How to heat up baby food on the go

How To Heat Up Baby Food

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So you’re ready to introduce solid foods into your baby’s diet, you’ve researched homemade baby food recipes, and you’ve stocked up on ice cube trays and Stasher bags for storage. Now, we’re walking you through how to heat baby food safely to ensure your little one’s continued thriving. (Not sure if it’s time to start integrating baby food? We’ve got a post for that!) Figuring out how to prepare baby food to align with your baby’s nutritional needs is one thing, but learning how to store and reheat it correctly is truly just as important for your baby’s health.

There are a handful of key considerations when it comes to heating or reheating baby food: namely, making sure that reheated food is piping hot to destroy harmful bacteria that could jeopardize your baby’s health, and making sure that any food cools sufficiently before serving. But in this article, you’ll also learn about the benefits of cooking in bulk, how to freeze and reheat baby food, and how to do all of this while reducing consumption of single-use packaging, like those plastic baby food pouches that inevitably end up in our landfills and oceans.

So to learn more about all things baby food – and to help create a better planet for your little one to enjoy – read on.

How Best to Heat Up Baby Food

There are two primary ways of heating up or reheating baby food: on the stovetop or in the microwave. For either method, the goal is to practice good food safety and reheat baby food super thoroughly (think: piping hot!) as to destroy bacteria that could make your baby sick.

For the stovetop method, heat up baby food directly in a hot pan or in a double boiler, stirring constantly until the food is steaming. Alternatively, you can also use a sous vide method by submerging a Stasher 1-Cup Bowl filled with the refrigerated or frozen baby food into a pot of boiling water until the food heats through.

To save time, you can use the microwave method instead. Using a microwave-safe container like a Stasher 1-Cup Bowl, heat the frozen or refrigerated baby food on high for 15-second increments. Make sure the container is covered or somehow sealed as to keep the steam in and heat the food more thoroughly.

For both methods, stir the hot baby food well to ensure that any hot spots are absorbed into the rest of the food. Then, allow to cool sufficiently before feeding it to your little one – you can test the temperature yourself to make sure! But don’t allow the baby food to sit out for an extended period of time, as this encourages bacteria growth.

Reheating Baby Food from Frozen

When reheating baby food from frozen, make sure that the food is fully thawed – and, you guessed it, piping hot. It might seem easier to heat just to room temperature and serve immediately rather than waiting for super hot food to cool. But for the sake of your baby’s health and wellbeing, follow food safety best practices and heat food thoroughly until it’s steaming and then let it cool sufficiently. Better (food) safe than sorry! ;-)

To save time, consider doling out baby food into individual portions by using an ice cube tray and then putting the tray into the freezer – baby food is safe to freeze for 3 months. Once frozen, pop the cubes out into a Stasher 8-Cup Bowl. Now, you’ll have single portions ready and waiting in the freezer! And because baby food can only be reheated once, this method reduces food waste, too.

Can You Refreeze Baby Food?

While baby food has a pretty long shelf life when it’s stored in freezer-friendly containers like Stasher bags or Stasher bowls, it can only be reheated from frozen once. That means that if you’ve heated up frozen baby food and then have leftovers, those leftovers shouldn’t be refrozen – either promptly discard them or pop them in the fridge to use within two days. The process of freezing, thawing, heating, and then refreezing food creates a more hospitable environment for harmful bacteria to grow, which can make your little one sick. This is why following proper food safety techniques is important! And this is also why we’re big fans of freezing baby food in single portions – less food to potentially waste.

How to Prepare Store Bought Baby Foods

Unlike homemade baby food, store-bought baby food can be served at room temperature if you’ve just opened a new jar. But if you’re serving up leftovers from the refrigerator or freezer, be sure to heat the baby food super thoroughly (and then let it cool thoroughly, too!) just as you would with homemade food.

And just like with homemade baby food, store-bought baby food stays fresh in the fridge once opened for two days, so discard leftovers that have been sitting in the fridge for longer than this. Likewise, if you’re opening a jar of baby food and don’t hear that satisfying pop of the lid opening – or the click of a plastic squeeze top being unscrewed – that means the jar probably wasn’t properly sealed and could be playing host to harmful bacteria. Although we’re big believers in conservation and minimizing waste, food safety and the wellbeing of your little one is important too. So if you’re not sure if food is still safe to serve, play it safe and toss it.

