Starting Solid Foods - A Beginner's Guide to Making Your Own Baby Food

I knew before Penny was even born that I wanted to make my own baby food. Not only is it better for baby since you know exactly what is going into your baby's tummy (fresh, organic fruits and veggies vs. preservatives and added flavorings), but you can also determine the specific make-up of the food (higher in veggies so baby gets used to the flavor vs. masking the taste with sweet fruits) and save a ton of money (one estimate I saw listed around $500 a year). If you're even slightly considering attempting homemade baby food, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is so easy and quick...I spend maybe an hour every couple of weeks whipping stuff up and our freezer is always fully stocked.

However, once I was getting to the point where I was ready to start making and prepping, I couldn't find a ton of guidance on what baby could eat and when. I've compiled some of the stuff that I've found (with sources included) to hopefully help any mommies wanting to make their own baby food but aren't sure where to start. I'm certainly no expert, but the following is what we found works for us.

Step #1: Do Your Research

The biggest thing that I did to help me get started was I spent several hours on Google. I set up a bookmark folder on my browser and a Pinterest board for Baby Food and I went to town. Although the American Pediatric Association recommends holding off on all solid foods until 6 months, our doctor requested that we start a couple weeks before that so that we could have a feel for how Penny was tolerating solid foods by her 6 month appointment. He also was pretty insistent, however, that we start with rice cereal which we knew we didn't want to do (here and here are great articles on why). So the first thing I searched for was some guidance on what foods to start with for a five month old if I was going to skip out on the traditional rice cereal. I came across this awesome chart from Wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com that lists what foods are appropriate by age:

Once I determined the foods I could introduce, I started Googling how to prepare it.

Step #2: Gather Your Supplies

There are five basic things that I found super helpful when making our own baby food. Not all of these are 100% necessary, but these are the items we like to use.

1) Food
Obviously. We try and do organic as much as possible, but when this isn't cost effective or isn't readily available in our local grocery store, we make sure to scrub all foods down as much as possible before we peel the fruit or veggie so that we can reduce the amount of dirt, pesticides, and other chemicals getting into Penny's food as much as possible.

2) A Good Blender, Baby Bullet, or Food Processor
We actually won a Baby Bullet at a baby expo we went to when I was pregnant with Penny, but since we have such a small amount of kitchen storage space and an already large array of kitchen appliances, we returned it to Target for credit to use on our other gift registry items. Our standard food processor works just fine and is able to handle bigger batches than the Baby Bullet.

3) Something to Freeze and Store Baby Food In
If you have a Baby Bullet I believe that it comes with a few containers for this purpose, otherwise there are some similar containers here. However, I like to make big batches of food at once to save time down the road (most recipes last up to 3 months in a standard freezer) so I needed a way to store large amounts of food and those couple of little jars wouldn't cut it. I also preferred freezing items in 1 oz increments since babies don't eat very much when you first start out (unless you have my daughter who would eat everything in the freezer in one sitting if I let her) and I didn't want anything to go to waste. We went out and purchased four ice cube trays at Target and they have worked perfectly. I recommend going with the hard plastic vs. the rubber trays as the hard plastic trays are a lot easier to pop the frozen food out of. After the food was frozen, we transferred it to a freezer bag that we labeled with the food contents and the date to keep things organized and to free up the ice cube trays for future cooking. If you have any trouble getting the cubes out (which we never did), dipping the trays into warm water should loosen them up.

4) Steamer Basket
This is not a requirement, but we loved having this item as it is the preferred method to cook fruit and vegetables for baby. It is an easy way to soften foods and still retain the most nutrients of any cooking method. We purchased this one on Amazon that works perfectly and folds up small for easy storage.

5) Baby Food Masher
Again, not something you absolutely need, but works great for when baby gets a little older and you want them to experiment with more texture then the finely pureed mush. There are products like this that are specifically designed for this purpose, but we just used our standard potato masher that we had on hand and it worked great.

Step #3: Get Cooking!

Here are some of our favorite recipes we've used, listed in order of when we introduced them. Remember to only introduce one food at a time and then hold off on introducing any new foods for at least three days so that you can monitor any adverse reactions baby may have.

