Baby food recipes for picky eaters

10 Easy Baby Food Recipes: Homemade & Healthy

By Anjali Shah on June 1, 2021

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It is so easy to make your own homemade baby food recipes — and most of the time, making baby food at home will be healthier and cheaper than store bought! This is your guide to making healthy baby food at home that you can feel great about giving to your little one!

Many of you know that I made homemade baby food recipes at home when my kids first started on solid foods. I’ve gotten so many questions about whether it’s really that easy to make your own baby food at home. And trust me – it is!

Making your own baby food recipes can be enjoyable and isn’t difficult, even when you’re busy or tired. There are really only three steps to making great baby food at home: steam, puree, and freeze.

Once you’ve made a few basic purees, you’ll be eager to try some more complex recipes with additional ingredients, or even create your own concoctions to suit your baby’s tastes.

Making your own homemade baby food recipes is a great way to discover which foods your baby particularly enjoys, as well as introducing them to a variety of flavors in a creative way that fits your budget, lifestyle, and locally-available ingredients.

These are some of my must-have baby food recipes for purees, made with healthy, easy-to-find ingredients. You’ll never find added sugar in my baby food recipes.

I guarantee that making baby food at home will be cheaper than buying expensive pouches, which often contain significant amounts of sugar from fruit purees or even fruit juice concentrate.

What Foods Are Best to Puree?

You can literally puree pretty much any food for your baby! The best foods to start with are sweeter vegetables or less-sweet fruits including:

Avocados
Green Beans
Peas
Butternut Squash
Zucchini or Carrots
Pear
Sweet Potato
Apples

Once your baby has mastered these purees, you can move onto more “pungent” veggies, tart fresh fruit, and proteins like:

Broccoli
Spinach
Cauliflower
Berries
Stone Fruits and Cherries
Lentils
Chickpeas / Beans
Meats (if you are planning to give your baby meat)
Whole Milk Yogurt and Cheese

You can introduce grains and sweeter fruits much later so that your baby doesn’t get too used to foods with a sweet taste first (which will make them more likely to reject green veggies which have stronger flavors).

So once your baby has been exposed to a large variety of less-sweet fruits and veggies, you can introduce foods like:

Single-Grain Cereals like Oats, Barley, Wheat, Quinoa. I don’t recommend rice cereal unless your pediatrician specifically tells you to use it because rice cereal is usually made with refined grains, is low in fiber, and doesn’t have many nutrients. I recommend making baby cereal at home (even though there are store bought versions available) to avoid heavy metal contamination – and because it’s so easy!
Ripe Bananas
Papaya
Pineapple
Mango

You can also add warm spices to your baby’s food at any point — spices like: cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic powder, ginger powder, etc. are all great to add new flavors and to expand your baby’s palate!

What is the Best Way to Store Homemade Baby Food Purees?

I recommend freezing your homemade baby food in ice cube trays for storage. I love these Mumi & Bubi Trays because they come with airtight lids and hold a ton of baby food!

I would freeze the baby food in these trays, and then once frozen, I’d pop out the puree cubes and transfer them to an airtight container, or to zip-top freezer bags.

Is Homemade Baby Food Healthier?

Yes it is! This is because when you make baby food at home, you can control both the quality of the ingredients and the types of things being included in your baby’s food.

Since your homemade baby foods don’t have to be shelf stable, you don’t have to worry about any preservatives or stabilizers in the food you’re giving your baby.

Additionally, most pre-made baby food is very fruit-forward which makes it quite sweet and high in sugar. This can make babies who eat pre-made food more likely to only develop a liking for sweeter foods, which could make them pickier eaters later on.

Note: Not all pre-made baby food is bad and there are some healthy vegetable-forward pouches available today. These can be good options if you’re on the go or in a bind and need food fast! You can see my list of the healthiest baby food pouches here.

How Do You Make Baby Food Recipes at Home?

All you need are the right tools – many of which you probably already have in your kitchen, and knowing the method, which is as easy as: steam, puree, freeze.