You can freeze store-bought baby food, but we recommend transferring it to freezer-friendly food containers first – the plastic squeeze pouches and glass jars that store-bought baby food come in were not designed to go in the freezer and can crack. And remember, whether it’s store-bought or homemade, don’t refreeze baby food if it’s already been frozen and thawed previously.

The main best-practices when it comes to heating baby food safely? Heat throughout, let those fruit purees or veggies cool sufficiently, don’t thaw baby food and then refreeze it, and discard leftovers after 2 days. Oh, and that when it comes to all things storing, heating, and serving baby food, the Stasher bowl is your new best friend.

How to store and heat baby food on the move

how to guides

First published on Monday 1 August 2016 00:00 BST Last modified on Monday 19 April 2021, 13:32 BST

Lucy Dimbylow

Writer

This page contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small amount of money if a reader clicks through and makes a purchase. All our articles and reviews are written independently by the Netmums editorial team.

Once you’re into the swing of parenthood, getting out and about with your baby is relatively easy.

But when you start weaning, you face a whole new challenge: feeding your baby when you’re away from home.

Working out how to keep food fresh on the go, and how to heat it up when it’s dinnertime can be tricky, so read on for the must-know guidelines on travelling with baby food.

Keeping baby food fresh on days out

Many parents, even if they usually cook homemade food for their baby, prefer to use jars or pouches of readymade baby food for days out.

Neatly sealed in sterile containers, they can be kept at room temperature so you don’t need to worry about how to keep them fresh.

If, however, you want to take homemade food out and about, you’ll need an insulated cool bag and some freezer blocks to keep the food at the right temperature.

You can either buy a bag specially designed for transporting baby food, or just use a normal insulated lunch bag, widely available from supermarkets.

1. Baby Polar Gear Little One's Lunch Bag

See more at Amazon

*Insulated cool bag with re-freezable ice pack

*Adjustable shoulder strap with clip to attach to prams

*Also available in blue

This roomy cool bag comes with an ice pack included and has been specifically designed with babies and young children in mind. With a handy pocket on the front, and an adjustable shoulder strap it can be attached to a pram or buggy handle.

2. Babymoov Airtight Containers (six-pack)

See more at Amazon

*Stackable for storage

*Ideal for travel and days out

*Dishwasher, microwave and steriliser-safe

These air-tight storage pots by Babymoov can be popped into the dishwasher or microwave and come in a handy pack of six. Ideal for travel, they can be stacked for easier storage. They are just what you need to transport your baby's food on days out.

3. Disposable Weaning Bibs (20-pack)

See more at Amazon

*Perfect for meals out and about

*Waterproof backing and crumbcatcher

*Adjustable neck with sticky tabs fastening

Using disposable bibs for days out can be a great idea. We like these brightly coloured ones from Tommee Tippee that come in a pack of 20. They have an adjustable neck that fastens with sticky tabs and waterproof backing and a crumb catcher to keep mess contained.

4. TUM TUM Children's Food Flask

See more at Amazon

*Can be used to keep food hot or cold

*Comes in three attractive designs

*Bpa-free and dishwasher-safe

This flask will keep your baby's food hot for up to five hours, but don’t forget to allow time for it to cool before you feed it to them. It's available in three funky designs and can keep food hot for around five hours.

You’ll also need to remember to pack any snacks your child might need.

Pre-packed snacks like boxes of raisins, cereal bars and packets of rice cakes are ideal for days out, but if you want to take your own snacks, pack them in lidded containers or a special non-spill snack pot: these have flexible lids with an opening that allows your baby to get the snacks out but not tip them everywhere.

Don’t forget to put in cutlery, your baby’s sippy cup and bibs, too; disposable bibs are handy for meals on the move.

How do you keep baby food warm while traveling?

If you don’t think you’ll be able to microwave food on the move, you’ll need to heat it before you leave home.

Heat until it’s piping hot in the microwave, in the container that you want to transport it in (as transferring hot food to a cold pot will immediately start to cool it down).

Put a lid securely on the pot, and then put it inside an insulated lunch bag.

This should keep the food at the temperature required to prevent bacteria growth (60C) for two to four hours.

