How to Make Your Own Baby Food

Commercial baby food is expensive. It is also loaded with fillers, such as water, and cooked until most of the nutrients are gone. Not only that, but with all the recent scares involving baby food recalls, it can be a bit scary to feed your baby commercial baby food. Here are some tips on how to avoid commercial baby food while ensuring that your child is getting the proper nutrition.

Cereal

Rice cereal is often chosen as the first stepping stone to baby food, but it's really not necessary. It is full of carbohydrates and empty calories, and has little flavor. Some studies suggest that starting a baby on cereal instead of going straight to more flavorful baby food can result in a preference for bland, carb-rich foods later in life. Commercial baby cereals are also fortified with iron. This seems like a good thing, but the iron in baby cereal is not readily absorbed by the baby's system and therefore will sit in her intestines and cause constipation and other digestive problems.

If you do want to give rice cereal but don't want to buy a commercial brand, you can make your own. Simply purchase whole-grain rice, barley, millet, or oats and use a blender or food processor to grind the grains into a fine powder. You will need to cook homemade cereal with water for 10 to 15 minutes and then allow to cool before giving to baby. You can find more specific cereal recipes at www.wholesomebabyfood.com. The cereal you make at home will take a little more effort, but since it won't have the added iron, it will be much easier on baby's digestive tract.

Soft fruits

Bananas and ripe avocados make great baby foods. They require no cooking, and are soft enough to simply mash with a fork and feed to baby. If you want the same liquid consistency as commercial baby food, simply toss the banana or avocado into a blender along with a little bit of breastmilk, water, or formula. Babies who are used to eating solid foods should be able to eat these fruits mashed without added liquid.

Other fruits and vegetables

Some fruits, such as apples, and vegetables, such as squash and carrots, will require some cooking before giving to baby. Steaming is preferable to boiling, because boiling will remove many of the nutrients from the baby food. Place fruits in a steamer basket suspended over one or two inches of lightly boiling water, and cover tightly. Make sure that the water is not touching the food. Steam until the fruit or vegetable is very soft, preferably soft enough to mash it between your fingers. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking process, and then mash with a fork or puree with water, breastmilk, or formula.

Finger foods

Some babies are very interested in doing things by themselves, and will delight in learning to feed themselves. Every baby can benefit from this experience - the different textures of various foods are a wonderful learning tool, and self-feeding gives their hand-eye coordination a good workout. Under careful supervision, most babies are capable of feeding themselves various finger foods. Banana or avocado can be cut into small chunks and given to baby. Make sure the chunks are small enough that she can't choke on them. Grapes can be peeled and cut into pieces as well. Steamed carrots can be sliced, or you can give your baby whole steamed baby carrots. Small chunks of potato (peeled and steamed) can also be a good choice, as well as steamed peas.

If you give your baby finger foods, make sure that the food is soft enough to be easily mashed between your fingers. Some foods such as Cheerios are not soft, but easily dissolve in the mouth, so they are acceptable. This is especially important for babies who don't yet have teeth.

Foods to avoid

Certain foods carry a high risk of allergy or disease, and as such should be avoided until baby is one year old. These include peanuts and any tree nuts, wheat, dairy (except yogurt and cheese), citrus and acidic fruits and vegetables (including tomatoes), honey, egg whites, strawberries, corn, shellfish, and chocolate. If your family has a history of any food allergies, you can lower the risk of your baby developing these same allergies by not introducing those foods until baby is at least three years old.

Remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends waiting until baby is at least 6 months old before offering any kind of solid foods, including cereal. Never put cereal or any kind of puree in a bottle, as this creates a choking hazard. No matter how old your baby is, never leave a baby unattended while eating.