You don’t need a fancy baby food maker to do any of this stuff – in fact, I recommend against buying a special baby food maker because it’s a pretty pricey purchase for something you can’t repurpose for anything else. I like investing in kitchen tools that can grow with you and your family.

Equipment Needed

#1: Invest in a Good Blender or Food Processor. I recommend getting one that you can use for smoothies and other “grown up” recipes – so the purchase is worth it! Any blender will work, but my favorite is the Vitamix.

It purees everything SO smoothly that the consistency exactly mimics the thin consistency of the baby food pouches at the grocery store. And you don’t have to peel any of the fruits/veggies (except for the obvious like bananas, oranges, pineapples, melon, etc. – that have a hard shell) because the Vitamix is so powerful that it pulverizes all of the peel of most fruits/veggies to retain all of those nutrients for your little one.

It can also make chunkier meals for older babies or when your baby transitions away from purees. Lastly, you can use it for so many other things like making soups, smoothies, pancake batter, falafel mix, brownie batter, etc. – the list goes on and on! I bought one when I started making my kids’ baby food and absolutely LOVE it and use it all the time (still!)

#2: You need covered ice cube trays. You could just take regular ice cube trays and cover them in plastic wrap, but I found that ended up with my purees getting freezer burn which wasn’t great. I love these Mumi & Bubi Trays – which store / stack really well, have tight lids, and hold enough baby food for about 1 month!

#3: A Steamer Basket. It’s worth it to have a steamer basket that can fit inside any pot. Steaming fruits/veggies in bulk is key to making baby food easy and quick to make at home – and a steamer basket can make all the difference!

You also need a good, large pot – but literally any pot will do. And that’s pretty much it! Then you can literally make any baby food recipe at home for less cost, less time and a healthier puree for your little one than a store bought version.

How to Make Homemade Baby Food Recipes – Step by Step

Wash the fruits and veggies you are planning to puree.
Chop them into 1/2 inch sized cubes and put them in a pot with just enough water to almost cover them. Alternatively, put them in a pot with a steamer basket to steam them.
If you are steaming them, steam until fork tender (easy enough to mash). If you are putting them in a pot with water, just cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the fruits or veggies are fork tender.
If steaming, put the fruits/veggies into a blender with some of the liquid you used to steam them. If you boiled your fruits/veggies, transfer everything from the pot into the blender (so you don’t lose any nutrients that might have leached into the water while you were boiling the produce).
Puree the fruits/veggies until smooth. Transfer to ice cube trays and freeze.
Once frozen, pop the cubes out and transfer them to freezer-safe zip-top bags.
To reheat, simply defrost in the microwave or in a small saucepan on the stove. Serve your homemade puree at room temperature.

What Foods Should You Give Baby First?

I can pretty much guarantee that your baby will happily eat fruit purees, because they contain a significant amount of natural sugar.

Babies are naturally inclined to enjoy sweet tastes (remember, breast milk is full of lactose, which is a sugar!), so exposing them to low-sugar vegetables early on is really important for developing their palates.

Once your baby is ready for solids, around 6 months of age, I recommend introducing fruits and vegetables in the following order:

Avocado, carrots, green beans, sweet potato, butternut squash, pears, apples, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower.
Then introduce any other fruits and vegetables that you want, and eventually add in fish and meat.

10 Healthy Homemade Baby Food Recipes for Beginners

1. Baby’s First Food: Avocado Puree

Millennials may be famous for their love of avocados, but guess what? Babies love avocados, too! In fact, avocado was the first solid food that we gave both of our kids. It’s incredibly easy to make an avocado puree, and it’s highly nutritious, too.

Avocados really are a great choice for baby’s first foods — they are delicious, flavorful, and have a great texture. Even better, they’re packed with 20 vitamins and minerals, including folate, fiber, potassium, vitamin E, and iron, as well as plenty of “healthy fats” that will help with your baby’s brain and nervous system development. Chances are, avocado will soon become one of your baby’s favorite foods!