Don’t put cold food in the same bag as pre-heated food, as neither will stay at the correct temperature.

Before feeding your baby, taste the food yourself to make sure that it’s cooled down to a safe temperature.

The alternative is to invest in a small Thermos flask or travel mug, and put your homemade baby food directly into this.

How do you store baby food on the go?

Getting out and about with a weaning baby might seem like a lot of hassle, but like all parenting routines, the more you practise, the easier it will become.

And with an insulated bag, some freezer blocks and some decent, leak-proof food storage, you’ll soon find that there are no limits to the places you can explore.

The easy way to cope with mealtimes when you’re out and about is to take no-cook food that your baby can eat at room temperature.

This could be a jar or pouch of shop-bought baby food, finger food like sandwiches, or if you’d prefer her to have a fresh meal, you can simply take a ripe banana or avocado and mash it with a fork when it’s time to eat.

Frozen baby food will stay frozen in a cool bag for about six hours, and refrigerated food will also stay cool for that length of time.

Take the food out of the fridge or freezer just before you leave home and put it straight into the bag along with the freezer blocks.

If you’re not sure if you’ll be able to defrost the food on the move, it’s best to do this before you go out.

Make sure your food is stored in airtight pots with close-fitting lids to avoid leaks in your cool bag.

What temperature should baby food be?

Homemade food should be heated until it’s piping hot, so it’s not recommended that you warm it by standing it in a bowl of hot water (although you can do this for jars).

Many restaurants, service stations and family-friendly facilities like soft play centres have microwaves for customer use, or the staff can microwave food for you; if possible, phone ahead to check whether this can be done.

You can also check whether highchairs are available at the same time.

For homemade meals or foods that your baby prefers to eat warm, it’s best to heat the food when you need to use it, if possible.

This helps to reduce the risk of bacteria breeding in the food.

Do you feed baby food warm or cold?

Homemade food should be heated until it’s piping hot, so it’s not recommended that you warm it by standing it in a bowl of hot water (although you can do this for jars).

You can also check whether highchairs are available at the same time.

For homemade meals or foods that your baby prefers to eat warm, it’s best to heat the food when you need to use it, if possible.

This helps to reduce the risk of bacteria breeding in the food.

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Food on the road (asks Anonymous)

01/06/2014 01:15

Girls, we need advice! We are taking the child home. We will be on the road for about a day. What to feed on the road? What to bring? The child is 2 years old. Baby puree, which is in small jars? But will it be cold? And it won't be enough? Well banana. Juices in boxes. I can't imagine :( help!

Anonymous

01/06/2014 01:19

What are you driving? We drove ours for three days by car :) We bought baby food in jars (there is pasta, meatballs, and potatoes ... I ate it myself, delicious). They stopped, opened the hood and warmed the can on the motor. + at petrol stations you can ask to warm up.

Anonymous

01/06/2014 01:23

you can just buy a heater for bottles, you can also heat jars in it. You can take a large thermos with boiling water, dilute the porridge, heat a jar in boiling water. porridge is full of all sorts of children's for grown-up children, who are bred with boiling water in a plate.

Ogram C.S.

01/06/2014 01:28

Let's think about a thermos. Thanks for the idea! And damn it, they just probably won’t let you carry it through the inspection. And on the plane, can you ask for boiling water when tea is offered? And take a cup under the porridge?

Anonymous

01/06/2014 23:58

Any liquid for baby food is allowed into the aircraft, in almost any container. I wanted to throw out a liter bottle of water, but they stopped me - they said, like, ok, for baby food :))). I don’t know the difference in the nutrition of children from DD, but usually a child can already eat adult food at 2 years old. My ate, what in my opinion is not very harmful from the aircraft menu. He believes that the best food is on the plane :))). Although I've been to different cafes, I'm not even talking about homemade food - I'm not a competitor :) You can ask for boiling water. Take a resealable container for baby food - a huge assortment in stores. Several are better, because washing on the plane is inconvenient. Of the cereals, I can recommend Heinz all sorts of yoghurt from the year - they are with crispy balls, etc. I love myself :) There are jars - gerberas and sempers - from a year and a half, complex - delicious, if salted (all sorts of pasta in sauce or rice with meatballs) Cookies and drying - they help a lot on the road, as well as dried fruits and nuts. Live fruit is a difficult thing, it is better to buy it somewhere - for example, at the airport, if there are cafes.

