How to make organic baby food

How to Make Homemade Baby Food

Contributors: Jill Weisenberger, MS, RDN, CDE, FAND

Published: December 17, 2019

Reviewed: November 12, 2019

Wiktory/Thinkstock

Breastfeeding is recommended exclusively until six months of age and along with solid foods until at least one year of age. Talk with your pediatrician about the best time for your baby to start solids and how to introduce them. Monitoring for possible food reactions is especially important, as is providing foods that contribute key nutrients like protein, iron and zinc.

If your little one is ready for solid foods, you have numerous nutritious options at the supermarket, such as iron-fortified cereal, to feed your baby. And, if you prepare homemade baby food, you have even more variety: Not only can you pick from an assortment of fruits and vegetables in the produce section, but you can also use frozen veggies and fruits canned in their own juices.

Making your own food can help expose babies to more flavors, which may help them become more adventurous eaters. Furthermore, by managing added sugars and salt, you're in greater control of your baby's nutrition.

Follow these guidelines if you choose to prepare homemade baby food:

Getting Started

If you are interested in preparing your own baby food but find the idea daunting, start with just a few homemade items. Mashing a very ripe avocado or banana is a good place to begin. After your baby responds well, you can try preparing nutrient-rich foods that might not be as common in the baby food aisle, such as beets, broccoli, turnips, asparagus, spinach, blueberries, kale, mango and papaya. Just be sure to mash or puree the foods for your baby and serve only one new single ingredient food at a time.

Use items that are in season or foods that you’re preparing for the rest of the family, but without the added sugars, salt and seasonings. Everyone in the family will get to enjoy the same nutritious foods, which will save you time and effort.

Preparing Food

Be vigilant about sanitation. Use only well-scrubbed and washed produce, clean hands, utensils, cutting boards and countertops.

Wash and peel produce and remove any seeds or pits. Take special care with fruits and vegetables that are grown close to the ground as they may contain spores of Clostridium botulinum or contain other harmful bacteria that can cause food poisoning.
Cook food until it's very tender. Steaming and microwaving in just a little water are good methods to retain vitamins and minerals in fruits and vegetables. When cooking meats and fish, remove all gristle, skin and bones before cooking.
Puree or mash fresh fruit or fruit canned in its own juice. Never add honey to foods or drinks for children under 12 months, as it may contain Clostridium botulinum spores. Also avoid adding corn syrup or other sweeteners as they only provide extra calories but not nutrients.
Make sure the texture and temperature are appropriate. Some foods pose a choking risk and are not recommended for infants, such as whole grapes, raisins, and pieces of hot dog. Pureed foods can be thinned, if needed, by adding breastmilk, formula, or water. Cow’s milk and milk alternatives should not be used during the first year. After warming solid foods, be sure to mix thoroughly and recheck the temperature so as not to burn the infant’s mouth.
Cook eggs, meats and poultry until well done. Babies are especially susceptible to food poisoning caused by eating undercooked meats, poultry and eggs. Be certain that all meats and fish are cooked to proper temperatures; 145°F for fish and whole cuts of beef and pork, 160°F for ground beef and egg dishes and 165°F for all types of chicken and poultry or leftovers.
For convenience, freeze prepared baby food for later use. Freeze it in small portions in a clean ice cube tray. Once frozen, put the cubes into clean, airtight, freezer-safe food containers for single-serving portions. As another method, use the "plop and freeze" technique: plop meal-size spoonfuls of pureed food onto a cookie sheet, freeze, then transfer the frozen baby food to clean freezer-safe containers for storage in the freezer.
If you're cooking the same food for the rest of the family, remove the baby's portion before adding salt and seasonings. A baby's taste buds can be very sensitive. As the baby grows and becomes more used to table food, feel free to add seasonings other than salt.

Keeping Baby Safe

Preparing homemade baby food requires extra care to keep baby's food safe and to retain the nutrients from fresh foods. After you've prepared the food, either serve it or refrigerate it right away. Keep homemade baby food in a covered container for one or two days in the refrigerator or one to two months in the freezer with a label and date. Small portions served in separate dishes are ideal because any food that was served, but not eaten, must be thrown out. Bacteria thrive in the mouth, so if a spoon goes into the baby's mouth and then touches the food, that food should not be saved for later.

It's Fine To Buy Store-Bought Baby Food Too

Commercial baby foods are nutritious options for feeding baby, too. Today's commercial baby foods provide balance and variety with carefully controlled and consistent nutrient content, so don’t worry if you supplement your baby's intake with commercial baby foods. Be sure to talk to your baby's health care provider about which foods are best for your baby and if any dietary supplements may be recommended.

