There have been a few baby food recalls in recent weeks that have prompted some new moms to consider making their own baby food from scratch for their little ones.
The idea of blending, pureeing, storing, thawing and making batches of baby food or toddler pouches can seem daunting, and time-consuming, but fortunately, in recent years, technology in the form of baby food blenders and scores of new books have cropped up to demystify and simplify the process.
Blender
To start, you may want to go out and get a blender with a puree function on it. I like the Magic Bullet for making smoothies and milkshakes for my little ones because it is easiest to clean. The company that makes it also sells a special version just for baby food making called Magic Bullet Baby Bullet Baby Care System which retails for $59.99 on Amazon but is sold in retail stores like Target, Walmart and the like.
Storage
Next, you’ll have to invest in tiny containers to store the foods you make. The Baby Bullet comes with its own containers and lids but you can also order storage containers. Sage Spoonfuls Big Batch Storage Set includes twelve 4 Ounce containers for about $20, enough for vegetable, desserts and other purees. They are freezer, dishwasher and microwave safe and durable portable jars with leak proof and easy to use screw on lids.
Recipes
Then comes the hard part: whipping up yummy recipes. Here are some books with tips, recipes and other suggestions.
ONE
The Amazing Make-Ahead Baby Food Book: Make 3 Months of Homemade Purees in 3 Hours ($17.88)
This popular hardback book will give you to tools and tips for making up to three months’ worth of healthy, homemade baby food in just three one-hour blocks of time. It has unique combos like Peachy Strawberry Salad, Coconutty Mango Lassi, Plum-Gingered Brocco-Quinoa, and Purple Papaya Flax Yogurt, blending in a rainbow of nutritious options while expanding your baby’s palate.
TWO
Real Baby Food: Easy, All-Natural Recipes for Your Baby and Toddler ($10.79)
The toughest part really is making the time but this book helps new moms create a routine that is easy, fast and flexible. The author starts with the building blocks of solid foods, and shares how to recognize food allergies, and easy ways to cook in bulk.
Recipes progress from single-ingredient purées to multi-flavor blends like Salmon, Kale, and Sweet Potato Smash; then move on to finger foods—Turkey Meatloaf Bites, Maple Graham Animals—and finally toddler meals and snacks. Most can be made ahead and frozen, many are easily adapted for grown-up tastes, and all include full nutritional information. Nice!
THREE
101 DIY Baby Food Pouches ($10.99) specializes in baby food pouches for older babies and toddlers. This book includes instructions for filling your own pouches for cheaper, healthier, and eco-friendly options for your little one.
Little Foodie: Baby Food Recipes for Babies and Toddlers with Taste ($13.59)
This book comes from a certified baby chef and blogger over at Baby FoodE, Michele Olivier. She offers over 100 food recipes, helpful FAQs and a comprehensive overview.
Baby food recipes include: Apple + Mint + Ricotta Purée / Fennel + Pea + Peach Purée / Pumpkin + Thyme Purée / Sesame Tofu Sticks + Peanut Sauce / Curried Egg Finger Sandwiches + Mango Chutney / Slow Cooker Chicken Tagine + Couscous / Sausage + Kale Over Creamy Polenta / DIY Toddler Sushi Bar, and more.
The Baby and Toddler Cookbook: Fresh, Homemade Foods for a Healthy Start ($15.68)
Packed with over 90 recipes and loads of nutritional information,The Baby & Toddler Cookbookmakes cooking healthy meals easy, even for busy parents. By setting aside only a few hours a week, you can make and store an array of nutritious foods to keep baby happy and fed. All along the way, this book will give you helpful hints, guidance, and plenty of recipes to ease your path to nutrition.
EIGHT
Top 100 Baby Purees ($10.52)
Like the other books, you’d learn to wean your baby who is transitioning to solid foods, discover food allergies and how to make 100 Baby Purees with information tricks on finding the hidden nutrition in everyday foods. Dr. Michel Cohen, New York pediatrician and author of The New Basics: A-to-Z Baby & Child Care for the Modern Parentopens the book with a forward.
NINE
Cooking for Baby: Wholesome, Homemade, Delicious Foods for 6 to 18 Months ($12.30)
This book is organized by age and has smart tips on prep and storage with added suggestions on transitioning as baby grows. From celebrated children’s-food author Lisa Barnes, Cooking for Baby is a fully illustrated, gorgeous, four-color book that takes parents through the basics of preparing nutritious, delicious (and easy!) meals for your child, from six to eighteen months.