Anonymous1

06.01.2014 01:25

In general, we fly by plane. .. In the evening we will take you to the hotel, probably after dinner. In the morning at 6 to the airport, and with a transfer, fly about 7 hours plus two hours between planes ....

Anonymous

01/06/2014 01:26

Everything will be warmed up on the plane :)

Anonymous

01/06/2014 01:30

What is all this? That is, all the same, baby food in banks? And ask the flight attendant? Does such a practice exist? Dont know . Thanks

Anonymous

01/06/2014 01:46

In civilized airlines, they always meet the needs of a mother with a child. They warmed up the infant formula for me - the flight attendants themselves offered help.

01/06/2014 01:44

I often flew with a child. I learned in advance from the airlines and at the airport the rules for carrying food for the child. I managed to carry a whole thermos of hot boiled water with me. And this means that you can dilute milk formula, and dry baby porridge, and mashed potatoes ... If they don’t let you bring a thermos, then be sure to bring a bottle of clean drinking water for the child with you - they will warm it up for you on the plane. Take children's cookies, canned purees, juices with you ... It is quite possible that the child will not have a big appetite due to stress, but all sorts of drinks will do. Necessarily dry and wet wipes (+ I also bought disinfectant wipes at the pharmacy), diapers, a pacifier, small plastic toys, small books with cardboard pages, a spare set of clothes. Everything will be fine! If you're lucky, the child may sleep part of the time on the plane. P.S. And one more idea. Maybe you can complete all the paperwork in the evening, and then negotiate with the night shift (perhaps for a fee), so that the child sleeps at night in the same place, and you pick it up early in the morning. Just .... in a hotel from an overabundance of impressions, a child can not sleep for half the night. Or ask to be made an exception for you and left for the night in the DR, so that you pick up your baby from the crib in the morning and leave.

01/06/2014 11:25

Thank you for such a detailed answer! And about picking up in the morning - I think it's unrealistic. It is necessary to call a taxi from the hotel at 6 in the morning. And if you collect it in Dr, then raise everyone there in general in the middle of the night. But if he doesn't sleep at night, he might sleep on the plane...

Anonymous

01/06/2014 16:49

Depends on what the child is already eating. Ask what diet is in the DR and proceed from that. Any airline has baby food, it must be ordered in advance. Find out either when buying tickets, or look at the website. With me, I would take ready-made milk formula (liquid porridge), fruits (which I have already tried), baby kefir, agusha, a couple of packages of juice, baby cookies. If they don’t provide baby food in flight, then at 2 years old they would have been quietly fed with what they give out in flight - cheese, bread, chicken, pasta, etc. Again - find out what menu is usually supposed to be. It’s good to have water with you, but I bought a bottle of non-carbonated water and didn’t bathe. They also give water on the plane :). Look, maybe you can buy baby food not in jars, but in tetra-packs - they are more convenient. Pancakes, pancakes - if they gave you in the DR, buy it too and take it with you, they are long-lasting :). Buy a small bag a refrigerator and a freezer block - you can easily transport both agusha and kefir and something else. Show BOTH tickets at the checkpoint and calmly carry all the food for the entire flight. General advice - do not take anything completely new from the diet, otherwise you will get an upset stomach or something :).

Miraculous charm *

01/07/2014 20:16

Thank you! After your answer, not everything seems so problematic :)

Anonymous

01/08/2014 18:58

Pay attention to the new changes in the rules for transporting liquids on the plane, in connection with the Olympics. Baby food was also banned until March 21 :(( If I were in your place, I would call the airport from which you fly and ask what you can take on the plane to feed the child. I already did this when I there were problems with the documents for the child, and the day before I called the passport service of the airport of departure, consulted, asked the name of the person who gave me the answer and his position.I was asked when I was flying, and where and when I was at passport control, then I had a feeling that they knew about me and there were no problems. 0003

Snow C.S.

01/09/2014 14:06

+1, the more you need to call and find out both at the airport and at the airline what kind of baby food they offer in flight.

