is tofu cereal.
2 Tablespoons of Soft Tofu (Put the entire block of tofu in a new, preferably glass container and cover it with cold water. Change the water everyday)
1 Tbsp hot or cold water (or breast milk)
2 tbsp oatmeal cereal
1 tsp Sorghum Molasses
*Mix in a cup and serve.
It's has tons of iron and protein, it's vegetarian and a great start to babies day

I used a cook book and system called "Fresh Baby." Here is their site, but I think you can get it at Target too.
http://www.freshbaby.com/

I highly recommend the book Super Baby Food, by Ruth Yaron. It has all the info you need, plus some great money-saving tips, nutritional facts, recipies, and cleaning tips, too! I found it very helpful when I made my own babyfood for my daughter. It is time consuming, but I found one of the best tips in the book...spend an afternoon making big batches of baby food then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop them into a freezer bag and there you have perfectly sized portions of babyfood. All you do is heat in the micro for a few seconds, and it's ready! I made batches about once a month, and the babyfood was delicious! I made sweet potatos, greenbeans, peas, squash, pears, and more. Try it! It does take some work, but I think it's well worth it!

The book Super Baby Food really helped me! Buy a copy or check your local library. I never bought one jar of baby food! You can get a food processor, but there are also many foods you can mash with a fork to start with. Avocados are easy to mash and have a good fat that babies need and the taste is bland enough so it's a good first food. (You do NOT have to feed them rice cereal! You can go with a bland fruit or veggie like sweet potatos.)

So with an avocado, cut in half and remove the pit. You'd want to do a few at a time. Then scoop it into a bowl and mash with a fork. Get out a cookie sheet and lay down some wax paper. Drop the avocado in big spoonfuls onto the sheet and freeze. It really only takes a couple of hours. Then bend paper to remove droppings (they look funny!) and drop them all in a ziplock bag and store in freezer. Label with Date Prepared - check the book. You want to use up most frozen foods in 3 or 4 months I believe. Probably not an issue with twins!

When it's time to eat, just take out a couple of droppings and put them in a dish to thaw in the microwave (it doesn't take long to thaw, make sure it doesn't get hot!) or leave a few in a covered dish the fridge the night before. I used the small tupperware/rubbermaid style cups with lids to feed from! Ditch those baby bowls that don't have lids! It helps when you're making it if you know about what your kid will eat in 1 serving, but you can do smaller amounts and thaw more than 1 at a time. Since you have twins (assuming they both eat the same foods) you could thaw 2 or 3 or 4 each meal time.

When you get a food processor, you can make batches of any food and freeze in a similar way. In the beginning, there aren't really "recipes" you just mash up a veggie. It goes like this... Soften some sweet potatoes in the microwave and remove peels. Use a spoon to scoop flesh into the processor and turn it on. Blend until smooth for younger babies, then as they get older they can handle a little bit of texture and you don't have to blend as long. From there, spoon it into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, you guessed it, transfer to ziplock bags and label. You'll probably want to thaw 1 cube for each baby, or more depending on how much yours will eat.

You will get the hang of it! Read the book though, it has great info of what babies need at each stage and some hit the stages earlier or later than the average kid, so you don't always have to go by the book. I started my son on solids around 7 mos and he was not big on eating until nearly 12 mos. Preferred the boob. We did not force it since he didn't seem ready (and mealtime was pretty frustrating) and preferred to feed himself with cheerios at 8 mos. So we found finger foods and he got happier about eating. Anyway, my point was that while the author started feeding her babies at 4-6mos, we were at 7-9mos looking at the 4-6mos chart and so on. Do whatever works!

And good luck!!!

I found the best website when I was making my son's baby food. It's http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/. They have tons of recipes, tips, advice, etc, and most of the stuff is really easy. There are also tons of books, I'd checked out a few from the library, but I found that website to actually be more helpful. Some of the books got WAY too involved in recipes--like moms have that much time.
A good tip: Make a big batch of pureed food, put it in ice cube trays and freeze it; the ice cube size is a perfect serving.
Good luck and have fun!

You can make baby food out of most anything. Use your blender of food processor. Add a tad bit of liquid, such as formula, milk, water, or liquid that is the container of veggies or fruit. Whatever you are eating, you can make baby food out of. The medical proffession will probably not agree with my advice but I can bet your babies will like this version of baby food better than the store bought stuff. I know my kids did & my Granddaughter (11 months) loves it. As long as it agrees with their system, I would do it. That's what my Mom fed me & I'm still alive & kicking.