TEN
The Pediatrician’s Guide to Feeding Babies and Toddlers: Practical Answers To Your Questions on Nutrition, Starting Solids, Allergies, Picky Eating, and More (For Parents, By Parents) ($12.30)
A team of doctors came up with this comprehensive manual for feeding your babies and toddlers during their first crucial yeas of life. With The Pediatrician’s Guide to Feeding Babies and Toddlers, you have the expertise of a team of pediatric medical and nutritional experts—who also happen to be parents—in a comprehensive manual that takes the guesswork out of feeding. This first-of-its-kind guide provides practical, easy-to-follow advice to help you navigate the nutrition issues, medical conditions, and parenting concerns that accompany feeding. With recipes, parenting stories, and recommendations based on the latest pediatric guidelines, this book will allow you to approach mealtime with confidence so you can spend more time enjoying your new family.
ELEVEN
201 Organic Baby Purees: The Freshest, Most Wholesome Food Your Baby Can Eat! ($10.25)
When you can have 100 recipes, why not 201?! This book has even more healthy recipes that are organic and blends classic combinations such as turkey, sweet potato, and corn; Superfoods like avocado, blueberries, and spinach; and Puree-based transition recipes including soups, biscuits, frozen desserts.
TWELVE
The Happy Family Organic Superfoods Cookbook For Baby & Toddler Hardcover ($14.54)
This book comes from the organic family-focused food company Happy Family Organics and Cricket Azima, founder and CEO of The Creative Kitchen. Inside, find more than 70 easy-to-prepare recipes made with all-natural ingredients. It includes recipes with ingredient vegetable and fruit purees, including Happy Family’s best-selling spinach, mango & pear recipe, to recipes with quinoa, chia, and kale —Shazi’s and Cricket’s superfood recipes will nourish and please every kind of baby. Recipes for toddlers (1–3 years) include avocado & chicken whole wheat pizza; 3 bean farro risotto; and baked salmon with peas & rice balls; toddlers will love tasty snacks like strawberry-beet pudding with coconut milk and chia; avocado, melon & mint smoothies; banana, chocolate chip & quinoa muffins; and grilled nut-butter sandwiches with smashed berries.
Good luck!
Jarred baby food recalls would scare you into making your own baby food, but then again, a lot of new moms are stopped in their tracks over the fear of the time it could take to pull it off. Also, the mess!
Thankfully, time and innovation have made it so that brands and manufacturers have perfected the process by releasing efficient, easy-to-clean appliances to make it happen! Woot!
Gourmia 8-in-1 Baby Food Processor is such an amazing product!
Gourmia is an established and well-respected cooking appliance manufacturer that designs products for cooks who want to make easy, healthy and delicious meals every week, not only on special occasions and holidays like pressure cookers, immersion blenders, air fryers and more. Recently, it got into the baby food processing business and launched a series or products, starting with a 5-in-1 processor which is has updated to add even more functionality so it is now an 8-in-1 appliance.
To be honest, I am truly amazed at the innovation that sprouts out from baby manufacturers and new mom products makers annually.
The Baby and Toy Show is coming up in NYC and I cannot wait to check out all that’s new and in store.
Now, for this product, I am aware of bottle sterilizers and baby food processors for those who make their own baby food but didn’t know there was a product that combines BOTH processes in one device!
The Gourmia Jr. 8-in-1 is a durable comprehensive baby system for baby prep food needs, baby food making and steamer.
Gourmia steams, warms, sanitizes, defrosts, reheats, purees, blends and processes food. it uses a QuikSteam and BabySafe technologies to make portions come out perfectly.
I put it together pretty easily out of the box. I struggled a bit to twist off the top which was on very firmly. I was almost frustrated but kept at it.
Then I assembled the steam baskets intuitively without even consulting the manual. I do recommend going through the steps in the quick start guide to make sure you do everything right.
Then I blended some carrots and apples for a nice puree for my soup I will make later. It was the texture of homemade baby food.
I added green powder mix and kombucha and juiced a nutritious drink for mom to get me through the day.
When you’re done, you can pour the leftovers or excess into one of two freezer bags that comes with the unit and store it. Mark what’s inside and the date before placing it in the freezer or fridge.
Gourmia 8-in-1 is also a steamer. It is very important when you have a new baby that you sterilize his bottles, nipples and bottle caps, pacifiers, teething rings and toys to keep them virus free and healthy.