Sweet Potatoes - Introduced at 5-1/2 months
Because sweet potatoes are one of the foods least contaminated with pesticides, we usually don't buy organic with these to save money.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Wash a sweet potato thoroughly (skin on), use a fork to poke with holes, and then wrap in tin foil
Bake for about an hour to two hours depending on size, feeling for when the potato gives easily to pressure
Slice open the sweet potato and scoop out the innards
Either mash or, for a thinner puree for young babies, put in food processor with a couple ounces of formula or breast milk to achieve desired consistency

Avocados - Introduced at 5-1/2 months
Choose avocados that yield slightly to pressure when you push on it. When you cut the avocados open, they should be bright green (not graying), the pit should be easily removed with a knife, and the "meat" should peel away easily from the skin.
There is no need to cook avocados. If you choose a ripe one, they are soft enough on their own without cooking.
Either mash or, for a thinner puree for young babies, put in food processor with a couple ounces of formula or breast milk to achieve desired consistency
Avocados may turn darker after freezing. Ours never did, but if yours do you should not be concerned. As long as you use them within 3 months, they are still safe to eat, don't lose much (if any) nutrients, and still have a similar flavor and consistency if they have turned dark green or brown.

Bananas - Introduced at 5-1/2 months
We always buy organic with bananas. They are only slightly more expensive at our local grocery store, so why not?
Just like avocados, there is no need to cook the bananas.
Either mash or, for a thinner puree for young babies, put in food processor with a couple ounces of formula or breast milk to achieve desired consistency
The bananas likely will turn a light grey or purple when they are pureed and especially after freezing. Like avocados, this is totally natural and doesn't affect the safety or taste as long as they are eaten within 3 months.

Apples - Introduced at 6 months
Because this is one of Penny's favorite foods and mixes well with so many other foods, I usually buy a 3 lb bag and stock up! Gala apples are usually our apple of choice. Apples are usually highly contaminated with pesticides so we try to buy organic when we can, otherwise we make sure to scrub them down well to try and eliminate as much contamination as possible.
Wash, peel, and core apples
Cut into bite-sized chunks
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put apples in steamer basket (if you don't have a steamer basket, the apples can either be baked or boiled in just enough water to cover the apples)
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 20 min)
Mash, or puree for younger babies, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency (we didn't find it necessary to add any extra liquid)

Carrots - Introduced at 6 months
I recommend using actual carrots (we usually buy organic) vs. baby carrots when making baby food. Baby carrots are often soaked in chlorine to keep them from turning white in the package (info found here) so it's better to select and chop your own.
Wash carrots (scrub if not buying organic) and peel (always peel for younger babies and/or if not purchasing organic)
Slice carrots into bite-sized chunks
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put carrots in steamer basket
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 20-30 min)
Puree carrots, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency

Sweet Apples & Chicken - Introduced at 6-1/2 months
Recipe adapted from Wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com
We knew we needed to start introducing proteins to Penny but felt a little weird about just giving her pureed chicken. This recipe was awesome because it used flavors she already loved which helped with the introduction. The chicken does cause the puree to come out a little grainier, so be warned that this recipe should be used only when baby is ready to try a little more texture.
Combine two chicken breast (diced), four or five small gala apples (scrubbed, peeled, and diced), and one large sweet potato (scrubbed, peeled, and diced) in a pot of four cups low-sodium chicken broth
Bring liquid to slow boil and then reduce heat
Simmer until chicken is cooked through and apples and sweet potato are tender (about 20 min)
Remove contents from broth and let cool
Puree or, for older babies, mash or chop

Green Beans - Introduced at 6-1/2 months
We introduced these a little later (closer to 7 months) just because it had a chunkier consistency due to the skins, even when pureed and thinned with breast milk. If you'd like, you can try and run the puree through a strainer to try and remove the hulls, but we just chose to introduce it when Penny seemed like she was ready for a little more texture.
We have trouble finding organic green beans at our local grocery store so we normally just buy a pound of fresh, non-organic green beans and then scrub them.
Wash green beans and snap off ends
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put green beans in steamer basket (if you don't have a steamer basket, the green beans can be boiled in no more than an inch of water)
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 20-30 min)
Puree green beans, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency

Pears - Introduced at 7 months
We introduced these at 7 months just because they weren't in season earlier, but pears can be introduced pretty early on.
If making for an older baby, you can just wash, peel, and mash when ripe. For a smoother puree, we steamed them.
Wash, peel, and core pears
Cut into bite-sized chunks
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put pears in steamer basket
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 20 min)
Mash, or puree for younger babies, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency (we didn't find it necessary to add any extra liquid)