Looking for credible nutrition information and recommendations? The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' network of credentialed food and nutrition practitioners are ready to help!

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10 Easy Homemade Baby Food Ideas (No-Cook, Super Fast, Stage 1)

Learn how to make the EASIEST homemade baby food recipes (stage 1) for your little one with these super simple no-cook ideas. Plus: I have the best tips for making them ahead and freezing them so you can batch cook and simplify your days!

Homemade Baby Food

As a mom to three kids, I know firsthand how the urge to make homemade baby food can be both exciting and a little daunting. And if you have a busy schedule or other kids in the house, finding the time to actually do it can seem impossible. But, there are so many healthy foods that you can transform into stage 1 baby food purees with hardly any work or special equipment at all!

TIP: I use a regular blender for all of these recipes, so you don’t need to buy a special baby food maker unless you want to.

Baby Food Recipes for 6, 7, and 8 Month Old Babies

These homemade baby food ideas are designed for younger babies who are still eating thinner purees, but you can of course use them for older babies and toddlers too. Each can be served as is, or you can combine more than one together to create new flavors if you’re feeling creative!

TIP: If you want to add fat or protein to any of these fruit or veggie purees, simply stir in a little whole milk yogurt, coconut cream, or Avocado Puree.

Best Way to Make Baby Food

I’ve found that the easiest and most approachable way to make baby food is to simply use a blender. With fresh ingredients and a little water, breastmilk, or formula to thin it as needed, you can easily make your baby meals without investing in equipment you may not use very long.

TIP: You’ll want to start with at least 1 cup of any base ingredient to ensure that there’s enough in the blender to fully blend up.

Tools You Need to Make Homemade Baby Food

To make these baby food recipes you’ll need:

Blender (you could also use an immersion blender if yours is very strong)
Water, formula, or breastmilk to thin as needed
Knife for chopping produce
Spoon
Bowls
Ice cube tray
Freezer bags for storage
Baby food storage containers

Stage 1 Baby Food

These baby foods are meant for early eaters as they are typically very thin and easy for a baby to move around in their mouths. I follow the recommendations to wait until 6 months to start solids, so I personally don’t worry excessively about this distinction as I like babies to experience some texture in their purees. (The ones you find at the store are low allergenic foods and are meant for 4+ months.)

Stage 2 Baby Food

These baby foods are typically a little bit thicker, sometimes include more than one ingredient, and offer a wider variety of ingredients. Most babies are ready for these sorts of purees around 7-8 months, or once they’ve mastered thinner purees. (Again, since I like to do a combined baby feeding approach with both baby led weaning and purees, I don’t worry too much about following the calendar to decide when to introduce these.)

TIP: As a backup to my homemade baby foods, I love the options from Amara Organic Baby Food (paid affiliate link) since you simply need to stir it together with breast milk, formula, or water and it’s ready to serve.

And now, for my ten go-to homemade baby food purees that you don’t even need to cook!

1.

Avocado Puree

To make avocado puree for a baby, you just need a fresh avocado, a blender, and some lemon juice if you plan to store it for later. I sometimes even do this with just a fork if the avocado is super soft! It’s a perfect way to introduce a low allergenic food that’s rich in healthy fats.

TIP: Get the full recipe for Avocado Puree here.

2. Bean Puree

Baby’s early foods don’t have to be all one food group and beans are a great food to have in the mix. You can do this easy bean puree with chickpeas, pinto beans, black beans, or even white beans, thinning it as needed with water, formula, or breastmilk. This is a great puree to mix with a little sweet potato or butternut squash.

TIP: Get the full recipe for Bean Puree here.

3. Blueberry Puree

Using fresh or frozen blueberries, this easy berry puree is loaded with fresh flavor and antioxidants. It’s delicious on its own or stirred into plain whole milk yogurt or baby oatmeal. (Note that it thickens up as it sits in the fridge, so you’ll need to stir it well to serve.)

TIP: Get the full recipe for Blueberry Puree here.

4. Kiwi Puree

With a bright flavor, this puree is great for babies who seem to love flavor—and it’s a fun one to make and store for later. You’ll want to make sure that you choose very ripe and sweet kiwi and taste it before you make the puree to ensure that it’s not too tart. (If it seems tart, you can mix with banana or applesauce.)

TIP: Get the full recipe for Kiwi Puree here.

