When it comes to healthy eating, people are taking an interest like never before. It’s more than just choosing healthy foods; it’s about knowing what’s in your food, where the ingredients are sourced from, the quality of the ingredients, and more. This is exactly why so many parents are choosing homemade baby food over premade and prepackaged options.
For those who have wanted to try making baby food for their little one, but aren’t sure where to get started this guide is for you. We’ll take a look at the best tips and tricks for making healthy and nutritious baby food.
Invest In High Quality Appliances
Before you start diving into recipes and various food combinations, you will need to have the right tools on hand. Homemade baby food is quick and simple provided you have a strong immersion blender, blender, or food processor. It needs to have enough power to puree items creating a thin smooth consistency.
Some of the other items that will be handy when making baby food are:
- A couple of ice cube trays
- Steamer basket
- Baby food containers or storage jars
- Freezer bags
- Labels you can write on
- Child friendly dishes and utensils (based on their age)
- Plenty of bibs to help prevent messes
Recipes are Readily Available to Inspire You
Now that you have the right tools, it's smart to pick some beginner-friendly recipes. Just make sure to pick ones that are age-appropriate, as the ingredients, steps and consistency will change as your baby gets older and more adept at eating.
There are a variety of fabulous homemade baby food recipe books you can purchase, or you can search online. Stage one recipes will be extremely thin and usually contain just one ingredient that is turned into a puree. Stage two starts to get a little thicker and can include multiple ingredients, so you can use a bit more creativity in this stage.
Make a Large Batch at a Time
This may sound like a simple tip, but it’s something that can save you a lot of time and effort. If you don’t want to be stuck making fresh baby food daily, then you can make a large batch at a time and freeze portions. The most popular way to do this is to measure out baby food into ice cube trays and then freeze them. You can take out food cubes out the night before and let them defrost in the fridge.
Another storage tip is to remove the cubes once frozen, and put them in freezer bags. Be sure to write the date on the freezer bag and the ingredients of the cube. At any given point you can have several of these bags in the freezer so your little one can enjoy a variety of flavours.
How to Ensure the Nutrients Remain?
A question you may have is what the best way of preparing food is that ensures the nutrients remain? Because you need to cook items until they are very tender and easy to blend, steaming is perfect. Any time possible, steam the food so that the minerals and vitamins are intact.
Keep Notes on Food Likes and Dislikes
Because you don’t want to spend all your free time making baby food, it’s a good idea to start keeping track of your baby’s likes and dislikes, any reactions to particular ingredients, and what you have tried. This allows you to better customise the creations.
Remember, just because your baby may not be a fan of a new flavour doesn’t mean it will remain that way. You can always take it out of the rotation for now, and then try it again later on. Perhaps mix it with a different ingredient to mask the taste, or make it more flavourful.
Teething Biscuits are Easy to Make and Can Prove Essential
Also worth mentioning is that you can make teething snacks and biscuits at home. Again, this gives you full control over the ingredients and it can be a more economical choice instead of stocking up on the store bought version. Teething biscuits tend to only have a few ingredients, and you can then add extra flavour and ingredients from there.
For a basic teething biscuit that even picky babies should enjoy, all you need is three ingredients - quick cooking or old fashioned oats, coconut oil, and ripe bananas. Extra flavours can include things such as cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg.
Teething biscuits can be a wonderful option, but don't forget teething rings and rattles are also fantastic during this stage. Just look for ones that are soft and safe for babies to chew on.
Feeling Good About the Food You Give Your Baby
These tips and tricks will make it possible for you to make baby food at home, giving you greater control over the ingredients they consume.
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