VIEW THIS RECIPE

2. Carrot Puree

After avocado, carrot is an excellent food to introduce to your baby as you start giving them solids for the first time. Carrots are naturally sweet and are great for combining in purees with green vegetables in order to make them a little more enticing. All you need to do for this recipe is peel the carrots, cook them for 6-8 minutes, and then puree! Not only are carrots full of Vitamin A, which helps promote healthy skin and eyes, but they are also easy to digest and very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

3. Green Bean Puree

Now it’s time to bring in some greens! I recommend starting with green beans to introduce your baby to the taste of green vegetables. They are low in sugar but full of Vitamin A and fiber. I have to admit that my kids were not enamored with green beans from the start, until I started mixing them with organic plain yogurt. Once you’ve introduced green beans on their own, you can also combine them with carrots for an even tastier puree, but it’s important that babies first get accustomed to eating not-so-sweet foods.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

4. Sweet Potato Puree

Orange vegetables like sweet potato, butternut squash, and pumpkin are super healthy options, packed full of carotenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. And what’s more — babies tend to love them! You can prepare them so many different ways, including microwaving, steaming, or boiling. However, my favorite cooking method is to roast sweet potatoes in the oven so that they begin to caramelize, and then pureeing.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

5. Butternut Squash Puree

Butternut squash is a delicious and extremely nutritious veggie, packed full of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. As with sweet potatoes, I recommend roasting the butternut squash in the oven for an hour so that it becomes caramelized. After roasting, peeling off the skin and putting the squash pieces into a blender can get a bit messy, so you’ll want to make this in bulk. Don’t forget to line your baking tray with parchment paper for easier clean-up!

VIEW THIS RECIPE

6. Pear Puree

Once your baby has developed a taste for green and orange veggies, it’s time for a real treat — pears! Not only do pears taste great, but they’re also full of nutrients like fiber and Vitamin C, which help to prevent constipation and promote a healthy immune system, respectively.

Pears are also fantastic for mixing with other foods that your baby might not be so keen on, such as green beans. We get through a lot of pear puree in my house (it’s great mixed with oatmeal!), so I always make this in bulk.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

7. Apple and Prune Puree

Poor prunes — so unloved and misunderstood! If you find yourself walking past the prunes at the grocery store without a second thought, consider this: prunes are a fantastic food for babies! Quite simply, prunes are dried plums, and they’re full of antioxidants. And just as their reputation suggests, they really do “keep things moving” so that your baby doesn’t become constipated. My kids were more interested in prunes when I mixed them with apples. This prune and apple puree is also great with yogurt, oatmeal, or combined with green vegetables to give them a little natural sweetness.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

8. Broccoli, Spinach, and Cauliflower Puree

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more nutritionally-dense puree than this mixture of broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower, which is full of vitamins and minerals, including iron. This puree also contains loads of phytonutrients, which are known to have anti-cancer properties.

I recommend introducing this puree in small amounts, early in the day, because it contains a lot of fiber. Fiber is great, but it could potentially lead to gas or stomach upset if your baby eats too much, so you’ll initially want to avoid this puree close to bedtime. Once your baby gets used to these veggies though, you can serve it anytime you’d like! If the taste of the greens is too overpowering for your baby, consider adding a little bit of organic plain yogurt and some pear puree.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

9. Zucchini, Apple, and Carrot Puree

This puree is guaranteed to be popular with your little one — it was certainly one of my kids’ favorites. Zucchini and carrots are mild and fairly sweet veggies, and with the addition of two organic Fuji apples, this flavor combination is even more delectable! It’s a perfect puree to mix with your baby’s oatmeal.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

10. Pea Puree

Peas contain lots of vitamins, specifically Vitamin K, which is important for bone health, and Vitamin B6 and folic acid, which promote a healthy heart. In order to ensure that your purees retain as many nutrients as possible, avoid overcooking green veggies. Ideally, you should cook vegetables so that they stay bright green. Steaming them for just 3-5 minutes or boiling them for 3-5 minutes and then submerging them in cold water will help them to stay bright green and retain their chlorophyll. A word of advice: You may want to mix the peas with fruit or sweeter veggies in order to make them more appealing to your baby.