Peas and Pears - Introduced at 7 months
Recipe Adapted from Fitnessista.com
If you want a sweeter recipe, up the number of pears. I like to keep the veggie flavor the strongest with just enough fruit to cut the bitterness of the veggie.
A bunch of fresh spinach would be another good addition to this recipe but I would up the number of pears to three or four since the peas alone already overpowered most of the pear flavor.
Wash, peel, and core two pears
Cut into bite-sized chunks
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put pears and a bag of frozen peas in steamer basket
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 30 min)
Puree peas and pears, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency (we didn't find it necessary to add any extra liquid)

Mangoes - Introduced at 8 months
If introducing earlier than 8 months, you may want to steam slightly to soften the mango. However, we introduced it at 8 months and chose a ripe mango so cooking it was unnecessary.
Wash, peel, and remove seeds from one large mango
Cut into bite-sized chunks
Mash to desired consistency, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency (we didn't find it necessary to add any extra liquid)

Mixed Mango Tango - Introduced at 8 months
Recipe Adapted From Wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com
Wash, peel, and remove seeds from one mango
Cut up one cup of mango into bite-sized chunks
Peel and slice one banana
Wash, peel, and remove pit from two peaches
Cut peaches into bite-sized chunks
Mix together all three fruits and mash to desired consistency
Goes great over cooked oats or with pork or chicken

Broccoli and Apples - Introduced at 8 months
Recipe Adapted from Fitnessista.com
If you want a sweeter recipe, up the number of apples. I like to keep the veggie flavor the strongest with just enough fruit to cut the bitterness of the veggie.
Wash, peel, and core three small apples (we use Gala)
Cut into bite-sized chunks
Wash one bunch of fresh, organic broccoli
Cut up stems and florets into bite-sized chunks
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put broccoli and apples into steamer basket (you may want to do this in two batches)
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 25-35 min)
Puree broccoli and apples, adding breast milk or formula as necessary to achieve desired consistency

Cantaloupe and Blueberry Puree - Introduced at 8 months
Recipe Adapted from DesginedtoNourish.com
Cantaloupe is one of the foods least contaminated with pesticides so buying organic isn't necessary. Blueberries, however, are one of the MOST contaminated so buying organic is advisable if available. Blueberries are also not considered to be included in the group of high allergen berries so introducing before 12 months is ok.
Wash one cup of fresh, organic blueberries
Cut up one cup of cantaloupe into bite-sized chunks
Puree cantaloupe and blueberries separately
Serve purees swirled together
Freeze either separately or swirled

Zucchini - Introduced at 8 months
If introducing earlier, you may want to to puree the steamed zucchini along with formula or breast milk to achieve a smoother consistency. We chose to first serve it as a finger food, however.
Wash zucchini and cut into small, bite-sized chunks small enough for baby to eat
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put zucchini pieces into steamer basket
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 20 min)

Blueberry Quinoa - Introduced at 8-1/2 months
Rinse the quinoa by putting it in a strainer and running water over it until there are no more bubbles
Cook quinoa similar to how you would cook rice (we made ours in our rice cooker)
Puree about one cup of quinoa and one cup fresh, organic blueberries, adding formula or breast milk as necessary

Plum Banana Quinoa - Introduced at 8-1/2 months
Plums are one of the least contaminated foods so we usually skip buying organic.
Rinse the quinoa by putting it in a strainer and running water over it until there are no more bubbles
Cook quinoa similar to how you would cook rice (we made ours in our rice cooker)
Wash, peel, and remove pits from two plums
Cut plums into bite-sized pieces
Fill bottom of pot with just enough water to see through steamer basket and then put plum pieces into steamer basket (if you don't have a steamer basket you can also bake by slicing the plum open and putting each half face down in 1 inch of water at 400 degrees until soft)
Cover pot and steam until tender (about 15 min)
Peel and slice one banana
Put steamed plums, banana, and about 1/2 cup of quinoa in food processor and puree, adding formula or breast milk as necessary

Step #4: Make It Your Own!

One of the funnest parts about making your own baby food is that you really can experiment and find out what works for you and your baby. Have fun mixing and matching fruits and veggies to create new flavor combinations for baby! Don't be afraid of using spices to make things a little more interesting. You obviously don't want to add unnecessary salt and sugar to your babies diet, but there is nothing wrong with adding a bit of cinnamon, cumin, paprika, milder chilies, etc. to liven up your meals and expand your baby's palate. If you have been breast feeding baby up until now, chances are he or she's already been exposed to more then you might think. Your baby is starting to develop his or her own preferences so go crazy with trying to open up a new world of flavors!