There are various benefits of making homemade baby food. First, it is organic, and second, it is more affordable than those bought in food stores. Other health benefits of homemade baby foods are:
Fewer Additives
Processed baby foods have trace amounts of chemicals as well as fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides. Although the chemicals are FDA approved, you can choose to feed your infant with foods that do not contain them. Preparing baby food at home or using certified organic products can help in eliminating these agricultural chemicals.
Increased Nutritional Value
The key difference between packaged and homemade baby food is nutrition. The nutrients found in homemade foods are more than those in packaged foods. Most companies use medium to high heat when cooking baby food. Doing so can kill bacteria and increase the shelf life of the products. Although enhancing longevity and killing bacteria is not bad, high temperature kills nutrients in the food.
When preparing baby food at home, you don’t have to worry about shelf life as companies do. You can use low heat to preserve the nutrients. Keep in mind that feeding your child is not only just about calorie intake but also feeding them nutritious foods for optimum growth and health.
Improved Freshness
Although babies do not have the refined senses of an adult, they respond to smell, color, and taste. With the availability of fresh produce in grocery stores and the convenience of preparing baby food, you have no reason to deprive your child of tasty and nutritious baby food. Additionally, feeding your baby with fresh food will help him/her to be more open to tasting different flavors and textures in foods.
Variety
Packaged baby foods are developed for the mass market, and thus there is a limited variety of foods. The core component of nutritious and healthy eating is having various foods included in the diet. Therefore, with the variety of produce that is available in grocery stores, you should not limit your baby to three or four popular baby foods. You can also combine various herbs to the food to enhance its flavors and nutritional content.
You Have Complete Control
When preparing homemade baby food, you will know what exactly you are feeding your baby. For instance, if you choose to use fruit, fish, vegetables, or rice, you will know the number of ingredients used and how to serve the dish. Additionally, when making homemade food, you can puree it to the desired thickness, depending on your child’s age.
Simplifying The Home Cooking Experience
There are various tools on the market that help to simplify the process of making homemade baby food. They range from freezer trays, food thermometers, blenders, and other small gadgets that make the process easier and quicker. As an extremely busy parent, time is not always on your side.
Setting aside time to prepare food for your baby might seem like an impossible task, especially when you have tight schedules. Luckily, there are a number of organic baby food brands out there that can provide healthy and nutritious food for your baby. Some of these brands include Happy Baby Organic Baby Food, Plum Organics Baby Food, Ella’s Kitchen Organic Baby Food, Once Upon a Farm Organic Baby Food, Sprout Organic Baby Food, Peter Rabbit Organics Baby Food, Earth’s Best Organic Baby, and Toddler Foods, and Gerber Organic Baby Foods.Nevertheless, if you still want to maintain full control over what your baby eats, then you will have to prepare the foods yourself. Fortunately, the process of preparing baby food does not have to be time-consuming and cumbersome anymore. With the two methods discussed below, the process is now easier and quicker than ever.
Using The Beaba Babycook Food Blender and Steamer
The Beaba Babycook is a 4-in-1 contraption that has been designed to steam, blend, reheat, and defrost food. This device is perfect for you if you want to make your own baby food and then either serve or freeze it for later use. You can make the food from fish, fresh vegetables, and even meat. This device can replace your potato smasher, blender/food processor, and steaming pot setup.
Once you have assembled the unit and sterilized it, you can start making your own baby food. To begin, open the lid and add water into the reservoir. The amount of water that you will pour into the unit will be measured in 3 levels. Therefore, you can add 1 level for softer vegetables and 3 levels for harder vegetables such as butternut squash and carrots. Water level guides can be found online or in the Beaba Babycook Book.
Next, chop your fruits or vegetables.
LIFE HACK: You can use organic frozen (already chopped) fruits and veggies. I especially do this for butternut squash. This is a great tip for busy moms!
Add the fruits or vegetables into the steamer basket, cover with the lid, and hit the steam button. The steaming process takes between 5 and 15 minutes depending on the amount of water that you added.
Once you have steamed the food, this will be shown by a small light that will flash on the device’s main button, use the spatula (to prevent burning yourself) to lift the steaming basket out of the unit and pour out the liquid remaining at the bottom. Save this liquid as you may need it later. Pour the steamed food back into the Babycook’s bowl. Since the bowl comes with blending blades, you will just turn it on to puree your baby food. For softer consistency, add a little bit of your reserve water.
Using the Instapot
Preparing food using Instant pot is one of the most cost-effective way and low-effort ways of cooking nutritious meals for your baby. There are numerous options that you can start with. Here are a few ideas – peaches, beets, zucchini, broccoli, green beans, pear, apple, sweet potato, peas, squash, and carrot.
To make baby food with an instant pot, you will first need to dice the veggies or fruits of your choice into small and uniform pieces. Then, pour a cup of water into the Instant Pot’s steel insert, and place a low trivet in the bottom. Put 4 ramekins or other oven-safe bowls that are full of diced veggies or fruits on the trivet.
In case there is still additional space, you can repeat with the 2nd layer of ramekins. Additionally, you can add a separating steamer basket between the two layers. Now, close the lid and put the vent to a sealing position. Cook the food for 5 minutes on high pressure. When the instant pot beeps, naturally release the pressure.
Remove the bowls with veggies and fruits carefully. Separately, puree each ramekin to the desired consistency, and then store it in your fridge. When using an instant pot to prepare baby food, it is recommended that you use an oven-safe bowl such as a ramekin for pot-in-pot cooking.
Disclaimer: We are not in a paid partnership with any of these brands.