Making Organic Baby Food

Making Organic Baby Food - A Simple How-To

Making organic baby food is often just as simple as 'mashing' foods into a smooth consistency to be eaten by an infant.

Homemade baby food can be made from the same organic ingredients you feed the rest of your family and it gives you the ability to introduce your little one to many more types of food.

But,before you feed your baby solid foods, make sure you talk to your doctor about when and what foods to start your baby on (often mashed bananas are one of the first foods to give to your baby).

Before you get started making organic baby food at home, there are a few basic tools you will need to have on hand:

• A steamer and roasting pan will come in handy for softening fruits and vegetables
• A hand grinder (best used for meats), food processor, blender, or even a potato masher can be used to make the organic baby food
• A cookie sheet and wax paper will come in handy if you plan to make your own infant cereal
• A cutting board, paring knife, and grater will also be useful in the preparation process
• An ice cube tray is ideal for freezing small portions of homemade organic baby food. Freezer bags, small freezer containers, or clean baby food jars can also be used for storing
• You will need freezer tape and a fine tip pen to label and date the baby food in the freezer

Once you have all your supplies, you can plan your baby's meals and go shopping.

Begin with simple cereals made of toasted grains (do be cautious about introducing wheat too earlier - it can lead to allergies) and then start introducing fruits and vegetables to your baby.

Select fresh, organic ingredients, but beware of possible nitrates in organic root vegetables like carrots. Nitrates can be harmful to infants under 6 months old.

Bananas, peaches, apricots, apples, cantaloupes, and even more exotic fruits like mangoes, are excellent first fruits for your homemade organic baby food, while vegetables like squash, green peas, beets, and asparagus tips are possible choices as well.

Once your baby has tried a variety of single fruits and vegetables (and you've assessed how well your baby tolerates the foods you are introducing), you can start making organic baby food with a combination of ingredients to expand her/his sense of taste.

How to Make Organic Baby Food

Making organic baby food at home is not really a complicated procedure. Start with quality fresh ingredients. Scrub the fruits and vegetables before peeling, cutting, and preparing them.

Organic baby food recipes are best when made in small amounts, with fresh fruits and vegetables. Left-overs can be stored in the fridge for 24 hours or frozen. Fruits often simply need to be chopped and mashed. Vegetables often have to be cooked first. Steaming is the best way of preserving the nutrients in food.

Once the ingredients are softened, mash, puree, or grind the food into a smooth, almost soupy consistency, adding water, formula, or breast milk as needed. Remember to strain mashed fruits to avoid seeds.

As your baby gets older, making organic baby food can be as simple as mashing a small amount of the family dinner with a hand grinder. The texture of the baby food can be less smooth as your baby grows as well.

Salt, pepper, sugar and other seasonings are not necessary and generally not recommended but, as your baby grows older, herbs can add variety to your homemade baby food and provide a tastier food.

As a parent, you want only the best for your child. Homemade baby food from organic products can give your baby the healthy start in life that you hope for, with plenty of essential vitamins and nutrients that promise a strong immune system and proper growth.

Organic baby foods can be frozen (I used to freeze some of the fruits and vegetables in ice cube trays and then wrap them tightly) and stored in the freezer for up to one month (they can last longer but lose some flavour and nutrition).

Freezing the organic baby food in ice cube size allowed me to have my baby's food ready quickly - I would take out the frozen food cubes in the morning before I left for work and they would be defrosted naturally by the time I got home from work. A little pre-planning can make for nutritious and tasty baby meals.

Making organic baby food is inexpensive, relatively easy, and the healthiest, as well as safest, choice for your baby's mealtimes.

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