VIEW THIS RECIPE

If you enjoy making these purees — and your baby enjoys eating them! — check out my Super Easy Baby Food Cookbook for more easy homemade baby food recipes!

With over 150 recipes for babies, toddlers, and older kids, you’ll find plenty of ideas for purees that you can make in bulk, ahead of time, so that you never run out of your baby’s favorite foods.

It also includes guidance about mixing and matching ingredients to create the best-tasting purees, all while introducing your little one to a variety of flavors and textures.

And for when you start to transition towards finger foods, you’ll find plenty of toddler-friendly recipes that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less!

I hope this post helped you to navigate the wonderful world of making baby food at home.

Just remember – this is an opportunity to experiment and enjoy introducing your baby to all of the yummy tastes, flavors and textures that solids have to offer! Have fun with it!

More Resources to Make Healthy Homemade Baby Food Recipes!

The Super Easy Baby Food Cookbook
Top 10 Baby Superfood Recipes
A Sample Feeding Schedule For Your Baby (6-12 months)
30 Family Friendly Recipes Your Baby Will Love

Picky Baby Food Ideas

Has your baby been rejecting food at mealtime? If so, you’re not alone. Babies often have highly discerning tastes that may come off as “picky eating.”

Image by Stephen Andrews

The term ‘picky eater’ is often used disapprovingly by parents and caregivers to describe a variety of eating behaviors. Some caregivers have expectations of how much food needs to be consumed by their little one, and label their child ‘picky’ if less food is eaten.

It’s a completely normal behavior for your baby as you help them discover new food flavors and textures. Trying out different foods and textures can help you find what they will eat during these phases.

When picky eating and jags begin

Picky eating often shows up around a year of age but may happen sooner. Your baby’s appetite and food intake varies by meal and/or by day. Today’s favorite food is rejected tomorrow, and the preference for only one or two foods, commonly known as food jags, may begin.

Other caregivers experience food jags with their child, where only one or two foods are acceptable and this may be called ‘picky eating. ’ Sometimes toddlers just want to be active, and sitting in the highchair keeps them from their preferred play which earns them the ‘picky’ emblem.

Remember that these eating patterns are normal. Your child’s food intake needs depend on their level of physical activity and what their body needs. It’s important to continue monitoring their weight and ask their pediatrician if you have any concerns.

The best defense is to introduce a variety of tastes at a young age to acclimate the developing palate toward adventurous eating.

How you can help baby picky eaters

The most important thing you can do when you perceive your child as being a picky eater is to continue to offer a variety of healthy meals on a regular schedule. The selection of foods offered should also include previously rejected foods.

It’s important to remember that your baby is being introduced to a variety of flavors and developing tastes, and it’s perfectly normal if a food is not immediately accepted.

Things to avoid with baby picky eaters

The worst thing that caregivers can do for themselves and their children is to make food and mealtime a battleground. Mealtimes are meant to be pleasant, and forcing your little one to eat can actually cause him or her to become pickier and eat less.

Likewise, avoid bargaining with your child to take one more bite. They will quickly learn how to negotiate bites of food if the reward is dessert. That is a losing proposition for you both. Also avoid unhealthy options for the sake of getting them to eat as this can cause them to not develop a taste for healthier options.

Accept that your child will eat when they are hungry and they will decide how much is enough. This may be easier said than done. However, if you can stay the course rather than following your toddler around, hoping he will take a bite of something (or anything) you will find yourself in a better place.

Food ideas for a picky eater

Texture and flavor variety

As you’re introducing your baby to solids, they may still prefer purees or liquids alongside or entirely at times. It can be useful to find what soft solid food textures your baby prefers such as banana versus sweet potato or a soft crisp.
It can be useful to introduce your baby to one-ingredient solids for 3-5 days. This can help them get familiar with the new foods and allow enough time for them to try it and see if it’s a flavor they really do not like. If they don’t eat enough of the new food, be sure to supplement their meal with their favorite food puree pouch or other meal you’ll know they’ll eat.