Get the book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I loved it with my daughter and can't wait to use it with my son! (the author had twin boys so she knows where you are comming from!!)

I am a nutritionist and HIGHLY reccomend ths book to anyone with kids...

I never used a recipe-just got veggies and steamed, then threw them into the food processor. I'd freeze them in ice cube trays then transfer them to freezer bags or foodsaver them. I was able to use all organic and it still was cheaper than buying jarred foods. For fruit, I didn't puree much-I'd put a banana or frozen fruit into a safety feeder (Trader Joe's has great frozen fruit). Slightly overcooked pasta mashed and mixed with the veggies was great, too.

Hello M.,

I have two daughters and what I used to make for my girls when they were born, was chicken soup. 1/2 a chicken with potatoes, celery, carrots some onion if you like, and seasoning salt. Boil everything and once it's done let it cool down, and throw it in the blender. Before doing this make sure you have empty jars so once the food is blended you just fill them up. I always tasted their food before giving it to them to make sure it was good. I hope this helps, I'm a stong believer that home made food is the best for our children.

Sincerely,
Z.

I bought food pacifiers and gave my son a little of whatever we were eating in it. He loved fruits and veggies and other mooshy foods. You can also use a blender to blend foods that you are eating. Just remember to blend the food before adding spices. I never bought baby food and my son loves eating most foods still today.

I hope you have as much success.

I have a 7 month old too. At first I was nervous about making baby food but once I tried it I don't know what I was worried about.
My baby's favorite so far is butternut squash. Just cut it in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, put it in a shallow baking pan with 1/4-1/2 cup water (cut side down). I cannot remember what temperature I baked it at but it will say on the squash when you buy it. Then just scoop out the squash when it has cooled a little and puree it in the blender. You can thin it out with water to whatever consistency you want.
Then just spoon the puree into ice cube trays and freeze.
I found a lot of good recipes at:
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

I hope this helps.

I would agree with feeding them what the family has, but be sure to watch the sodium. Fresh fruits and veggies would be a lot better then canned, but there are now quite a few of low sodium minimally processed canned foods on the market. It could be a healthy change for the whole family!!
Have fun!!
S.

I fed both my children this way as babies and everyone here has great suggestions. And it is easy, just devote an hour a week and make up a bunch to freeze or process as you go. I found making my own meat to be harder, but something no one mentioned here is tofu. I would grind it up and add it to whatever my baby was having, just like you would with rice cereal. It thickens it and adds a lower sodium protien. It is really cheap (a $2 block can last a week for a singleton) and the added bonus- my children liked it when they got older. Good luck and good choice!

When my children were infants I prepared lots of differnt home made baby food. All you need are veggies, water and a good blender. You can use fresh green beans or carrots and just add water to it (the amount of water would depend on the consistency you want) and then puree it all in the blender. That way you know exactly what went into your children's meals. Another cool tip I picked up was then pouring the food into ice cube trays, wrap them in saran wrap and freeze. That way you only heat up what you need at feeding time. Once the food is frozen into neat little squares you can transfer them into big freezer bags so you don't need to go out and buy a whole bunch of trays. You can also do yams or apples, they just need to be baked in the oven before pureeing to soften them up. My kids also liked mashed up avocados which are very healthy. Use your imagination - potatos, pears, bananas. It is soo easy! Have fun with it.

Hi M.,

I also made my own baby food... good choice by the way! I have one on the way...and am anxious to do it all over again!

I bought serveral books, but ended up really loving: "The Healthy Baby Meal Planner" by Annabel Karmel. I can't tell you how excellent this book is...it's so easy to follow, and most of all, it isn't intimidating.

Still to this day, my daughters favorite foods are veggies and fruits...and she's 2 1/2! Just beware...when you start feeding "home made" baby food....there's a chance they won't eat jar. We were stuck in the airport one day, and I grabbed a couple jars "in a pinch"....and my daughter REFUSED to eat them.... so if you go home-made (which I personally feel is best)...be prepared to stick it out..

Good luck! Hope you enjoy the book!
A.

