If you make your own baby food....

If you make your own baby food, can you offer some advice on how to start?! I'm contemplating making my own food for my twins but I am clueless on how to get started. Do I need something like the baby bullet? Where do I find recipes? Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Re: If you make your own baby food....

http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great resource.

Honestly I just used my regular bullet. I didn't make all of their food, it was too much for me to deal with having twins.

If you make your own baby food....

I make most everything for my boys. Steam on the stove and purée in my food processor. I freeze a portion and some goes in the fridge. I make food for them every 2 weeks. Now making large pots of soups with veggies and chicken or fish and love it all. I use some recipes from Annabel Karmel and make up my own depending what produce and fruit I have on hand.

If you make your own baby food....

Don't get the baby bullet. The motor on mine burned out pretty quickly. Just steam fruits/veggies and put in the food processor. Couldn't be easier! CHeck out the website pp cited for ages baby should be for certain foods.

Re: If you make your own baby food....

Like PP said, I used wholesomebabyfood the first time around.

With the twins, I pretty much knew how to make everything already. It was so easy!


Honestly, I work FT and have a toddler and twins and I didn't feel that it took much time at all. I usually did 1-1.5 hours each weekend and that gave me enough for for at least 1 week.

I did purees from 6 months - 9.5 months, so it's really only a few months of that anyway!

I use the steamer part of my rice-cooker, stovetop for applesauce/pearsauce, and then oven to bake things. I pureed in my food processor.

Typicals in our house were:

Green beans - steamed, pureed
broccoli - steamed, pureed
apples - peeled, cored & quartered. cover with water in a pot and add some vanilla & cinnamon. boil 10 minutes then puree. I did the same with pears and I'd add some pear or apple to all of my green veggies.
carrots - steam, puree
sweet potatoes - bake, puree
squash (butternut, acorn, etc) - bake, puree
plums - bake, puree
banana - mash
avocado - mash
papaya, kiwi, soft fruits - just puree

Re: If you make your own baby food....

i got recipe books but only used them for a few things. to start, just take your basic fruits and put them in a blender. I had the baby bullet but you can use any blender. Just start with your basic fruits or veggeis - LO firsts was banana, pears, strawberrys ... start by blending them alone, then add water/breast milk/formula to get the consistency you're looking for. then you can start mixing them up (ex. strawberry banana). you can do the same with veggies - i have a tupperware steamer that i would steam veggies, or you can boil them before you put them in the blender. and do the same with the water/formula/breast milk for consistency. Eventually you realize you can take wate you're making for dinner and put a little bit in the blender. DH likes meatballs so i ended up making them and just putting a couple in the blender a lot and freezing some.

Re: If you make your own baby food....

oh and wholesomebabyfood.com is a great site!

Re: If you make your own baby food....

I just started last night.

I did one food at a time. I steamed and mixed the fruits first and then went on to the veggies and did chicken last. I came up with a bunch of different combos. I wrote the mixtures on a piece of tape and put it on each container so I knew what was in it when the time came.

It took me about 3 hours to make about 3 weeks of food. It was a lot of work, but I feel good that I am doing this for DS.

ETA: I have the baby bullet and baby steamer. IMO, its a waste of money. As a PP mentioned, the baby bullet burns out quickly. Mine didnt yesterday, but I could smell that it was getting overheated, so I had to stop. The steamer is ridiculously small. I had cut 3 apples into wedges, and had to steam them two seperate times because they all wouldnt fit at once.

Message edited 2/25/2013 12:05:08 PM.

Re: If you make your own baby food....

I made all my twins food when they were babies and i am making my 6 month olds food right now. Honestly, i used a blender to make the twins' food. I had one of those baby food making machines, but I thought the blender i was able to make more food for the twins. I got these little storage containers from BRU to freeze what i made. Now for my son, i just use a tiny little food processor i got a long time ago. You can find recipes online or get a baby making food book. In the beginning when we were just starting out new foods, i would just boil the veggie or fruit until it was super soft and blend it using a little bit of the water i boiled it in to make it smooth.

If you make your own baby food....

Definitely go to wholesomebabyfood.com. I didn't buy anything special. A steamer basket, blender and/or food processor, and ice cube trays are all you need.

If you make your own baby food....

Just use whatever food processor you own. Fruits and most veggies I baked, green veggies I steamed. Just add food and purée. Add water for desired consistency.

Freeze in ice cube trays then transfer to freezer bags. Easy peasy.