• About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Mother's Niche

Enjoying the Ride

MENUMENU
  • Parenting
    • PARENTING TIPS

    • PREGNANCY & CHILD BIRTH

      5 Things to Know for Your First Month with a Newborn
    • CREATIVE IDEAS & PRINTABLES

    • THE HARD DAYS

    • HEALTH

  • Marriage
    • 30 DAYS TO A BETTER SPOUSE

    • MARRIAGE TIPS

    • HUSBAND BIRTHDAY IDEAS

  • Crafts/DIY
    • Beauty

    • Gift Ideas

    • Home Hacks

  • Travel
    • DISNEY & SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

    • FLORIDA

    • FLORIDA KEYS

    • HAWAII

    • TRAVEL WITH KIDS

  • Kid's Stuff
    • Busy Bag Ideas
    • Sensory Activity
    • Kid's Printables
    • Quiet Books
    • Summer Fun
    • Party Ideas
  • Home Organization
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
You are here: Home / Inspiration / Parenting / Health and Well-being / Homemade Baby Food Recipes & Tips

March 30, 2013 By Tina M 5 Comments This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

Homemade Baby Food Recipes & Tips

After baby #1 I decided I need to do things differently when it comes to baby food.  I didn’t know a whole lot about making homemade baby food (or how cheap and easy it is), and resorted to buying the baby food pouches at the store.  The baby food pouches cost more than the jars, but I loved them because my baby seemed to eat everything that came in them!  When I found out reusable baby food pouches were available on the market, I got really excited to try making homemade baby food!

homemade baby food recipes

All About Homemade Baby Food

Little one (16-months) mostly eats what we eat for meals, but we are on the road a lot so I wanted to make some homemade baby food to put in pouches for when we are in the car.  I was super excited to try out the Fresh Foods Cook-n-Blend Baby Food maker as it made my preparations super simple (it also has amazing reviews on Amazon)!  I like that it steams, mashes, purees and defrosts all in one machine.  There are two blend levels depending on the age of your baby and whether you want the baby food to have a smooth or chunky texture.  I tried a veggie-apple mix first, and then an fruit/oatmeal mixture.  The biggest preparation I had was to cut up my fruits/veggies and then press the steam button.  The baby food maker comes with a recipe book that also has a “cook time chart” for all the different fruits and vegetables so you know how long to steam them.


At home with the kids? Instantly access any of these printable activity bundles to keep them learning!


**UPDATE: The Fresh Foods Baby Food Maker is discontinued. A good alternative is the Magic Bullet Baby  (cheaper but does not steam food) or the BEABA Baby Food Maker (very similar to the Fresh Foods, and highly rated).

photo 1 (15)I like that it has two separate baskets to cook your baby food in, so that if you are cooking vegetables with different cooking times, you can separate them.  Genius!

homemade baby food

Apple and Veggie baby food blend

homemade baby food

homemade baby food

homemade baby food

Why it’s beneficial to have a Baby Food Maker:

  • Makes  the process of making baby food super simple
  • Small Appliance-doesn’t take up too much space
  • It’s so much healthier to steam your own baby food than to buy it in the jars at the store!
  • Can make up to 4 meals in a short steam session
  • There is an up-front cost to buy it, but it’s still much more cost-effective than buying baby food
  • Easy to wash
  • Multiple texture options, double steamer basket, and dishwasher safe

homemade baby food maker

 

Next thing on my list is to get the Infantino Squeeze station. My sister LOVES hers and I was jealous of all her neatly filled and dated food pouches. Here’s how it works:

Homemade Baby Food Storage Tips:

homemade baby food storage

  • Frozen: There are a variety of opinions about  how long frozen baby food keeps in the freezer, but most say to use it before 3 months time.  The reason it does not last as long as regular frozen fruits and vegetables is because the food is not frozen in its original form (it has been cooked).
  • refrigerated:  Up to 48 hours
  • Glass Jars:  If you would rather freeze your baby food in glass jars, make sure and buy ones especially for freezer use (do not use empty Gerber or other baby food jars as they are not made for freezing).
  • Extra Tip:  You can freeze fruits and vegetables, use them in homemade baby food recipes, and then re-freeze the baby food that you have made.  You should not however, use frozen fruits and vegetables that have been cooked, and then freeze them again.  In other words, once something has been cooked, it should only be frozen once.

