I will never forget when Goose was a baby! I couldn’t wait to start feeding her homemade baby food! As a first time mom, I had all of these visions of the perfect little purees I’d neatly spoon feed her during her exciting introduction to the world of solid food.
Boy, was I surprised when she turned six months and reality hit.
I was sleep deprived, teaching full time, pumping part-time, and just not transitioning into parenthood as gracefully as I’d hoped. The idea of making baby food seemed daunting and far out of reach.
That was until I actually tried making baby food and discovered how incredibly easy and fast it can be! I’d never been busier or more exhausted in my life, but I was still able to incorporate homemade baby food into my schedule.
Now that Belly is six months, I’ve been able to dust off my skills and start making purees again. I’m certainly not any less busy with two kids, but it’s important to me so I make it work.
I know what some of you are thinking.
“Oh my gosh, I wish I had time for that!”
“Wow, that sounds so hard!”
“I could never do that!”
Truth is, it only takes a few minutes in the kitchen and requires basically no cooking ability.
I have complete faith that even the busiest mommies (and daddies) can squeeze in a few minutes every couple of weeks to make nutritious, yummy, and inexpensive meals for your littlest family member.
Side note: I highly discourage you from purchasing or requesting a baby food maker. You’ll likely get very little use from it and it’ll take up unnecessary storage space in your kitchen. There’s a good chance you already have everything you need in your kitchen so just use what you’ve got.
Follow these steps and you, too, can become a master at homemade baby food!
Step 1: Cook
These are the three main methods that I use. Chop your fruit or vegetables into large pieces and choose whichever mode is most convenient for you. I don’t usually peel my food because I’m slightly lazy… And it’s going to end up all mixed up anyway.
The quantity is totally up to you. I like making baby food in bulk because then you don’t have to make it as often.
No cooking necessary for “smashable” foods like bananas, avocado, and blueberries. Jump to Step 2 for those!
- Slow cooker– This is my personal favorite. I drop the chopped pieces in, just barely cover the bottom of the slow cooker with water, and leave on high for 3-4 hours. I don’t have to think about anything, just come back in a few hours and everything is perfectly soft.
- Great for apples, pears, peaches.
- Steam– I steam my produce on the stove for 10-15 minutes.
- Great for sweet potatoes, butternut squash, broccoli.
- Microwave– The microwave is perfect if you just want to zap your produce super fast. I usually start with 2 or 3 minutes and then just add more time as needed until the food is soft.
- Great for: peas, carrots, green beans
You can do one type of food at a time or experiment with some combinations. If it sounds tasty to you, then your baby will probably like it!
Step 2: Puree
Time to smooth it out! I like using our food processor
If your mixture is too thick or you have trouble blending it, add some water or breast milk to make it smoother.
Step 3: Store
After you make your purees, you can either put them in the fridge or the freezer.
- Fridge– I’ll fill up a few of our WeeSprout Reusable Pouches so they’re ready to grab over the next couple of days. Read all about my obsession with these pouches here!
- Freezer– I pour my mixture into these really handy silicone freezer trays. Let the purees freeze solid and then pop them into a labeled Ziploc bag. When I’m ready to feed to my baby, I’ll just stick a little pod in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you want to take your puree on the go, put a frozen pod in a pouch. It’ll thaw on its own and be ready for you to feed baby later.
Ta-da!
Cook. Puree. Store.
See? Totally doable!
The biggest key is to plan for making baby food. I don’t necessarily set aside extra time, but I tell myself what steps I can do while I’m already in the kitchen working on other things.
Maybe I’ll chop some apples for the slow cooker while dinner is cooking in the oven. Maybe I’ll let some carrots steam while I’m washing dishes. Maybe I’ll puree some blueberries while the girls finish lunch.
Just sneak in a couple of minutes here or there and it’ll get done. At the very most, I’m only adding 15 minutes to my total weekly time in the kitchen.
We’re ALL busy moms. But you can absolutely make small adjustments to allow for things that matter to you. Give it a go and see for yourself how easy making baby food is!
So what mixes are you going to try? Let me know in the comments and then come back to tell me what your baby enjoyed most!
Please follow your pediatrician’s advice for when to introduce solid food and which types of food are suggested for your baby.
