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Those tiny jars of baby food you buy at the grocery store are expensive, and the food loses precious vitamins and minerals in the canning process. You can make baby food in bulk at home, saving money and giving your baby a nutritional edge.
Most parents opt for store-bought baby food primarily because of the convenience. The food is already cooked, pureed, and ready to eat. However, by spending 20 or 30 minutes in the kitchen, you can make a week’s worth of baby food, ready to pull out of the refrigerator or freezer at a moment’s notice.
For vegetables, such as beets, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, and potatoes, peel and slice the vegetables small enough that they’ll cook quickly. Steam them over boiling water or cook in the microwave with a small amount of water. When the vegetables are tender, puree them in a blender or food processor. You may need to add water to get the food to the right consistency.
For fruit, such as apples, peaches, pears, plums, and apricots, wash well and remove the skin. Then steam for 15-20 minutes. Cool and remove the pits. Then, like the vegetables, puree the fruit, adding water if necessary.
An easy way to store the food is to freeze it in ice cube trays. After it’s frozen, take each cube of food and store it in a sandwich bag in the freezer. After each meal, take out your baby’s next meal so it can be defrosted when you need it.
Don’t add sugar, salt, or fat to your baby’s food, even if you personally can’t stand peas without butter and salt. Your baby’s taste buds are not yet biased, so you might as well take advantage of this non-picky episode in your child’s life.
When your child’s doctor approves milk-based dairy products, try plain yogurt and cottage cheese. The calcium in these foods will strengthen your baby’s growing bones and new teeth.
As your baby gets older, experiment with the food the rest of your family eats. If you’re having beef stew for dinner, remove the beef from your baby’s portion and mash the vegetables with a fork or put it in the blender. The toddler foods sold in the baby food aisle at the supermarket are grossly overpriced and many contain unnecessary fats and sodium.
Cooked or canned legumes make great finger foods for babies who are developing their pincer grips. Make sure the beans are soft enough to be smashed with your baby’s gums, though, so he doesn’t swallow one whole.
Homemade baby foods travel as well as commercially produced baby foods, provided you have a way to keep them cool until baby eats. If your diaper bag contains an insulated bottle pouch, fit the baby food in beside the bottle.
Be careful if you defrost homemade frozen baby food in the microwave. If you use full power, “hot spots” may develop in the food, burning baby’s tongue. Remember that baby’s don’t have a predisposed preference to heated food as we do, so you can feed pureed green beans to her at room temperature.
The small effort required to make homemade baby food will pay off in your child’s upgraded nutrition. What you feed your baby now will result in eating habits that last a lifetime.
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