Tutorial : How I Make Baby Food

Mr. Sweet has always been very interested in how nutrition affects our bodies and the relationship between food and health. We have both been challenged with alternate views on food, health, and the 'norm' when it comes to the American way of eating. Because of this, neither of us wanted to take the traditional approach to starting our kiddo on solids without thoroughly researching how, why, and when certain foods are given to babies. We were more than open to starting baby on rice cereal and strained pears if that is what research told us was best.
I had already decided that I would be willing to make Levi's baby food at home. It didn't seem time consuming, and we both valued that fact that we would know exactly what our little one was eating. Aside from that, we didn't really know where to start.
I want to make a note that we did look into baby-led weaning, which is very popular right now. While I didn't want to start Levi on solids before 7 months (6 adjusted) because I don't see a reason to start before then (the WHO recommends 6 months), I think he was really ready for some substantial food intake at 7 months. I wanted to make sure enough food was actually making it into his belly, rather than just smeared on his cute face. While he is 100% healthy, he is a little peanut of a baby and I wanted to make sure he had every nutritional opportunity to grow.

One day I was researching Pediatricians in our area that both hold an MD, as well as a more natural, holistic approach to health care. I came across a particular Dr. and was excited by what I read. This particular Pediatrician worked in a typical practice for many years until she eventually left and started researching the link between diet and various conditions that seem to be problems in American children. The most exciting part, for me, was when I found she had written a book on the issue. Super Nutrition for Babies, by Dr. Katherine Erlich, and Kelly Genzlinger, is a guide on how to feed your baby in a way that is safest for their growing digestive systems.

We have adopted the principals in this book and are really enjoying the process of introducing baby to new foods in a safe order. I am not prepared to do a full review right now, but the ideas she presents (cutting out hidden sugars, alternatives to off-the-shelf dairy, when to introduce meat, to name a few) make a lot of sense. This book seemed to come at a time when I felt lost with too much information. I had some basic ideas of how I wanted to introduce baby to solid foods, but I couldn't find a 'timeline' that wasn't based on the mainstream viewpoints that we decided weren't for us. This book lined up with all of our research and laid it out in practical timelines and recipes.
So- what does all that mean?

Well- in addition to being exclusively breast fed, at 8 months (7 months adjusted- Levi was 4 weeks early), baby has eaten pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, egg yolk, green beans, peas, carrots, chicken broth, and a few other fruits. This week he will start having meat. He hasn't had any rice, oatmeal, or grains, and we don't plan on introducing those until at least 1 year old.

I think that is the longest introduction of all time, because what this post REALLY is is a tutorial on how I make baby food! I don't do anything fancy, and I don't own any fancy tools. I simply cook veggies and puree them, but sometimes it is nice to see step-by-step how someone approaches things.This is really too simple. In fact, I felt a little silly taking pictures of peeled carrots and my food processor, but I figured if someone, somewhere, might benefit, then it would be worth it.

Today carrots are on the menu! Yum! I only use organic produce for baby food in an effort to make sure Levi is eating as few chemicals/pesticides as possible.

Wash carrots well and peel

 Check on audience to make sure all is well

I use a regular old sauce pan. The only other ingredient I use, other than the carrots, is homemade, unsalted chicken stock ('recipe' in my last blog post!). Since I will be boiling the carrots, I would rather they be boiled in nutrient-rich chicken stock than plain ol' water (and yes, I realize my stock is cloudy. It is still perfectly good, I just let it get to a boil instead of keeping it below a simmer and it went all cloudy on me!)

Chop the carrots into equal sized pieces

Add carrots to stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of your carrot bits. You want the carrots to be very soft.

Strain your carrots over a bowl to save the stock. Honestly, using 1 qt. of stock, I barely had any left over. But what I did have I used to thin the carrots if they needed it, thus adding back any nutrients that 'escaped'! 

Next, I put the soft carrots into my plain, boring, run-of-the-mill food processor. I DO have pictures of this step, but Blogger seemed to not want to have my image displayed vertically, so I opted for no picture in lieu of a sideways food processor with orange puree inside.
 Puree until there are no chunks, adding stock if necessary, to thin

I tend to make my purees a little thicker as I would rather thin them on a meal-by-meal basis. Depending on the consistency of the puree, I do one of two things to store them. I either pour the puree into an ice cube tray (we bought a stainless steel one, like this, to avoid plastic), or, if it is thick enough, you can scoop the puree. I use a mini ice cream scoop- about 1" diameter, like this.

This picture also came out horizontal, but it is less obvious than a food processor!
Here are my neat little balls of carrot puree. I cover a small cutting board with foil, pop these in the freezer for an hour or so, and then put the individual balls into a gallon sized zip lock bag which I store in the freezer. I like the size of these because I can gague how much baby is eating this way. At 8 months, Levi eats about 4 'balls', 2 each of 2 different fruits/veg.

Eat up, baby!

~ Do you make your own baby food? Why or why not? 

~ Are there specific resources that helped you in your quest for baby nutrition?

~ Do you have any tips to make the process of keeping and storing baby food easier? 

I would love to hear about them!