See how much I L-O-V-E these reusable pouches! And look at these fun ways to play with your baby!
Talk to you soon!
I too did not buy a baby food maker. I have little space in my kitchen sadly but i do love how you storage them!
Thank you! I’m all about efficiency!
I never thought about using the slow cooker!
Yes! It’s so nice to just set it and forget it!
Making babyfood was also one of the things I looked forward to doing when my boy was younger. I had fun each time I make homemade food for him.
It is definitely fun! Especially trying new things and seeing baby’s reaction to it!
I absolutely LOVE making my girls’ baby food! ❤ I feel so accomplished afterwards and happy knowing EXACTLY what’s going into their little bellies!
Absolutely! It’s so rewarding and totally worth the little bit of time and effort!
Omg, I can’t wait to try these! It’s going to save me so much time having to make sure to buy all the jars and pouches. I never really wanted to make my own until I see how easy it could be for me.
Hooray! Have a great time experimenting!
If I ever have another baby I will have to make my own food. The packets got so expensive, and there’s definitely a benefit to knowing exactly what goes in your baby’s tummy. I was definitely too lazy to make her food, although my mom did it for us so that was nice. She’d even puree homemade chicken noodle soup or pea soup for her. Which baby loved because it had flavor.
Moms are always so awesome! And I still use these steps to make applesauce for my toddler, it’s definitely not just for babies! ☺️ The nice part about “older” kids is that they can help and learn about the process!
I loved making homemade baby food for my little ones. And as a working mom back then, I was so surprised to learn how quick and easy it was to do. I never thought to use our slowcooker though. What a great idea! To this day, I still make purees with a lot of our produce that I know we won’t be able to use up before it goes bad. I puree it and freeze it. Then, I sneak it into the kids’ meals by adding purees to their pasta sauces and burger patties. (Shhh! Don’t tell my kids that they are eating veggies!)
I love that idea! Great way to make sure older kids are getting plenty of produce!
I made homemade baby food for both my kids. Sadly, I wasn’t consistent with it, but i agree with you, it easy to do! Additionally, you have the piece of mind of knowing exactly what they’re eating.
Thanks for sharing!
Melissa
Thanks for stopping by! Yes, it definitely gives you piece of mind!
Great post! I am pregnant with baby girl number three and so excited about solid foods. I did make my latest girl’s baby food, but did straight breast milk until year one for my oldest. (I was clueless, but she was SO healthy!) I love all of the idea in this post. I’ll be putting a few into use this time around. 😉
Breast milk is great, too! So glad you’ve started babies off so healthy!
This is a great guide! The slow cooker idea is genius-just set it and forget it. I definitely plan to make my own baby food. I’m pinning this for future reference. Thanks!
Awesome! My slow cooker is a lifesaver! So excited for you to try this down the road!
No baby food maker here either. I’m all about getting long-term use out of stuff, so the steamer and slow cooker work just fine haha! I made a lot of baby food for my first, but I have to admit I’m pretty darn tired and not really looking forward to the routine with my second. But these are excellent tips girl, I love your style. And could your babies BE ANY CUTER??
You’re so sweet, thank you! I did a lot of things for the first one that I’ve debated for the second (baby food, gym classes, daily story times) because I’m ALWAYS tired. But somehow I muster up the energy so Baby #2 still gets all the same things. It’s definitely hard!
You’re sweetheart is adorable… Thanks for recommending to not purchase a the baby food maker. You’re right, it probably won’t get used much and will take up space. Its best to use what we already have.
So glad you agree! As new mommies, we get so excited about buying all of the shiny new baby products. I learned very quickly that baby couldn’t tell the difference and then you just have all of this stuff you never use.
I absolutely love this and want to thank you for helping me! I work 50 hours a week and just had a baby 6 months ago. I’m big on healthy eating and tried to make food but it was just too much with my work schedule and 3 kids. I’m super excited your husband suggested me to read your blog!!!!! 🙌🏼😀 the same day I read this I purchased two silicon trays and started making my babies food. She loves the all natural organic veggies and the best part about it is she doesn’t break out on her cheeks anymore. 😍 Thank you so much 😘😘😘
I am so happy to read this! Yay! I can totally relate to working long hours and trying to balance healthy eating for a whole family. Hooray for happy mommies and happy babies!