Feed your baby right with these wholesome baby food recipes

It might seem crazy to add the task of preparing your baby’s food into the mix, especially since pre-made foods are widely available in most stores. But, you might be surprised to know it can actually be quite easy to prepare your baby's foods at home and can save you time and money in the long haul.

There are two leading recommendations about when your baby will be ready for solids.  The first is waiting until after your baby is 6 months-of-age. This philosophy stems from the idea that babies should exclusively breastfeed or bottle feed until 6 months of age because of vitamin D deficiencies.  In theory, filling up on solid foods means filling up less on the milk or formula that has essential levels of vitamin D.

The second first foods philosophy is watching for signs of readiness.  Your baby might be showing signs of readiness if he or she:

1. Is able to hold head up
2. Sits up with (or without) assistance
3. Acts interested in food
4. Doubled birth weight

Once you've determined if your baby is ready, you will want to make sure you have all of the necessary supplies to introduce solid foods to him or her.  Some things you might consider having are:

1. Highchair
2. Bibs
3. Infant spoons narrow enough to get bites into a tiny mouth
4. Tools needed to make pureed foods, such as a blender, food processor, food mill, or specialized equipment
5. Food storage for leftover foods and bulk

This, ahem, shall we say masculine vegetable may look like a daunting daunting fortress to take down with only a kitchen knife, but don't let it's manly and solid exterior fool you.  It is no more difficult to cut into one of these bad boys than it is a watermelon. Easy peasy with the right knife (I am a fan of the Shun knives myself). There are two basic methods for preparing squash: roasting or steaming. Once you have the general know-how, you can apply these methods to virtually any fruit or vegetable. 

Roasting is a cooking method that brings out the natural sweetness in the produce. Adding oil and a dry heat source caramelizes some of the flesh and brings out flavors and nutrients that are absent in steamed and raw produce.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
3. Score the flesh into cubes (optional).
4. Brush flesh with oil.
5. Place halves on a baking sheet face down and bake for 25-30 minutes until fork tender.

Like roasting, once you have an understanding about what is needed to steam one fruit or vegetable, you will be able to apply that knowledge to any. Although there are fancy appliances out there made specifically for steaming, if you own a pot and a colander/strainer, or even a covered, microwave-safe dish, you can steam food without a problem. 

1. Cut squash in half and remove seeds.
2. Score flesh into cubes.
3. Place in a microwave safe dish with 2 tbsp of water.
4. Microwave on full power for 5-7 minutes until flesh is fork tender.
5. Once cooked, peel the skin away from the flesh
6. Puree flesh only using a blender, submersion blender,food processor, food mill, or other tool for pureeing food

Begin with cubed squash for this cooking method:
 

1. To cube the squash, peel the skin with a peeler or sharp kitchen knife.
2. Once peeled cut into 2 halves and seed.
3. Cut the remaining flesh into 1-inch cubes.
4. Place at least 2 cups of water in a pot and bring to a boil on your cooktop.
5. Take the squash cubes, sans seeds of course, and place in a steamer basket or metal strainer.
6. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, insert the basket of squash cubes, cover, and boil for 7-10 minutes, allowing the steam inside of the pot to make the flesh tender.
7. Puree once a soft consistency is achieved.

Pro Tip! It is possible to find pre-cut butternut squash cubes in most grocery stores nowadays.  While this step may compromise a little on cost and freshness, it will save you 10 minutes of prep work.

Peaches are a sweet, versatile ingredient for baby food. When in season, peaches are abundant, fresh, and delicious.  In the off-season, you can find them frozen or even canned. 

1. Peel the skin off of 1-2 medium-sized peaches
2. Slice the peaches and remove the seeds
3. Puree using your tool of choice (immersion blender, upright blender, food processor, masher, or baby food maker. Follow instructions that come with the tool).
4. Add water or juice as needed to thin the consistency of the peach puree.
5. Store puree in a clean airtight container in either the refridgerator or freezer. 

Pro tip! Ice cube trays are a great way to freeze and store pureed foods in perfect serving sizes. Once frozen, place "cubes" in an airtight bag or container.