5. Mango Puree

Using fresh or thawed frozen mango, this baby puree blends up in seconds. It’s bright, flavorful, and a great source of immune-boosting vitamins. Taste your mango to be sure that it’s sweet and not too tart. (If it’s tart, you can add Applesauce or ripe Banana Puree.)

TIP: Get the full recipe for Mango Puree here.

6. Peach Puree

Turn fresh or frozen and thawed peach slices into a super smooth Stage 1 baby food with this easy blender method. You’ll want to strain out the skin since it’s hard to blend up smooth, even with a high powered blender, but that’s so easy to do! This baby food recipe is a nice alternative to applesauce.

TIP: Get the full recipe for Peach Puree here.

7. Whipped Peanut Butter

This may not have occurred to you, but whipped peanut butter is a great baby food! This is a perfect way to introduce baby to peanut butter and to offer it safely there after. You just need to stir water into unsweetened creamy peanut butter until it forms a whipped consistency like yogurt. It’s smooth, not too sticky, and packed with protein.

TIP: Get the full scoop on introducing peanuts to baby here.

8. Pineapple Puree

Blend up fresh or frozen pineapple chunks into a tropical baby food puree that’s smooth and creamy. This is yummy on its own or paired with whole milk plain yogurt. Taste your pineapple to ensure that it’s not too tart. (If it’s tart, you can add Applesauce or ripe Banana Puree. )

TIP: Get the full recipe for Pineapple Puree here.

9. Strawberry Puree

Fresh strawberries blend up into a perfectly smooth homemade puree without the need for any additional liquid. You can serve this as is, or mix with applesauce if desired. The flavor of your berries will determine the flavor of your puree, so be sure to taste them for sweetness.

TIP: Get the full recipe for Strawberry Puree here.

10. Banana Puree

Ripe bananas make great homemade baby food with the help of just a blender. This is a super simple baby food to make at home and it’s easy to digest as a Stage 1 baby food. Use ripe bananas with brown spots to ensure that the puree tastes sweet and is easy for baby to digest.

TIP: Get the full recipe for Banana Puree here.

Homemade Baby Food Storage

The easiest way to store homemade baby food is to add fresh purees to an ice cube tray and freeze. Once frozen, simply pop out the cubes and store in labeled freezer bags for up to 3 months. These are a perfect way to make it easy to send homemade baby food to daycare or to simply get ahead for the coming week.

TIP: Find more information about storing baby food—including the best small food storage containers—here.

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Tips for Making the Best Homemade Baby Food

Use at least 1 cup base ingredient to ensure that a blender has enough volume to blend well.
Thin any homemade puree with water, formula, or breast milk.
Freeze any baby food you won’t use within 3 days in an ice cube tray. Transfer frozen cubes into freezer storage bags for up to 3 months. Thaw these frozen baby food recipes in an airtight container in the fridge overnight before you plan to serve.
Taste all fresh foods for sweetness and to ensure that your puree isn’t too tart. To tame tartness, mix any puree with Banana Puree , Avocado Puree, Applesauce, or Mashed Sweet Potato.
If you want to add fat or protein to any of these fruit or veggie purees, simply stir in a little whole milk yogurt, coconut cream, or Avocado Puree.
Use breastmilk or formula in place of the water if desired.
Mix two purees together for more complex flavors.
Add texture to any puree by stirring in baby oatmeal or hemp seeds.
For more details on each of these, find them here: Avocado Puree; Banana Puree, Bean Puree; Blueberry Puree, Kiwi Puree, Mango Puree, Pineapple Puree, Peanut Butter Puree, Peach Puree, Strawberry Puree

I’d love to hear your feedback on this way of making simple baby food, so please comment below. I so appreciate hearing your experience with my recipes!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Total Time 5 minutes

Author Amy Palanjian

Cuisine American

Course Baby Food

Calories 42kcal

Servings 4

▢ 1 cup blueberries, diced strawberries, diced peaches (peeled), diced kiwi (peeled), diced pineapple (peeled), diced banana (peeled), diced mango (peeled), diced avocado (peeled), OR beans (rinsed and drained)
▢ water, formula, or breast milk (as needed)

Choose one fruit, the avocado, or beans and add to a blender.
If making the puree with blueberries, strawberries, peaches, kiwi, pineapple, mango, or beans, add ¼ cup water and blend, adding more water as desired to make a thin, very smooth puree. If making avocado or banana, just blend (without water) until very smooth.
Serve or store in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Vitamix Blender
Storage Containers
Silicone Ice Cube Tray