Miraculous charm *

18.04.2014 19:31

The main advice - do not gain too much!!! :) Carrying on yourself is nowhere worse, especially when there is still a small child in your arms, requiring a lot of attention. Be sure to take a stroller-cane, you can drive up to the plane with it. Do not take canned food at all. If possible, in tetra bags, kefir, yogurt, and simple cookies. At 2, the child can already eat food on the plane (if fed). Or simple food from cafes.

_Zinochka_ *

04/18/2014 20:44

Both of my children after the children's homes (daughter came home at 1. 4, son at 2.8) ate everything only rather liquid. So it's better to play it safe - jars, porridge for children are quick ...

Anonymous

04/18/2014 21:19

Now there are a lot of cafes on the tracks. There is a microwave, take food with you, you can warm it up there (some charge a fee). You can take with you: A thermos with boiling water (you can add it to the juice if it is cold) A bottle of non-carbonated drinking water (to dilute the boiling water) Instant cereals Juice Apples Drying / croutons Boiled horns with a cutlet (frozen beforehand, but warmed up in a cafe)

Falcons V.I.P.

Open in the forum

How to warm up infant formula

— Polina Alexandrovna, is it possible to warm up infant formula — what do doctors and manufacturers say?

- General recommendations do not prohibit heating the mixture. Another question is how and why to do it. Mixtures that are sold ready-made are naturally heated. Dry mixtures must be diluted with water of the required temperature, and the need for heating in this case is lost.

— And if the situation forces you to prepare the mixture in advance, what should mom do?

- It is theoretically possible to heat infant formula that has been diluted in water and not used for a certain time. But this moment must be avoided. Fresh meals can be prepared just before the baby is fed, using separate containers with a powder dispenser and a thermos of water hot enough to cool down to the right temperature by the time the formula is diluted. When traveling by car, it makes sense to use mobile water bottle warmers, they are often powered by a car cigarette lighter.

— Is it true that some mixtures can be heated while others cannot?

— It is possible and necessary to warm up ready-made liquid mixtures, which are sold in Tetra Pak packages. In another way, it is simply impossible, the child will not eat a cold mixture. On dry milk mixtures there are no markings with contraindications for warming up. However, it is illogical to dilute the mixture with cold water and then heat it up - it is initially poorly bred in cold water. It is better to dilute the dry mixture with water at the temperature recommended by the manufacturer.

— Can infant formula be heated in the microwave?

- Microwave does not destroy any elements of the mixture. But there are pitfalls that are not immediately noticeable. In the microwave, the mixture heats up unevenly, and very hot spots can form locally. Accordingly, if the temperature rises excessively, proteins can coagulate or certain nutrients can be destroyed. No one can guarantee what will happen in a particular microwave oven - they all have different capacities and configurations.

— Then what is the best way to warm up infant formula?

— To ensure that the mixture is heated correctly, a water bath should ideally be used. Even in the instructions of the manufacturers of ready-to-use liquid mixtures, heating is recommended in a water bath.

— Polina Aleksandrovna, is it possible to reheat infant formula?

- Reheating is not recommended. If the prepared mixture was heated and it cooled down again, it is better to dilute a fresh portion.

Read also

answers to other frequently asked questions about blends

- How long does reconstituted infant formula keep in the refrigerator?

- It is not recommended to store the mixture in cooked form: diluted - fed the child. Yes, there are extreme situations when it is impossible otherwise: there was no mixture at hand, this was the last portion ... But storing the diluted mixture at room temperature is prohibited, and even in the refrigerator they keep it - at the peril and risk of parents - no more than 1 -2 hours. And obviously it is not necessary to store the diluted mixture more than the child can consume at a time. A mixture that the child has not finished eating should not be stored under any circumstances.

- What are the requirements for the reconstituted bottle?

- Sterile - the main requirement: the bottle must contain a mixture that the child has not yet consumed. The dishes must be hermetically sealed, excluding contact with air and the environment.

It is not recommended to store diluted infant formula, so there is no special need to warm up dry milk formula. If it is not possible to feed the baby at home, then it is better to take a thermos of hot water and a container of dry formula with you and dilute a portion of the mixture just before feeding the baby.

* Breast milk is the best food for babies. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a child's life and continued breastfeeding after complementary foods are introduced until the age of 2 years. Before introducing new products into the baby's diet, you should consult with a specialist. The material is for informational purposes and cannot replace the advice of a healthcare professional.

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