Homemade Baby Food Stage 1: Carrot Puree

If you are new to making your own baby food take a look at Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started. For a complete list of baby food recipes, click here. Also, follow me on Pinterest for links to even more great baby food recipes.

Carrots are easy for your baby to digest and are loaded with nutrients like Vitamin A and Vitamin C. You can see a complete nutritional breakdown here. When purchasing carrots, do not buy baby carrots as they are washed in a solution that often contains chlorine.

Introduction Age: 6-8 Months *Check with your pediatrician about when to start your baby on solid foods

Materials Needed:

• Steaming Basket
• Appliance to Puree, such as food processor or food mill (I use the Food Network 3-Cup Mini Food Processor)
• Ice Cube Trays (Can be found at the dollar store) 

Carrot Puree:

1. Thoroughly wash and peel carrots.
2. Slice carrots into thin discs.
3. Fill pot with enough water to reach bottom of your steaming basket.
4. Bring water to a boil and reduce to simmering.
5. Fill steaming basket with carrot slices.
6. Steam until soft (approximately 10-15 minutes).
7. Puree in your choice of appliance.
8. Thin puree as needed with filtered water. Do not use cooking water to thin as nitrates can be released as your cook.

To Freeze:

Spoon carrot puree into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Place frozen cubes into Ziploc freezer bag or freezer safe container.

To Thaw:

Remove cube(s) from freezer and place in container in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Heat if desired and serve. Use thawed cubes within 24 hours or thawing. You may also thaw in microwave if you choose.

*Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when introducing new foods. Feed your child only 1 new food for a 4 day period to wait for any possible reaction.

Food Combinations:

Once your child has been introduced to several foods using the 4 day wait rule, you may begin trying different food combinations. Here are some foods that pair well with carrots:

• Apples
• Peaches
• Green Beans
• Peas
• Winter Squash
• Zucchini
• Sweet Potatoes
• Meats (Chicken, Beef, Pork)
• Brown Rice

*Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.

Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission

Paper Plate Crowns

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought I would plan some special crafts and activities for my girls to celebrate today. The girls got some new stamps and markers in their Valentine's basket, so they wanted to use them for a craft.

First up today, we made paper plate crowns. These are very simple to make.

Materials:

• Paper Plates
• Scissors
• Craft Materials: Markers, Crayons, Stamps, Stickers, Poms, etc

Instructions:

1. Fold paper plate in half.
2. Cut three diagonal cuts to make 4 equal triangles.
3. Open plate and cut along fold to finish triangles.
4. Have you child decorate. Fold triangles up to complete crown.

If you want to paint the crown, you can paint and let dry before you make your cuts. We used poms that I found at Dollar Tree on the tips of the triangles for "jewels".

What special activity are you doing for Valentine's Day?

Homemade Baby Food Stage 1: Squash Puree

If you are new to making baby food take a look at Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started.

Squash is a wonderful Stage 1 vegetable. Winter squash, like acorn or butternut, is high in vitamin A and calcium. There is a great resource here on the nutritional content.

Introduction Age: 4-6 month *Check with your pediatrician about when to start your baby on solid foods

Squash Puree:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
3. Put squash in baking pan face down. Add approximately 1 inch of water to pan.
4. Cook for 45-60 minutes or until you can easily pierce "meat" with a fork.
5. Cool squash and retain cooking liquid for thinning puree.
6. Scoop "meat" out of squash shell.
7. Puree in your choice of appliance*. Add reserved cooking liquid to make it the desired consistency (thin, but not runny).

To Freeze:

1. Spoon puree into ice cube trays.
2. Cover ice cube trays with plastic wrap and freeze overnight or until solid.
3. Pop out cubes and store in freezer safe plastic bags.

To Thaw:

Remove cube from freezer and place in container in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Heat if desired and serve. Use thawed cubes within 24 hours or thawing. You may also thaw in microwave if you choose.

*I use my Food Network 3-Cup Mini Food Processor . Since I like to use my mini food processor for the convenience of easy cleaning, I puree one half at a time.

Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when introducing new foods. Feed your child only 1 new food for a 4 day period to wait for any possible reaction.
Food Combinations:

Once your child has been introduced to several foods using the 4 day wait rule, you may begin trying different food combinations. Here are some foods that pair well with squash:

• Rice
• Apples
• Peaches
• Pears
• Carrots
• Meat (Beef, Chicken, Pork)

Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.

Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission

Homemade Baby Food Stage 1: Avocados

 

 

If you are new to making your own baby food take a look at Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started.

Avocados are a great Stage 1 food for your baby and they are always one of the first solid foods that I give to my children. Avocados are full of nutrients and good fats. The texture is smooth and the taste is mild. Making avocado puree is very simple.

Introduction Age: 4-6 month *Check with your pediatrician about when to start your baby on solid foods

Avocado Puree:

1. Cut avocado lengthwise and remove pit
2. Scoop out "meat" and put in bowl
3. Mash (I like to use a Pastry Blender, but you can also use a fork)
4. Serve or freeze

To Freeze:

Spoon avocado into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Place frozen cubes into Ziploc freezer bag or freezer safe container. Note: When freezing avocado, there will be some browning, this will not hurt the quality of the food, only the appearance.

To Thaw:

Remove cube from freezer and place in container in refrigerator for 12-24 hours. Heat if desired and serve. Use thawed cubes within 24 hours or thawing.

*Remember to use the 4 day wait rule when introducing new foods. Feed your child only 1 new food for a 4 day period to wait for any possible reaction.

Food Combinations:

Once your child has been introduced to several foods using the 4 day wait rule, you may begin trying different food combinations. Here are some foods that pair well with avocados:

• Apples (Applesauce)
• Bananas
• Peaches
• Pears

Nutritional Information:

Click here for the nutritional information and benefits of Avocados.

*Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.

Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission

Homemade Baby Food: How to Get Started

 



When I had my daughter, I made the decision to make my own baby food. It seemed like it was going to be a complicated process, but after a bit of trial and error I found that making baby food is really quite simple. Making your own baby food is also a great way to save money.

 

My son just turned six months and I am beginning to introduce solid foods. As I go along the process, I will be sharing my recipes with you. If you are contemplating making your own baby food, I hope that you will find this helpful.

 

Materials Needed:

• 2-3 Ice Cube Trays
• Food Processor or Food Mill
• Ziploc Bags or Freezer Safe Storage Containers

That is it, those are all the materials that you need to get started. Most of you probably have most if not all of these things in your home already. There are more expensive sets out there like the Baby Bullet Complete Baby Care System, but I have found the basics work just fine.

 

The dollar store usually carries ice cube trays. A food mill, like the Boon Mush Manual Baby Food Processor costs around $20 or your can opt for a mini food processor or a regular food processor for anywhere from $20-$100+. The total cost to get started can be as minimal as $25. You will easily save this much money within the first month of feeding your baby.

 

How to Make Baby Food:

1. Steam or Bake fruit/vegetable
2. Puree in food processor or food mill
3. Spoon into ice cube trays
4. Cool and cover with plastic wrap
5. Place in freezer
6. Once frozen, pop ice cubes out and put into freezer safe Ziploc bag or storage container (use within 3 months)
7. Take out cube 24 hours before using and thaw in refrigerator
8. Warm and serve

These are the basic steps for making any type of baby food. Some fruits and veggies have to be prepared differently (for example bananas and avocados don't need to be cooked and all you have to do is mash them with a fork), but for the most part you can follow these steps each time you make your baby food.

 

Average Savings:

 

The amount of money that you will save will vary depending on the type of food that you are making, but I will give you an example of the avocados that I made today.

 

Cost of Beech-nut Stage 1 2.5 ounce baby food jar = $0.59 (based on price at Fry's)

Cost per ounce = $0.24

 

Cost of Avocados = $0.25 ea (on sale) x 12 = $3.00

Total Ounces Made = 25

Cost per ounce = $0.12

 

Based on the cheapest brand of baby food found in the store, you would save $0.12 per ounce. At 6 months babies can eat up to 8 ounces of solid food between 2-3 meals per day (your child may eat significantly less than this to begin with). Based on the savings of $0.12 per ounce in the case of our avocados, you could save up to $0.96 per day.

 

The goal is to buy fruits in veggies when they are in season and on sale to maximize savings.

 

Click here for more baby recipes.

 

*Remember to check with your pediatrician regarding your baby's readiness to begin solid foods and discuss any foods that may have an allergy risk for your child.

 

Some of the links on this website are "affiliate links." This means that if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive a commission.