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Making Homemade Baby Food

“The first three years of a child’s life are a window of opportunity for forming lifelong, healthy eating habits. Just as you teach proper behavior to a child, you also want to teach a child what good food is supposed to taste like.”

--Dr. Sears

You can make your own baby food!

It is easy, cost-effective and is one of the best ways to ensure your baby is getting off to a great start. Today there are many theories about how to best introduce foods to babies but we can all agree that starting with fresh vegetables and fruits, in any form, will provide the best nutrition for your infant and toddler.

Tips for Getting Started

  • Add the Right Liquids: When getting started, it is helpful to blend foods with liquids your baby is familiar with such as breastmilk or formula. As your baby progresses, add nutrients and flavor by using homemade veggie or chicken stock.
  • Get Creative: Try mixing various vegetables and fruits together to increase the complexity of your baby foods. You can also introduce mild spices such as cinnamon, rosemary, basil or parsley for new flavors.
  • Make it Sweet: Honey can be a great option for replacing sugar but due to health risks, babies should be over 1 year before introducing honey. Even then, remember that honey is still sugar. For recipes that need some sweetness, try adding fruit instead.
  • Keep Trying: Even if your baby doesn’t immediately like a food you make, try again. Babies can be finicky about what they like from week to week; suddenly disliking a food they happily accepted days prior. A child may need to be exposed to new foods up to 10 times before accepting it.
  • Be a Good Role Model: Children closely monitor what the adults around them are doing and mimic their behavior. If your baby sees you happily eating vegetables, they will be more likely to follow suit.
  • Don’t Forget About You!: Your nutrition is important too. After all, you need to stay healthy to take care of your sweet baby. Before the week begins, jot down a meal plan for yourself with recipes that you know will be easy to make.