Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Prepare your own baby food
• Part 2 of 3: Experimenting with different dishes
• Part 3 of 3: Getting your baby used to solid foods
• Tips
• Necessities

When the time has come for your child to start eating solid food (when he is between 4 and 6 months old) it is a nice idea if you know exactly what he is eating. By making your own baby food you know every ingredient in it. You really don't need expensive appliances to make your own food for your little one. With a few kitchen helpers, some fresh fruit and vegetables and the following manual you can make a healthy meal or snack for your baby. Continue to Step 1 to get started.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Prepare your own baby food

1. Choose good quality fresh fruits and vegetables. The first step in making a healthy meal for your baby is to choose fresh, good fruits and vegetables.
   • If possible, buy organic products and make sure the fruits and vegetables are ripe, without any rotten spots. Try to process all foods within 2 or 3 days of purchase.
   • Try things like apples, pears, peaches, and sweet potatoes first. Do not take items that may be too stringy or hard for the baby to swallow, such as green beans or snow peas, unless you press them through a fine sieve after cooking and mashing.
2. Clean and prepare the foods. The next step is to prepare for cooking - this means cleaning the foods and removing bits that your baby cannot chew or digest. These are, for example, skins, kernels, seeds and fat.
   • Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly. Peel the fruits with the skin and remove the seeds. Cut vegetables into equal cubes so that it is all cooked equally. In terms of quantities: from 900 grams of clean, cut vegetables or fruit you can make 300 grams of homemade baby food.
   • Meat or chicken can be prepared by washing it and cutting off the skins and fat. Grains such as quinoa and millet must be prepared as stated on the packaging.
3. Prepare the food by steaming, baking or boiling it. If you take ripe fruit such as pear or avocado, you can just mash it with a fork and serve like that. Vegetables, meat and grains, on the other hand, must be prepared first. You have several options when it comes to preparation:
   • Steaming is the best choice for vegetables, as it preserves most of the nutrients. Use a steamer basket, or simply place a colander in a pan with a small layer of boiling water. Steam the vegetables until soft, usually after 10 to 15 minutes.
   • You can cook grains, vegetables and certain animal products. Cook it in stock if you want more flavor.
   • Baking works best with (sweet) potato, cruciferous vegetables, meat and chicken. You can add some herbs or mild spices while baking (don't be afraid to get your baby used to some flavors!).
4. If you're processing baby food, try to make small portions at a time. Then you ensure that the ingredients are mixed well. Also keep in mind that some foods need a little liquid to get the right consistency - that could be some water, milk, or some leftover cooking water (if you cooked the food).
5. Let it cool and mash it. When the food is cooked, set it aside and let it cool completely. Make sure that meat or chicken is thoroughly cooked, as babies are very sensitive to food poisoning.
   • Choose a way to process the food. For small babies, the food should be ground into a smooth puree before they can eat it, while for older babies some bits may be left in it. The method you choose will depend on your baby's age and your own preferences.
   • Some parents choose to invest in an expensive, all-in-one food processor for baby food. This machine cooks, mashes, defrosts and heats the fruit, vegetables or meat. They can be a bit pricey, but it makes the whole process really easy!
   • You can also use your regular blender, food processor or hand blender use to make a smooth puree. They work fine and fast for this (and you don't have to buy anything new), but it can be a hassle to put everything together, clean it and take it apart again if you keep making small quantities.
   • You can also use a manual mixer or mortar use. These things work without electricity and are easy to carry. It works fine, it's cheap, but it slows down a bit and requires some physical effort.
   • Finally, you can use the good old ones for very soft products such as banana, avocado or potato fork use to mash the food to desired consistency.
6. Serve or store the food. Once your homemade baby food is cooked, cooled, and pureed, you can serve some of it right away and save the rest for later. It is important that you store it properly so that it does not spoil or build up bacteria that could make your baby sick.
   • Spoon the food into clean glass jars or plastic containers that can be sealed airtight and refrigerate. Write the date you made it on it so you know how fresh it is, and throw away any food older than 3 days.
   • You can also put the baby food in ice cube trays and freeze it. When the cubes are completely frozen, you can put them in a freezer bag. Each cube is sufficient for one serving.
   • You can defrost the baby food by putting it in the fridge overnight, or by hanging the container or bag over a pan of warm water for about 20 minutes (not on the fire).
   • Frozen pureed fruits and vegetables will keep for about 6 to 8 months; frozen meat or chicken can be stored for 1 - 2 months.
   • Making your own baby food can be a lot of work, so it can be good to prepare large quantities at once and freeze them for later.