Use at least 1 cup base ingredient to ensure that a blender has enough volume to blend well.
Thin any homemade puree with water, formula, or breast milk.
Freeze any baby food you won't use within 3 days in an ice cube tray. Transfer frozen cubes into freezer storage bags for up to 3 months. Thaw these frozen baby food recipes in an airtight container in the fridge overnight before you plan to serve.
Taste all fresh foods for sweetness and to ensure that your puree isn't too tart. To tame tartness, mix any puree with Banana Puree , Avocado Puree, Applesauce, or Mashed Sweet Potato.
If you want to add fat or protein to any of these fruit or veggie purees, simply stir in a little whole milk yogurt, coconut cream, or Avocado Puree.
Use breastmilk or formula in place of the water if desired.
Mix two purees together for more complex flavors.
Add texture to any puree by stirring in baby oatmeal or hemp seeds.
For more details on each of these, find them here: Avocado Puree; Banana Puree, Bean Puree; Blueberry Puree, Kiwi Puree, Mango Puree, Pineapple Puree, Peanut Butter Puree, Peach Puree, Strawberry Puree

Serving: 0.25cup, Calories: 42kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 1mg, Potassium: 57mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 7g, Vitamin A: 40IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 4mg, Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Rate in the comments and tag @yummytoddlerfood on IG!

Benefits of organic baby food - Articles about baby food from pediatricians and MAMAKO experts

Components of food products are building blocks for all organs and tissues of the human body, so the state of health is determined by the quality, digestibility, biological and energy value of food. It creates the prerequisites for the proper development of the body and its functioning in the future.

Specialists, scientists, physicians associate the increase in the incidence of children over the past century with changes in diet. From the first years of life, a child's body is extremely susceptible to various undesirable and harmful components, such as toxins, allergens, which are often food additives of chemical origin.

The popularity of natural and organic products has exploded in the last decade as more consumers recognize their health benefits. The supply is formed by demand, therefore, food products appear on the market every year, which are characterized by a high degree of safety, attractive consumer properties, the presence of well-digestible proteins and micronutrients, minerals and vitamins that are important for the formation of a healthy body.

It is a balanced and healthy diet based on optimally selected food products that will provide children with full development, good physical shape and mood, and the formation of rational eating habits.

Baby food is generally characterized by high nutritional value and good taste, safety, balanced composition. But the variety of terms on the label, such as "natural", "ecological", "farm", "organic", indicating the beneficial properties of the content, often confuse consumers, and in some cases are contradictory and misleading.

What is the difference between these definitions, what do they mean, what are the characteristics of food products? What are the benefits of additional quality criteria, such as being labeled "organic"?

natural products are products that consist of natural, natural ingredients and do not contain chemical additives or impurities. At the same time, the term “natural product” can be interpreted in a completely different way, since the presence of this phrase on the package does not guarantee the absence of chemical additives in its contents: the manufacturer is not obliged to track the sources of raw materials, materials, and the technological process for preparing such products.

Farm products are grown and produced on privately owned farms and in most cases non-industrial. The term "farm products" has gained a lot of popularity in recent years: it began to be often placed on labels. But sometimes the use of the "farm product" status is speculative, as the packaging doesn't say how the ingredients were produced. Due to the fact that there are no legislative acts on the quality of farm products, it is possible that they can be produced using herbicides, chemical fertilizers, growth hormones, and so on.

The composition of organic products excludes the presence of additives of artificial origin, such as preservatives, dyes, flavors, flavor enhancers, as well as the use of genetically modified organisms. The raw materials used in the production of organic food are grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, growth regulators. It is believed that the consequence of compliance with such conditions is the absence of chemical additives in organic raw materials. This gives the products an improved taste, a more pronounced aroma, and ensures their complete chemical composition.

The dominant difference that distinguishes organic products is the strict requirements for the quality of their ingredients, production technology, as well as the conditions under which the raw materials for their production were obtained:

organic products are produced in environmentally friendly regions, natural conditions, away from megacities, highways, industrial areas. Ecological agriculture helps to preserve the environment and provide future generations with a healthy and comfortable life;
only genetically modified and untreated seeds are used in the cultivation of cereals, legumes, vegetables, fruits and other organic products. Plants grow naturally. Chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, hormones, growth stimulants are not used in organic agriculture;
finished organic products do not contain flavors, dyes, emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives and other additives of artificial origin;
in order to confirm the status of "organic", the food product is subjected to mandatory regulatory and systematic quality control "from grain to counter". Quality control is carried out by authorized state services - accredited certification bodies, as well as laboratories of the manufacturer itself;

A food product that has successfully passed the entire quality control cycle, and this is confirmed by certification bodies, receives the appropriate certificate, and a special “organic” mark is applied to its packaging: this distinguishes it from other products.

