anyone making baby food?

mrsnorthernbell

DD just started eating baby food last week.  So far we have tried sweet potatoes, green beans and apple sauce.  She doesn't like any of them.  

At her 6 month appt I talked to the ped about making my own food.  She said it was a good thing to do but there are a few things to know.  Stay away from making any root vegetables and carrots.  She also talked about straining the food after pureeing it.  

I didn't know anything about that.  I really just thought I would steam some food, and throw it in a processor to blend it up.  

How hard/easy is it?  

Thanks ladies.   

Soon2bmrsh10

Its amazing how different doctors are...my doctor basically said feed him whatever we're eating.  I've made peaches (which LO didn't like I think they were to sweet/sour), applesauce, and bananas so far.  I did a google search for recipes. It wasn't hard to make any of it.

RileyGrace

I have the book 100 Best Baby Purees, it has recipes and instructions for how to make baby food and which foods to do first, etc.  Super easy.

Whitney DD

Why not root vegis and carrots? Carrots, potatoes and peas are Silvie's favorites. I make all her vegi's myself. I just steam them until mushy, add some of the steam water and puree. Its good for them to have some texture too. The only food I buy are the blends like Turkey with Sweet Potatoes and Chicken with Apples. I'm not about to puree meat.

FWIW, my pediatrician said I could even start giving her mushy pieces of our dinner like baked potato and vegis as long as they could be smashed with her gums and not choked on. She LOVES eating what we eat. 

rimjob

Wholesomebaby is a great site.  You will find that baking/roasting is going to be a better method for cooking most things because when you steam/boil a lot of nutrients are lost in the water.  My LO hates fruit in general due to the sweetness/tartness of it.  I try to either mix it with meats or use fruits that are less falvorfull.  GL.  I prepare everything that she eats unless we are on the go then I use store bought.  You will be able to make up big batches so if you spend a few hours 1 day you won't have to cook again for awhile. 

rimjob

Whitney DD:

Why not root vegis and carrots? Carrots, potatoes and peas are Silvie's favorites. I make all her vegi's myself. I just steam them until mushy, add some of the steam water and puree. Its good for them to have some texture too. The only food I buy are the blends like Turkey with Sweet Potatoes and Chicken with Apples. I'm not about to puree meat.

FWIW, my pediatrician said I could even start giving her mushy pieces of our dinner like baked potato and vegis as long as they could be smashed with her gums and not choked on. She LOVES eating what we eat. 

The fear with carrots and such is the high nitrate levels.  Why no meat?  I have cooked chicken, beef, and pork for E and she loves them.  I can mix a cube of that with any type of veg that I want and I think that the factory made stuff is gross.

okami.mami

i make all of Luc's solids except for carrots. we buy the jarred stuff because i read that it's safer. i find that it's really easy and i actually enjoy making all of his food. i use wholesomebabyfood.com and a book we got at our shower called "Cooking for Baby" from williams sonoma. it's basically the same info as wholesomebabyfood.com, but with more variety of recipes for older infants.

Aviee

I 2nd the wholesomebabyfood website.  I got a few things of info from there myself.  So far, I've pureed and frozen sweet potatoes, carrots (before I knew about nitrates, but they should be ok if you steam them and puree in different water), applesauce, pear sauce, avocado, banana, and we've also tried some jar food because we had gotten a ton of it for free, so why not.  L is a huge fan of prunes! 

L refuses to eat anything if she's not hungry, including prunes, so perhaps your LO just isn't hungry atm?  Also, we have to hide oatmeal in apple sauce in order to get that down, but L's getting better there.  GL!

veggiegirl528

Wholesomebabyfood is a great site & I've been using that too to figure out how to cook my own food.  DD hated everything we gave her at first (bananas, avocado, applesauce, sweet potatoes), but we've gone back to trying those all over again & she now loves applesauce & bananas...she still hates avocado.  I haven't strained anything for her, but I'm not sure if I just haven't made it to foods that are supposed to be strained yet.  Making your own food is pretty easy.  GL!

chardonnay24

It's SO easy! I've been doing it for about 6 weeks. I've made: sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, zucchini, acorn squash, mango, papaya, peaches, plums, apples, and pears. I also frequently mash up a banana or avacado. I just steam/bake whatever it is that I'm making and throw it in the food processor. I don't strain it at all. I will normally buy a bunch of produce (combo of fresh and frozen) and make a bunch at once.

I use www.wholesomebabyfood.com for a lot of information and recipes.

twirlyjack73

I'm going to start next week when I get some free time.  I've found that Earth's Best is for the most part suprisingly gross, it's no wonder DS spits it out, there's only a small few that are good.  The same exact food by Plum Organics is great.  So for example I thought he hated prunes, 'till I switched brands.  Then I tasted all the ones he didn't like & the difference is nite & day. I guess it's in how it's processed.

Wufroggy79

The website has been great. I've been making food for two months now, and I've never had a problem with their directions. What's even better is that it is free - no need to buy a book!

cgr8979

Soon2bmrsh10:

Its amazing how different doctors are...my doctor basically said feed him whatever we're eating.  I've made peaches (which LO didn't like I think they were to sweet/sour), applesauce, and bananas so far.  I did a google search for recipes. It wasn't hard to make any of it.

This!

Our pedi is very old and does a lot of things old school. We strted Tatum on fruits at 4 months and 5 months veggies and now we are starting her on table food (mashed and cut up of course). We love!!! She's still alive and VERY happy, so we will continue to "follow dr.s orders."

McKat28

I have two baby cookbooks by Annabel Karmel. I've made all of baby's food...it's very easy! I spend one day cooking and have enough for weeks! I've done sweet potatoes and carrots...so now I'm worried after reading everyone's comments...

McKat28

Just did some googling about nitrates - https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/nitratearticle.htm

 

Doesn't seem to be a huge issue if your baby is over 3 months. 

 

 

blossomtg85

I used to make a lot more but now LOs go to their grandmas while I work and she buys Gerber. But the thing with carrots is using different water for puree...carrots themselves are fine I'm sure. They are a stage 1 food.

I like the idea of giving the same food we are eating but what about introducing two new foods at once? Has anyone done that? I have been consistent about giving a new food for 3 days before adding another new one.