You can use this processor for that dual purpose. And for moms who are breastfeeding, you can also drop in breast pump parts in there for steam cleaning as well. LOVE!
I also used the steamer to steam veggies for my soup and it took 20 minutes to do it while I worked.
What makes Gourmia 8-in-1 processor work is that it is truly multi-functional in every way and is perfect for a busy mom with little time is that you can actually process not one but TREE different textured foods at the same time (up to 1000 ml).
I like the large touch screen pad on the face of the processor. To make it super easy to use, each function has a tiny picture as well as the words for the process. I was able to punch it with my knuckles with my hands messy with food
For frozen foods, the “quicksteam” function defrosts before the food cooks. I am not aware of any other baby food processor that does this.
It makes 250ml servings but the cup can hold about 750ml on water.
The tiered basket make it super easy to clean in between uses. It also has an easy removable basket so you can quickly and easily clean the shavings from the processing.
The only con is that it is a bit loud but not louder than any other food processor, blender or other electronic device in my kitchen.
Overall, I really likes the system and highly recommend it for moms on the go because it can do so much and is super easy to use and clean!
As concerns about genetically modified produce and dangerous farming practices escalate, and controversy surrounding Monsanto become more common, the number of parents committed to – or at least considering the practice of – making their own baby food is also on the rise. There are also parents who would love to provide their baby with organically grown, preservative- and additive-free foods, but are under the misconception that the process is a long and laborious one. In fact, making baby food from locally or organically grown fruits and vegetables is surprisingly simple.
The Price Factor
Any parent who’s seen the expensive systems advertised for making and storing baby food at home could easily be fooled into thinking that the process is not only a difficult or time-consuming one, but also an incredibly pricey option. The truth is, those systems are only more convenient than the tools you already have in your kitchen, if that, and they are by no means necessary to create fresh, nutritious food of verifiable origins for your bundle of joy. With nothing more than a pot, a knife, a cutting board, fresh produce, and a blender, you can be on the path to becoming an in-demand chef for the smaller set. Because saving money by making healthful food for your baby rather than paying more for processed jarred food is one of the many selling points of taking on the task, spending a small fortune on an entire system with all the bells and whistles is unnecessary.
Storage
Buying a fully-stocked homemade baby food system brings a set of storage containers to the party, but there are several storage options at your disposal that will work just as well in conjunction with the blender you already have. Rather than purchasing a space-hogging, pricey system, take advantage of the variety of storage solutions available to you for a fraction of the cost.
For frozen foods, simply prepare an item in accordance with your chosen recipe, and allow it to cool. Spoon the pureed food into ice cube trays and freeze them until they’re solid, then pop the cubes out and into carefully labeled freezer bags. Foods can then be defrosted in just the amount you need, eliminating waste and allowing you to make food in large batches when you have free time, rather than scrambling to make baby food every day. Small storage bowls are widely and readily available in the market today, and are also suitable for baby food storage. Just be sure that any plastic containers you purchase are BPA free in order to avoid any potential health risks.
Tips for Making the Most Out of Your Blender
Because small batches of food tend to be pushed to the sides of a blender carafe and missed by the blades, your blender is most effective as a method of pureeing baby food when you’re working with a fairly substantial amount of food. This small drawback is eliminated, however, by setting aside an afternoon to make and freeze enough food for a few weeks. Properly stored in airtight freezer containers, your baby food will have a shelf life of up to three months.
Blenders are also great at liquefying solid foods, which means that it’s important to keep a close eye on food that’s being pureed in a blender, lest it become a very thin soup. Always use the pulse button for maximum control over the texture and consistency of the food; using even a low continuous setting could turn your perfectly prepared produce into something more akin to a juice if you’re distracted from the running blender for a moment. With children in the house, there’s constant potential for distraction, so use the pulse button and watch carefully. Remember to scrape down the sides of the blender carafe regularly as well to ensure a uniform texture with few lumps.
Immersion or Stick Blenders
Parents that are lucky enough to have an immersion or stick blender in their kitchen are in an even better position to make their own baby food with less hassle. Rather than transferring cooked food to a blender carafe to puree and then moving it to containers for storage, food can be blended in the cooking vessel and dished straight into storage containers for easy clean-up. Just be sure to avoid scraping the sides or bottom of a non-stick pot with an immersion blender that doesn’t feature housing or guards to prevent flakes of Teflon from ending up in your baby’s carefully prepared, all-natural organic baby food.