For a take on the classic combination of peaches and cream:
 

1.  Blend one part peach puree with equal parts greek yogurt (plain or vanilla). 

Like peaches, blueberries have a season and buying them fresh during peak season is ideal.  I personally like to buy them in bulk from a big box store, like Costco, and freeze what my family cannot eat within a couple of days (we often have none leftover because they are just that beloved in my home). Its a great way for me to have a surplus of frozen berries at my disposal whenever the mood or season strikes, and also a way to ensure that none of the ripe juicy berries go to waste. It's a win-win!

The cell walls in the berries break down a little bit in the freezer from ice crystal giving microscopic punctures, however, that is no problem at when making a puree. This simply means that once thawed the berries will give up their water a bit because the skin is no longer perfectly taut like that of fresh berries.

1. Measure one cup of fresh or frozen and thawed blueberries
2. Place the blueberries in blender, food processor, baby food maker, or bowl if mashing or using an immersion blender.
3. Puree until smooth.
4. To remove the skins (optional) run the puree through a strainer or food mill.
5. Store in an airtight container in either the refrigerator or freezer.

1. Remove the stems and seeds from about 7-10 cherries and puree using your tool of choice (optional: steaming cherries first makes them softer and easier to work with)
2. Mix together cherry puree, about 2 tbsp of blueberry puree, and 1/4 cup greek or vanilla yogurt
3. Store in an airtight container in either the refrigerator or freezer

Pro tip! Adding yogurt to blueberries and other berries makes a delicious and nutritious smoothie for your baby.

1. Peel 1-2 bananas
2. Mash with a fork or food masher, or puree using the tool of your choice
3. Add liquid, such as water juice or milk as needed to thin the consistency

1. Peel the skin from  2-3 apples
2. Slice the apple and be sure to remove seeds
3. Cut slices into 1/2 inch cubes
4. Roast in a 425-degree oven for about 15 minutes or steam until tender
5. Puree cooked apple cubes to desired consistency

1. Peel 5-7 carrots
2. Chop into 1/4 rounds 
3. Roast carrot rounds in an oven preheated to 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or steam until tender
4. Puree cooked carrot rounds using your tool of choice to desired consistency

1. Place 2 whole sweet potatoes in a microwave safe dish with 2 tbsp water
2. Cover dish with lid and microwave for 7 minutes
3. Carefully remove potatoes from dish, split into halves, and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes
4. Scoop the flesh of the sweet potato from the skins
5. Puree the flesh using the tool of your choosing adding water, juice, or milk as need to thin the puree 

1. Take one cup of dark leafy greens, such as spinach, kale, mustard greens, or swiss chard and place in a microwave-safe dish
2. Add 2 tbsp of water over greens and cover with a lid
3. Microwave for 4 minutes
4. Dump the water from the dish and remove the greens from the dish and remove excess water using a strainer (optional)
5. Puree the greens using the tool of your choice
6. Store in an airtight container in either the refrigerator or freezer

1. Cook quinoa according to package instructions (usually a 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water)
2. Add 1-2 tsp water or milk to cooked quinoa
3. Puree using the tool of your choice
4. Mix with other fruit or vegetable purees using a ratio of approximately 1 part quinoa to 2 parts fruit or vegetable puree
5. Store in an airtight container in either the refrigerator or freezer.

1. Peel a ripe mango using a kitchen knife or Y peeler and
2. Cut mango flesh into 1/2 inch cubes ensuring the pit is removed
3. Puree the cubes using your tool of choice 
4. Combine equal parts mango puree, peach puree, and banana puree for sweet and delicious tropical flavors.

The combinations of flavors and textures available for homemade baby food are many.  The only limitations to the possible combinations that you can create are the season, equipment, time, and imagination.  Some fruits and vegetables can be pureed from raw form, others need to be roasted or steamed.  There are many methods and tools that can be used to create unique flavor combinations that your baby will love.  With a little creativity and know-how, making baby food at home can be a success.