How to Make the Best Homemade Baby Food

Whether you make your own baby food or purchase commercial products is a personal choice. If you have the time and inclination to make it yourself, you can feel good about knowing exactly what you’re feeding your little one and get them used to eating things your whole family enjoys. 

Why should I consider making my own baby food:

• It’s usually more economical than buying commercially prepared baby food.
• You can create custom blends of flavours for your baby that you won’t find in commercial baby foods – mashed cantaloupe and avocado, for example, is a fantastic combination.
• Homemade is often more nutritious because to make commercial, jarred baby foods shelf-stable for longer term storage, they are cooked at very high temperatures which unfortunately destroys vitamins and nutrients in the process.
• It gets the baby used to eating the same food as the rest of the family -- just in pureed form.

When should I start introducing homemade baby food?

• Talk to your doctor or pediatrician. Many professionals recommend waiting until your child is 6 months to introduce solids.
• After your child has gotten accustomed to eating baby cereal from a spoon, you can start to introduce fruits and vegetables. In the beginning, the texture should be smooth (similar to yogurt).

How should I prepare homemade baby food?

• Cooked foods should be steamed, boiled or microwaved until tender, then mashed or pureed (use a blender, food processor or food mill, or just press them through a sieve) to get the desired consistency. Add a little water or breast milk if you need to thin them a bit.
• Raw foods are a great way to introduce a little texture to baby’s diet later on. Use a fork to mash ripe bananas, avocado, pear, mango, kiwi, melon and papaya.

Organic versus conventional produce

While you may not be in the habit of buying organic produce, you may want to consider it because it’s a good idea to avoid pesticides in baby food. There’s a great video from a Canadian holistic nutritionist that explains which conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables are safest to consume (the “Clean Fifteen”) and which produce you should buy organically-grown because of pesticide residue (the “Dirty Dozen”). Here are the lists, in alphabetical order:

• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Eggplant
• Cabbage
• Cantaloupe
• Cauliflower
• Grapefruit
• Kiwi
• Mango
• Onion
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Sweet corn
• Sweet Peas
• Sweet Potato

• Apples
• Celery
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Potatoes
• Snap peas
• Spinach, Kale & Collard Greens
• Strawberries
• Sweet Bell Peppers/Hot Peppers