By the time my sweetest was 6 months old, she was r-e-a-d-y for some solids. She was chowing down 8-10 ounces in her bottles. We did the usual and started her on whole grain cereal at first and quickly moved to veggies.
Several of my gal pals were making their own baby food, even grains for cereal. But being a first time mom who had more of the deer-in-the-headlights look, I decided to take baby steps (pun totally intended).
After scanning the options for blenders and baby food gadgets, we purchased the Baby Bullet. And here ya go, ladies, the first negative review! Okay, well, not totally negative. It works just fine, except the bigger batch container. I found that it did not puree/blend as thoroughly as I needed it. So, I was forced to do smaller portions, which takes more time. As I struggled some with the Bullet, I did covet the Beaba Babycook, which a few of my friends had (who raved about it, I might add). However–fancy baby food maker or not–the reality is this: Your handy dandy, good ol’ kitchen food processor will work great. And if in the future, when I’m whipping up yummies for a wee one, I will likely use our food processor. Just as easy to clean and many more blending/whipping/puree options and control. The hubs even bought a smaller one for smaller, quicker kitchen prep. I vote it’s perfect for baby food making!
Once I got started, I realized the whole make-your-own-baby-food craze was fantastic and easy. I wouldn’t lie to ya. It’s easy.
At first, say months 6 and 7, I steamed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, apples, pears, etc. Then would put small portions into the Bullet. Because I wanted it more soupy, I would add water; but as her palette grew, I left out the water or only added a smidge. Because one veggie or fruit usually makes MANY servings, I would leave two or three containers (per our schedule the next day or two) in the fridge and put the rest in the freezer. The Bullet came with serving-sized, individual containers that could be placed in the freezer, but I also bought extra Target-brand containers. Honestly, you can use ice trays or any other container. There’s no magic in what container/storage you use. On average, I made baby food for about 1 hour (at most) every 2-3 weeks.
As my cutest got older, say 9-10 months, and had improved in eating more texture/consistencies, I started blending combinations and including more spices. For instance, if we had roast for dinner, I’d take the leftover potatoes and carrots, a few mushy onions/mushrooms/peppers, and blend it together.
For me, the goal, from the first time I gave Anna solid food, was to work towards her eating a healthy, varied diet and to be a participant at meal time with the family. So turning what my hubs and I ate into foods she could enjoy was a big part of that for me. As my confidence grew with baby food making, I became more willing and interested to try different foods. I often caught myself thinking, I wonder how this will puree . . . .
A great website and source for feeding baby healthy, natural, straight-from-your-kitchen food is Wholesome Baby Food. I used it over and over as a recipe go to. It’s also a great source when considering allergies and other food-related topics.
So enjoy cooking – your wee one will enjoy it too!
People really don’t realize how EASY it is to adapt our “big people food” to little guys. I always encourage mom friends who are starting out to adapt their food to their kids (mushing whatever you are eating) as soon as possible. It gets kids eating normal foods (which is SO much easier on everyone) faster and makes the transition for both easier. Kids learn to eat what the family does and Moms learn to cook meals that are good for the whole family.
For my first baby,, I used my good ol’ food processor to make large batches of baby food, which was awesome! Then when my second little guy came along, my mom got a wild hair and sent me a Baby Bullet. Sorry, I think those things are pretty worthless! Even for small amounts of food we had to add a lot of liquid or fear burning out the motor. I always tell pregnant/new moms to save their money and buy a decent food processor instead. Then they can use it after their little ones graduate to regular foods.
[…] Before having children, my husband and I always discussed how we would like to pass down healthy eating habits to our children, but after having our first child, this evolved into something more than either one of us ever imagined. I never thought I would be that “crunchy” mom, but somehow, I became that crunchy mom. Here is our story on how we got started on eating organic and homemade foods. […]