Homemade Baby Food

I never looked at the ingredients that were in foods until after Harper was born. When Harper first started baby food at 5.5 months old she had been strictly breastfed before that and I didn't want her first food to be something that was processed and really didn't have much nutritional value. I stared doing some research and talked to some friends who felt the same way and decided rather than give her rice cereal I was going to start with avocado. Avocados are a food that is becoming more popular as a "first food", the nutrients and fats in them and closest to breast milk. 

After Harper had avacodo for a couple months I started to shop around for different baby foods and as I read the ingredients I couldn't believe how many foods that advertised as "organic" had so many other ingredients in them that I couldn't even pronounce. This is when I decided to just make my own for Harper. I found a great website that gave advice as to when you could introduce certain foods and also had different receips for your baby. (http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com) I didn't want to spend the money on a Baby Bullet so I used a handheld mixer. It was such easy cleanup, and so simple! 

I used one similar to this that my in-laws had, but I have seen them for less than $20 at t.j. Max and other stores. I would either steam or boil different fresh fruits and veggies, blend them with the mixer while it was warm and then spoon it into ice cube trays and cover with plastic wrap. After it was frozen I would remove the food chips and put them in labeled freezer zip locks. I could make so much food in bulk and it was SO much cheaper than buying already made baby food. When she was ready to eat something I would either take out the certain amount of frozen cubes and thaw them in the fridge or in a glass bowl in the microwave. When Harper was first starting out I also would mix in water or breast milk to water certain foods down that were too thick for her. Remember though when heating foods in the microwave, do not include any with breast milk as it should not be microwaved. I was loving making her food, knowing exactly what it was that she was ingesting. 

Once she got a little bit older I did find one brand of store bought baby food that we used when we went to the beach or somewhere where it was more difficult bringing her homemade food. Plum Organics baby food packets had no weird or added ingredients. Just whatever fruits or veggies it was supposed to be. 

Hope this was informative and has encouraged you to try making your own baby food. You will be surprised at how easy, fun and cheap it is!! Enjoy!