You can then use reusable pouches, or get the Infantino pouches to go with the Infantino Squeeze Station.

homemade baby food reuseable pouch

Homemade Baby Food Recipes:

homemade baby food recipes

Sweet Potato 

This is my daughter’s favorite and is the most simple.  If you have the baby food maker all you have to do is chop up the sweet potato and press the steam button!  If you don’t, wash your sweet potato, poke it several times with a fork and put it in the oven (375°)  for about 45 min-to and hour depending on the size of the sweet potato.  Peel of the skin and mash it up with a fork.  Easiest baby food around!

Apple-Banana-Blueberry-Oatmeal

This one is a fun breakfast blend.  I steam one one apple with about 1/4 cup water and then blend with 1/4 cup blueberries, 1 banana, and some baby oatmeal.

Banana-Avacado

This is another very simple recipe: Peel both the banana and the avocado and mash them together.

Here are a couple of recipes from the Fresh Food’s Baby Maker:

homemade baby food recipes

babyfoodpotao

Find more baby food recipes here:

Annabel Karmel’s recipes

Weelicioius has TONS of recipes and videos for making homemade baby food!

What are your baby’s Favorite Baby Food Blends?

  • Bio
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Latest Posts
Tina M

Tina M

I'm six-foot tall mother of three and I'm enjoying the view! I'm currently fighting a battle with Lyme disease and am determined to come out victorious. I enjoy warm summer rain, peanut butter everything, having dance parties with my husband and kids, natural remedies and healthy living. Most days I'm just looking for another excuse to avoid the piles of laundry.
Tina M

@MothersNiche

Tina M
Tina M

Tina M

Tina M

Latest posts by Tina M (see all)

  • How to Fly to Hawaii For Free - January 1, 2019
  • The Best Getaways For Couples (Anniversary, Babymoon and Honeymoon) - December 6, 2018
  • Grandchild Survival Kit (Great Christmas Gift Idea) - December 5, 2018
  • The BEST Black Friday Deal for Disneyland and Southern California Vacations (EXTENDED!) - November 20, 2018
Tweet
Pin562
Share1
563 Shares

Related

Tagged With: baby food recipes, homemade baby food, homemade baby food recipes, how to store baby food, recipes for baby food

About Tina M

I'm six-foot tall mother of three and I'm enjoying the view! I'm currently fighting a battle with Lyme disease and am determined to come out victorious. I enjoy warm summer rain, peanut butter everything, having dance parties with my husband and kids, natural remedies and healthy living. Most days I'm just looking for another excuse to avoid the piles of laundry.

« Fun and Unique Holidays: April
Mighty Mom Award: March »

Comments

  1. Diana @ NannyToMommy says

    May 22, 2013 at 10:53 am

    I love my Nuk Freshfoods baby food maker and Yummi Pouches as well! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Stefanie says

    June 7, 2014 at 7:28 am

    If I have a steamer and food processor I could just use these instead of a Nuk don’t you think? Thanks for the tips!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      March 27, 2015 at 10:23 am

      My grandson was born the day you made this comment!! And Yes I think a steamer and food processor would work just as well, the Nuk one tho has easy measurement guide and is a whole lot easier to use. If you go on Amazon they have some real good deals on them.

  3. Kelly says

    March 27, 2015 at 10:21 am

    I am the Grandmother of Odin LOL yes, my grandson’s name is Odin and he is now 9 months old. I got my daughter the Nuk Babyfood maker for a baby shower gift and we have just now started using it. (He was born 10 weeks early at 2.5 lbs) Today I made a mixture of fruit (Peaches, Pears and Grapes) and a mixture of Carrots, Pumpkin and apple with a hint of cinnamon. He absolutely loved them. I can’t wait to make more!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Homemade Baby Food Recipes & Tips – Pinterest says:
    April 29, 2020 at 8:49 pm

    […] READ FULL INSTRUCTIONS […]

    Reply

What do you think? Cancel reply

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

join the mother’s niche

All the best Tips and things I wish I had known (before visiting 3 Hawaiian Islands)

Join the Mother’s Niche



Copyright © 2021 · mothersniche.com ·Privacy Policy