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Homemade Baby Food: Making and storing or Freezing Healthy Baby Foods at Home
You can make baby food at home which is more nutritious, contains no chemical additives and is more economical than commercially prepared baby foods. You make it, so you know the source and contents!This does not mean that you can simply cook, puree and can any food at all. There are limittations; home canning equipment does not reach the temperatures and pressures of commercial equipment, so some foods are simply unsafe to can at home for your child. This page will point out which are safe to make and store in the fridge or freezer.
See this page for baby foods you can safely can.
Pureed Baby Food Recipes to Store in the Fridge or Freezer (NOT to be canned!)
Pureed Fruit Delight
1/2 cup freshly cooked or home-canned fruits, or cooked dried prunes
(without sugar) (Use apples, pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots or prunes)
2-4 teaspoons liquid (water, unsweetened fruit juice; not citrus; or formula)
Remove skin and seeds. Press through a sieve, or put ingredients in food
mill or blender and puree until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer
than 1 month.
Applesauce Deluxe
1 medium apple
4 tablespoons pineapple juice
Peel, quarter and core
apple. Cook with pineapple juice until soft. Blend until smooth in texture.
Bananas Plain and Simple
Ripe bananas may be pureed or mashed and fed to your baby directly.
Yummy Fresh Fruit
3/4 cup ripe fruit (uncooked peaches, nectarines, pears or apricots)
without sugar
1 tablespoon unsweetened fruit juice (not citrus)
Remove
skin and seeds. Puree ingredients in baby food mill or blender until smooth.
Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than 1 month.
Vegetable Medley
1/2 cup cooked fresh, frozen or canned vegetables (potato, sweet potato,
green beans, peas, carrots, yellow squash), without salt added
2-4
tablespoons cooking liquid, formula or water
Cook fresh vegetables or use
frozen or canned vegetables without salt or seasoning. (Read labels for
ingredients.) Press vegetable chunks through a sieve or baby food mill. Thin
with cooking liquid or formula to eating consistency. Or put cooked
vegetables and liquid in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve or freeze.
Freeze no longer than 1 month.
Note: After the individual vegetables have
been fed several times, some good combinations are: potatoes and carrots,
potatoes and green beans, carrots and peas.
Simple Strained Meat or Poultry
(for babies over 8 months)
1/2 cup cooked meat (small pieces of lean chicken, beef, turkey or pork)
2-4 tablespoons meat broth or formula
Cook lean meat (fat, skin and
connective tissue removed) over low heat in a small amount of water. Puree
meat and liquid until smooth. Serve or freeze. Freeze no longer than one
month.
Egg Yolk Puree
(for babies over 8 months)
Cook one egg in simmering water 15 to 20 minutes. Remove shell. Remove
yolk and mash with 1 tablespoon of formula or water until smooth. Serve or
freeze. Freeze no longer than 1 month.
Note: Use only the yolk. Avoid
feeding egg whites until 1 year to avoid problems with allergies. Use the
extra egg white in the family's casseroles, salads or sandwiches.
Your Choice Combo Dish
(for babies over 8 months)
1 cup cooked, cubed or diced meat (cut off fat)
1/2 cup cooked rice,
potato, noodles or macaroni
2/3 cup cooked, diced vegetables
3/4 to 1
cup liquid (formula, broth or water)
Combine and blend until smooth.
Serve or freeze in serving-size containers. If frozen, use within 1 month.
Note: If you prepare combination dishes, use them only after you have fed
the individual food several times.
Creamy Custard
(for babies over 1 year)
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups milk, warmed
Mix egg
yolks and sugar. Stir in milk and mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring
constantly, until mixture coats the spoon. Refrigerate. Use within 2 to 3
days.
Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes
[ Easy Home Canning Directions] [FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems] [Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!] [Free canning publications to download and print]