Some food flavors and textures to try:

Banana cut into small pieces
Chicken chopped finely
Pasta well-cooked beyond requiring chewing
Potato cooked and cut into small pieces
Scrambled eggs cut into bite-size pieces

Test food temperatures

Sometimes babies prefer certain flavors warm and others cold. Your baby may also take to overall warmer foods more than cold or vice versa. It can also depend on their environment temperature. For example, you may want to cool them down on a hot day.

As you’re introducing new flavors and textures, be sure to experiment with food temperature as well to feel out their preferences. This can help you with the success of them taking to current and future foods you try out.

Get your baby’s preferred food staples delivered to your door

Picky eaters will often have a handful of consistent foods that they will eat regularly with no qualms. You just have to discover which ones those are and then keep them on hand to ensure they are eating enough while you help them explore new foods to expand their palette.

You can skip the grocery line and get a wide variety of flavors and textures in convenient baby food pouches sent to your home.

From fruits and veggies to protein-packed foods and dairy-free options, you can find flavors baby will love. And you’ll know that you’re feeding them high-quality ingredients as all Sprout’s foods are organic & non-GMO with no concentrates or preservatives. Discover your little one’s new favorite foods today!

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5 Solutions for the Picky Eater - Encyclopedia Baby Food

Picky Eater Picky Eater

When airplane games and "grandmother's spoon" cease to be effective, the baby still refuses to eat anything but his own 4 -5 favorite dishes, you need to find other ways of persuasion. I offer 5 solutions for a picky eater or how to feed a child, if everything has been tried!

1. When the child does not eat meat

Table of contents:

For children who don't even like meat, you can replace it with other foods that will replace the nutrients of meat. Mushrooms (age 5 years old) rich in vitamin B and antioxidants should be high on the replacement list as experts say they are the perfect choice for child and adult health who are far from meat. Legumes and lentils will replenish the protein your child needs, while quinoa will add the iron he needs. nine0003

2. When a child doesn't eat dairy

One of the biggest challenges parents of picky eaters have is persuading them to consume dairy in order to get all the essential nutrients their babies need. Therefore, this type of product can be replaced with products of equal nutritional value, such as spinach or nuts. You can add fruits to the children's diet apricot, strawberry and banana.

relatives humor

3. The appearance of the dish plays a role

It is sometimes not easy to cook a children's dish, but it is almost impossible to make a masterpiece from ordinary food. But can the parents of a picky eater be stopped in an attempt to feed their child. Of course, such preparation may take a little longer, but the result will be so impressive that the child is unlikely to resist and not eat. You can find a lot of ideas on the Internet, and we wrote the article “Top 10 Creative Breakfasts”, which you can read here.

4. Hide healthy foods

It's easy to hide some healthy foods in your child's favorite food, which he will eat anyway. For example, you can add some salad or other vegetables to a sandwich. Or fish can be disguised in buckwheat porridge, the main thing is that the product is pitted.

5. Mix the dish with something pleasant

The child's favorite activity before or after the meal will act as a lure to consume food that is unpleasant for him. True, it is necessary to tell the child the plan of events in advance. For example, "We'll be drawing for the next half hour, but first let's go!". The main thing is that the activity is loved, then the child quickly eats without noticing unloved foods. True, the promotion should not be food, we wrote about this in other articles. You should not mix this technique with food, the child should be warned in advance before he sits down at the table. And this method may not be suitable in the case of the natural stubbornness of a picky eater. nine0003

We have suggested 5 solutions for the picky eater to feed him, if you have any ideas, please share them in the comments, we will be interested to read them.

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pizza for fastidious eater - Encyclopedia Children's nutrition

Pitza MIRSTOVES - there are a millions of pITKS. Creative chefs come up with unique pizza toppings every day. That's great news, but how does pizza help picky eaters? nine0003

Table of contents:

Everything is simple and complicated at the same time. Pizza is a multi-component dish with a lot of ingredients. It's easy to lose a new/unloved product on this list. Trying pizza is easier than trying a new product. Since pizza consists of a combination of the taste of different products. So in a pizza, just hide the pickled cucumber in the sauce, it will give a twist to the pizza, but will not spoil it.

