Seeking Safe Homemade Baby Food Recipes

Get the book, Super Baby Food. I have it and I'll send it to you if you like. I'm all done with that phase of life! It's so easy--you can even make the food in ice cube trays.

Hi S.,
Weird- I am 28 years old with an 8 month old little boy too! I have been making my own baby food since he was 5 months. I agree with the answers you have gotten so far. A good part of the Super Baby Food book is the index in the back where you can look up any food and it will tell you when that food is ok for your little one, what to look for when buying it, and different ways to cook it. I also recommend "The Petit Appetit Cookbook" by Lisa Barnes. The foods are broken down into chapters: 4-6 Months; 6-9 Months; etc. Each food is given its own EASY recipe.
We also ordered Fresh Baby baby food trays for freezing. Each cube is 1oz so you know how much you're feeding, plus they have snap-on lids.
My son has now had around 15 different purees from these books and he loves everything! Best of luck and if you have any questions, please ask!
S.

Hello,
I made all of my son's food too! It is a great way to start your baby off! I used a few different books, two of them were by Annabel Kamel: The Healty baby Meal Planner and First Meals, were both very helpful. They give you timelines on when to start different foods and how to cook, prepare, and store the food. About the carrots, I have never heard this, and my son loved them. A little advice to remember...if it's too dry add fomula or breast milk, if it's too runny try adding rice cereal. Good luck!
J. :)

The book "Caring for your baby and young child, birth to age 5" by the American Academy of Pediatrics, pg. 216. This is a great book, you can find it at the Mesa Public Library. My pediatrician gave me mine, but if you could find it to buy, it is well worth it. But on pg. 216 it talks about what foods not to home prepare and why and how to do it.
Good luck!
PS, when you make a large amout of food and want to freeze it, put it into icecube trays, that way you have serving size amounts and don't have to defrost everything all at once. Once the ice cube trays have frozen, you can pop them out and put them into a ziplock bag for easier storage.

I loved making my own baby food and as a result, I think my daughter was a much more adventurous eater. I used this web site: http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/ and I also used basic guidelines from a book that my pediatrician recommended, Feeding Your Child For Lifelong Health, by Susan Roberts,Melvin B. Heyman. This book has a great reference chart that tells you what fruits, veggies, etc. are safe for each age group. I think the issue with carrots (and broccoli, green beens and spinach) is that it is naturally high in nitrates so if you want to give carrots and those other veggies before (I think) eight months, then you should use jarred versions. I liked Earth's Best organic which you can find discounted in some Target stores. Good luck and have fun!

Hi, a great website is wholesomebabyfood.com
Good luck

S., I use a book called Super Baby Food. I haven't made too much out of it but we've done the basics, carrots, green beans, peas, applesauce...we also tried making our own rice cereal which sounds much harder than it is. The only problem was that it was a little to sticky for our daughter. I figure we'll try it again when she's a little older.

One word of caution, the lady who wrote the book is a little extreme and you have to pick and choose what works best for you (as with any advice about parenting). She tells you which foods to give them and when. There are a ton of recipes and tips too. One a personal note if you do get the book, the once piece of advice my husband and I couldn't quite understand was why she said not to refreeze uncooked frozen veggies after you've cooked and prepared them. We've done it and had no problems. Overstock has the book the cheapest that I've found. http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Super-B... Good luck!

I have a 7 month old daughter and my Mom just bought me "Cooking for Baby - Wholesome-Homemade-Delicious" from Williams Sonoma. It is a pretty good book. Interestingly, it doesn't have anything for pureed carrots. I just got the book yesterday so I haven't read it yet to see what it says about carrots. It does have a few recipes that include carrots for older babies. Anyway, it is from Gold St. Press so I am sure you can buy it anywhere not just Williams Sonoma.

The cook book I used as a reference was First Meals by Annabel Karmel. She's a little extreme and uses items that I wouldn't eat so I improvised a lot. She gives good tips on how to make food as well as ingredients to mix together.

I used to cook in batches, freeze in ice cube trays and defrost single portions. My twins loved my food and refused jarred food after about 3 months with homemade food. They're good eaters today and I think it's in part because the food tastes the same today as it did when they first started eating.

There is a reasons you're not supposed to cook carrots for babies, but I don't remember what it is. Something associated with one of it's nutritional components that we cannot measure at home, but that the baby food companies can because they have the technology. I think beats fall into the same category as carrots - you're not supposed to make those either (as I recall). Good luck!

I use the "Super Baby Food" book also, It takes about a week to go through the book, but has terrific recipes and information. I just tabbed the pages I would use most, and I am now using the book with my second child. It has a great reference section on all fruits and veggies, when to give them and how to cook and store them. Good luck and have fun! Both my kids refused jar food after being given the good stuff!!

A really super book is Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. However, I would not microwave the food as she suggests, but instead warm on top of the stove in a glass bowl set inside a pan of water. The book includes every fine detail with loads of recipes and suggestions for healthy food. THe second book is Whole Foods for the Whole Family by LaLeche League. Have fun!

There is a great book called " Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yarron
http://www.superbabyfood.com/. I have purchased several copies for people for baby showers at Barnes and Noble but her website may give you other options. The book tells what to give at what age and why as well as how to purchase, prepare and store. It is also filled with many recipes and other great non food safe and healty ideas. A must have.

All the best to you.

I do not know of an internet site but I do know of a great baby food book. I used it for both of my boys and it was great. The recipes are supper easy and it also gives you information on what ages to start different foods, what foods mix together well, spices and such to add to the foods (and at what age), how to pick/buy/store good produce. I got the entire baby food making set but I think you could do with just the book and just use regular cheap ice cube trays. The only thing that I do not like about this cookbook is that it is strictly for fruit and veggies...it does not go into any meats. Once my sons got older I just cooked meats and chopped them up really small with a food processor or a hand chopper and then added them to the veggies to thicken it up a little. The book is called Fresh Start Cworkbook http://www.amazon.com/Fresh-Start-Cworkbook-Personalized-... Hope this helps.

Someone else already mentioned it but I have to say it again. Look on http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/ I love this website! Having a good book that you trust might be a good idea also but I haven’t gotten around to it.

They are constantly updating this website so they get new info all the time and you can write in questions. There are links all over when you’re reading about stuff and I looked up about the carrots thing. They have a ton of info on it. The reason your doctor is concerned about you making homemade carrots for your baby is the nitrate levels. There are other veggies with high nitrate levels also like spinach and broccoli. But after reading all about it I decided I’m not worried. I give my baby carrots.

The sight is awesome if you want to find out about particular foods, it has a little search and you can usually find info on most things. Although I think their food chart for different ages isn’t all that great.

Making your own baby food is SOOO easy once you start! You’ll be surprised! There are tons of recipes but I usually only use them for ideas and guidelines.

Good luck and have fun!

I made all of my own baby food, and the book that I used for recipes is "Super Baby Food." It has EVERY recipe that you will ever want. I highly recommend it.

However, making baby food is totally easy even without recipes. Basically, just make steamed vegetables or fruit (or raw soft fruits, like bananas), or cooked grains (rice, etc.), then puree in a blender with water and freeze in ice cube trays. Store in plastic bags and defrost as needed.

The reason for the carrots thing is that carrots, when grown in areas high in nitrates, can pick up the nitrates and transmit them to baby, putting him at risk for certain conditions. I think that this is somewhat controversial. However, you can avoid it just by waiting till a certain age to give carrots (after which the nitrates won't bother him).

Making baby food is a lot easier than it looks, and is a lot of fun! Enjoy!!