Part 2 of 3: Experimenting with different dishes

1. Start with traditional baby food. The traditional baby food is made from soft, sweet fruits and vegetables that are easy to prepare.
   • These include banana, pear, blueberries, apricots, peaches, plums, mango, apple and vegetables such as (sweet) potato, pumpkin, bell pepper, avocado, carrot and peas.
   • These products are widely used because they are easy to prepare and because most babies like it. So it's good to start with that, but don't be afraid to experiment with some more exciting foods.
   • This will develop your baby's taste buds and make meals a bit more interesting. Be careful not to overwhelm your baby - try to introduce 1 new product each time and wait at least three days before coming up with anything else. Then you also know immediately whether your child is not allergic to a certain food.
2. Experiment with pot roast. Pot roast is a perfect starter dish for babies - it's tasty, healthy, and the rest of the family can eat along!
   • Try a pot roast with mild Chinese or Mexican flavors, such as soy sauce or mild peppers (yes, really, peppers!). Babies from all over the world come into contact with these more intense flavors from a very young age.
   • You can also make a shoulder pork chop with lemon juice, which will make the rest of the family happy as well as your baby.
3. Feed your baby fish. In the past, parents were advised not to feed a baby fish or other foods for the first year to which it could develop an allergic reaction. However, opinions on this have recently changed.
   • A 2008 study shows that it is safe to feed babies over 6 months of age unless they have had an allergic reaction to them, have asthma or have a family history of these foods.
   • So you can consider feeding your baby fish such as salmon, because it is full of healthy fats and very healthy. Simmer the salmon in lightly spiced water until done. Let it cool before mashing it and mash it into carrots or other vegetables. For older babies, you can just mash it into coarser pieces.
4. Give your baby whole grains. It's good to start with whole grains like quinoa and millet as early as possible.
   • Whole grains offer your baby a whole new world of texture and encourage him to use his mouth and tongue in other ways, which improves oral motor skills and makes learning to talk easier.
   • Whole grains don't have to be bland and boring, you can make them tasty by cooking them in chicken or vegetable stock, or by mixing in soft, flavorful vegetables like onions or squash.
5. Try eggs. As with fish, parents used to be advised not to give their child eggs until one year old. Today it is thought that babies can start eating eggs right away, as long as they do not appear to be allergic to them, and as long as there are no known cases of allergy to them in the family.
   • Eggs are very healthy; they are high in protein, B vitamins and other important minerals. You can prepare them as you always do - as scrambled eggs, fried, poached or boiled.
   • Just make sure that both the whites and yolks are well cooked - raw egg can cause food poisoning.
   • Try mixing a hard-boiled egg with half an avocado, mix scrambled eggs with some vegetable puree, or chop a fried egg with some rice or oatmeal (for older babies).
6. Experiment with herbs and mild spices. Many parents think baby food should be flat and bland - but this is anything but true! Babies can get used to and enjoy a wide variety of flavors.
   • Try adding some rosemary to the pan when baking a pumpkin and then mashing it, sprinkle some cumin or garlic powder on a chicken fillet, sprinkle some cinnamon in the porridge or add some finely chopped parsley to the mashed potatoes.
   • Babies can tolerate spicy herbs better than you might think. You don't want your baby to burn his mouth, of course, but you could very well add a small piece of mild pepper to a vegetable puree or stew.
7. Try sour fruits. It may come as a surprise to you that some babies really like sour things. Try if your baby is one of them by mashing some tart cherries. You can also try braised unsweetened rhubarb or mashed plums, both of which have a tart, refreshing taste.

Part 3 of 3: Getting your baby used to solid foods

1. Be careful with the temperature. Solid foods should not be hotter than body temperature to prevent your baby from burning their mouth.
   • Be especially careful when heating food in the microwave, as the microwave can heat food unevenly, sometimes causing hot bits to be inside.
   • When you take the food out of the microwave, you have to stir it well to distribute the heat and then let it sit for a while until it is at room temperature.
2. Don't keep the leftovers. When feeding your baby, try to measure just the right amount. Then you don't have to throw anything away, because you can't keep the leftovers. This is because the baby's saliva always gets into the food when you spoon him / her, which can spread bacteria.
3. Do not put sugar or other sweeteners in the baby food. Never make your baby food sweeter than it is. Babies don't need extra sugar, especially when you consider how many children are overweight these days. Also, never use alternative sweeteners such as corn syrup or honey as they can give a baby a potentially fatal food poisoning known as botulism.
4. Avoid giving your baby nitrates. Nitrates are chemicals found in water and in the soil that can cause some form of anemia in babies. Ready-to-eat baby food removes those nitrates, but making your own can be a problem.
   • If you are making baby food with water from your own source, have it tested first so that you know if the water contains less than 10ppm nitrate.
   • The nutrition center recommends that children under 6 months should not be given nitrate-rich vegetables and from 6 months on, no more than twice a week. Also, don't give it at the same time as fish. Nitrate-rich vegetables include: endive, beets, red celery, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, bok choy, purslane, turnip greens, all types of lettuce, chard, spinach, pointed cabbage, fennel and watercress. Low in nitrate vegetables are: asparagus, eggplant, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, celeriac, cucumber, red, white and savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, bell pepper, leek, salsify, string beans, green beans, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, broad beans, onions, chicory and carrots.
5. Give your baby the same food as the rest of the family. Rather than making separate meals for your baby, it's much easier to just puree the meal that the rest of the family is eating.
   • This saves a lot of time and effort, but it also helps teach your baby to have the same as everyone else, which can be helpful when he gets a little bigger.
   • Babies can eat most healthy meals as long as they are mashed or mashed. If you are using strong herbs, you can set aside some food for your baby first and then add the herbs or spices to the rest of the dish.

Tips

• If you have had all the ingredients tested separately and if there have been no allergic reactions to them, you can start mixing different things together. Mix ingredients like apple and plum, pumpkin and peach, apple and broccoli and so on.
• Add a teaspoon of milk or boiled and cooled water to the baby food if it is too thick. You can add a teaspoon of oatmeal to thicken it.
• Try all kinds of flavor combinations such as plum and pear, or pumpkin and apple to make the food as colorful as possible, which is what most babies find appealing.
• Consult the clinic when you can start giving solid food. Also ask which foods you should avoid in the first year. Give 1 new food every 4 days and check for allergic reactions.
• Mash soft foods like banana or avocado with a fork if you want a quick bite. Add a few drops of milk or boiled water if you want to thin it out.

Necessities

• 900 grams of fresh vegetables and fruits
• Colander
• Knife
• Water
• Pan or steamer
• Blender, hand blender or food processor
• Spoon
• Trays or jars
• Pen or marker
• Labels