Because the sharp, salty taste of cucumber provides the perfect balance of sausage and cheese. Pickles pair especially well with toppings such as ground beef, cured meats, meat sauces, and full-fat cheeses such as Swiss, Mozzarella, and Gruyère. nine0003

Pizza dough

Pizza for picky eaters

Different pizza bases offer different flavors, textures and nutrients. For a very thick and dense base, use wheat flour and a deep plate. This option offers a higher calorie intake and will be more satisfying.

Pizza shortbread dough is very satisfying and slightly greasy.

Something lighter is thin dough . Many restaurants today offer gluten free thin crust pizza for those with dietary restrictions. This is easy to replicate at home.

You can also use a combination of different flours, add semolina, like Jamie Oliver, etc. There are a lot of recipes for a good pizza dough, the main desire and the Internet.

However, for the fastidious eater, we choose the classic options. Therefore, my favorite pizza base is yeast bread dough. Picky always eats bread, it's a win-win. However, I will write, because there are exceptions, suddenly the child does not like bread. Then we choose the basis of vegetables and eggs, a little not a classic pizza, but the picky eater leaves no choice. Finding a way to the child's stomach is a must, so turn on your imagination and surf the Internet. nine0003

Pizza sauce

Pizza for picky eaters

The next layer is just as important. It serves as a powerful source of flavor, but also helps to connect the base and filling. There are many varieties of sauce to choose from. Each brings its own flavor to the pizza and pairs differently with different cheeses and different types of dough. The choice of sauce should not be taken lightly. For example, baby ketchup, extra virgin olive oil, barbecue sauce, white garlic sauce, sour cream, mayonnaise, etc. nine0003

Sauce allows the picky eater to explore and expand their diet with a variety of flavors. If your child is used to the typical tomato sauce on pizza, you can try pizza with barbecue sauce. It has the same texture and color, but a very different taste.

Switching sauces is an easy way to try new flavors!

What is the picky eater classically choosing? Sour cream, mayonnaise, ketchup? Only mom knows this. My fussy closer to 8 years old began to apply mayonnaise on pizza with a thin layer, before that they did without sauces. nine0003

Pizza toppings

Sausage how to make pizza

No matter how creative the world of pizza approaches its toppings, nothing can ever topple sausage from Russian pizza.

For the picky eater's first pizza, you can choose one type of sausage, but then you can offer a variety. Children generally have a good attitude towards purchased sausage, easily accept this product and can participate in the choice.

Chicken

Most pizza toppings are inherently rich. The chicken, however, is something of a blank canvas. Plain grilled chicken strips provide good protein content for pizza while adding nutritious protein. Meanwhile, almost everyone likes fried chicken, including picky eaters.

Pizza bike - CLICK ME!!!

Cheese pizza with children

Cheese is very rarely rejected by picky eaters, so their favorite pizza is cheese. Here you can try to combine different types of cheeses, even cottage cheese. According to the rule - What if? nine0003

If you need to try a new fruit, meat or vegetable, try cutting them into very small pieces on your first pizza. You can invite the baby to choose a new topping on their own, as described in the article "How to make pizza with children." Making pizza with kids is a fun, sensory activity that introduces you to the food before they even try it. Putting the ingredients on the dough in an interesting sequence helps you get used to new textures and choose the amount of filling. For example, 3 grains of corn on a huge pizza, barely kept a smile, but the child was delighted, and even ate them. nine0003

Total

Pizza for picky eaters

Picky eater will try a very limited pizza for the first time. Bread dough without sauce with cheese. More like a sandwich than a pizza. Further, the task of the parent is to help the baby diversify a piece of cake.

Turn on your wits, arrange pizza evenings with the family, with the children of friends, with grandparents.