I found that although making baby food was "easy", I just didn't have the time/inclination to do the prep/clean up...I just mashed the foods that I was eating (that the baby) was able to eat at the time and shared. I also found that Del Monte's "Nature's Goodness" baby food was/is? a great deal less expensive than the other brands and the Baby Bargains book that I read recommended it. (You might want to check out that book...it's updated every year or so with a lot of information on various baby needs...and it isn't put out by someone who has anything to gain by the products they recommend or not).

The other book I would recommend if you were REALLY wanting to make your own baby food is "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron...it has great recipes for babies and toddlers alike.

I found both of these books online at a substantial discount (used).

Annnnd, in case you weren't awared...there are Twin "Networks"...at least there is in Chico, where I live (We have friends who have twins!) and they help each other where they can.

Depending on what you feed them, vegetables can just be steamed and then ground up, as well as fruit(steam just long enough to soften). To puree anything, just add water or milk to what you are grinding up in the blender or processer. I even ground up pizza when my jaw was wired shut and had to eat puree foods.lol. You can also find recipes at the library.

Ah the sound of the almighty cash register is killing your budget. No problem no recipes needed either. Buy a small food processor or blender. I did this with my kids and it worked perfectly. MY peds doctor said as long as the food is bland enough for baby and you watch out for allergies this works great. Feed your baby what you make for the family within reason. Follow the same food introduction process as you would with babyfood in a jar. Always double check with the doc for any concerns but I loved that I could feed baby what we were eating and the cost of the processor verses jars is no contest. This really pays off and is just as healthy. Enjoy B.

I used to make my sons baby food, in large batches then freeze them into ice cube trays so all I had to do was take out a couple of cubes and defrost. My son's favorite was cook a couple of sweet potatoes, mix in some breast milk or formula to the consistency you want and freeze. You can also add in rice cereal so you don't have to mix it later. You can boil almost any fruit or veggie and mix with milk/formula. Hope this helps!

hi M., when my children were younger i got a food processer and just blended what ever we were having for dinner for them...totally saved on money and they were included in dinner time...plain steamed carrots or sweet potatoes were their favorites...blend it before you season anything, and you could even throw in a little chicken or mix things together...be creative and try it, if it tastes ok to you it will be good for them...good luck...

I understand the spending for twins, mine are now 4 1/2yrs old.
When they were at the age of yours, I would buy large cans of the mixed fruit, peaches, pears etc... drain all of the syrup off and rinse the fruit, I than would put it in the blender with 1/2 packet of Vanilla Pudding and blend this together. It would last a couple of days, and was very yummy. I also would buy frozen vegetables, cook them and than cool them, put the vegies and half of the water they cooked in into the blender and use the puree to make these as smooth as possible. I would put whole Butter in them to make them yummy as well as it helps get more protein in them.
Good luck, just get that blender going, and suddenly it is amazing what you start inventing.

TRY THE SAME THING YOU EAT JUST BLEND IT. CHICKEN SOUP, POTATO SOUP, CREAM OF WHEAT, BEANS W/RICE (SMASHED UP REALLY GOOD)

Keep it simple. For example, tonight we had pot roast. So (if my son was still eating baby food) I would throw in a bit of potato and carrots and a little gravy. My son always loved that.
For spaghetti I just blend the noodles and tomato meat sauce. I have three children and the more children you have the more you realize that simple is best. Get one of those mini food processors and just keep it on the counter.

I bought canned foods(low/no salt & sugar of course) and pureed them. then I forze them in ice cube trays. When they were frozen, I put them in ziplock & labeled them. I did buy canned meat baby food because I found it hard to make meat well. When she got older, I'd buy big cans of ravioli and do the same. she got that a couple times a week(it's kinda high in salt, but does good for on-the-go food) If you do big batches you don't have to do it very much.

Good choice on the homemade, I too went this route and have been very blessed with a daughter who is not picky. One of her favorites was a mash of one chicken breast, a cup of cubed butternut squash, and a handful of grapes. It sounds odd, but I tasted it, and it had just enough sweetness. Add water until the consistency is right for your girls. Once they are ready for texture, try steaming one seeded & chopped tomato, 1/2 a zucchini, then add a sprinkling of cheddar or parmesan, and puree. Mix in some cooked tiny soup pasta, like stars or alphabet. I recommend blending with a stick blender and using the small, 1/2 cup gladware containers for freezing.