Therefore, a specific mark and label for organic products is used in relation to the production process and products, confirming that they have been produced and processed in an environmentally friendly way, and that all principles of organic production have been respected “from farm to consumer table”. The sign and the label are elements that confirm the quality of the production process, and not just the product itself.

Therefore, certified organic products are products that are produced, processed, packaged in strict compliance with specifications or government standards and then certified as "organic". The definition means that the product is produced with the exception of toxic effects on the environment, does not contain agrochemicals, pesticides, in its production did not use genetically modified seeds or products, hormones, chemicals, it is free from transgenic organisms and so on.

Organic products can be obtained on your own farm, that is, by self-breeding animals, growing vegetables, fruits, grain crops, which is accompanied by soil quality control and excludes the use of chemical fertilizers, hormones to accelerate the growth of plants and animals and protect them from diseases. Compliance with all the necessary conditions is a rather complicated process.

The second way to produce organic food is to buy organic raw materials.

As a result of fulfilling all the listed requirements and production conditions, organic products do not contain traces of pesticides, chemical additives, mycotoxins and other things, which makes it possible to limit the impact of such substances on the body of children. Infants are more susceptible than adults to the possible negative effects of various undesirable components.

Organic products are distinguished by their taste and higher nutritional value: on average, they contain 20-50% more vitamins, minerals, and biologically active substances compared to products produced using traditional technologies.

For example, organic baby cereals have advantages over conventional ones: a more balanced amino acid composition, a higher content of vitamins and minerals than with traditional methods of growing grain crops, which means that the composition and taste of organic cereals are much better and richer . At the same time, the range of organic cereals harmoniously complements the always available conventional baby food cereals, which are characterized by excellent taste, high nutritional value and safety due to strict requirements for baby food in the world and Russia, careful selection of raw materials and materials, strict technical and chemical control of technological production process.

Thus, organic and traditional baby food is a unique case when “healthy” does not mean “tasteless”, and the properties “healthy” and “tasty” harmoniously combine, complement and balance each other.

* 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. For feeding children from birth.

Organic Baby Food: Nature's Benefits for Babies - Children

Watching a baby grow and make its first amazing discoveries, caring parents begin to think about how to protect their child as much as possible and give him the best. Adults increasingly prefer organic products, choosing them for themselves and their child, but not everyone understands what their features are. How is organic food different? What is its use? Is it safe for children? To find answers to these questions, we visited Bio Farm of HiPP , which has been producing organic products for children for many years, and spoke with its head , Stefan Hipp.

The content of the article

What is organic nutrition?

Many people think that organic food is food without the addition of chemicals, however, in reality, everything is a little more complicated. Arriving at the HiPP farm in Poland, we were convinced that the principles for the production of such products are based not only on the absence of harmful ingredients in the composition, but also on the quality of the raw materials themselves and respect for nature.

Organic baby food contains only natural raw materials. Such purees, soups or cereals do not contain any chemical components, therefore they will be absolutely safe, and parents can safely choose them for a novice gourmet as first complementary foods.

How is organic food produced?

At the HiPP farm, we saw with our own eyes how food is grown to produce organic food, which then ends up on the children's table.

Fruits, cereals and vegetables grow without the use of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and growth regulators, which are often used in modern agriculture and cause irreparable damage to the earth. Organic farming developed by HiPP eliminates chemical constituents, therefore ensuring the production of safe and environmentally friendly food.

The land, which implements the principles of organic agriculture, is carefully selected and fertilized only by natural methods, for example, with the help of clover. The fruits ripen naturally - thanks to this, they retain all the beneficial properties, as well as a rich taste. In addition, the use of chemical-synthetic plant protection products is prohibited on HiPP farms. Instead, agricultural pests are fought with natural methods: for example, Colorado potato beetles are dealt with with the help of neem tree oil or rhododendrum decoction, and ladybugs are saved from aphids.

What are the benefits of organic nutrition?

Parents can be sure that they do not cause any harm to the child's body by treating the baby with organic puree, adding soup made from natural ingredients or organic juice to his diet. A balanced and healthy meal will ensure the growth and development of the baby, good condition and mood, as well as the formation of proper eating habits. Organic products contain 20-30% more nutrients, reduce the risk of allergies, and also increase the child's immunity due to the high content of vitamins.

Stefan Hipp is convinced that responsibility for baby food is the most important thing, so his company's products are only marketed after many tests and trials under the supervision of professional and attentive specialists. The quality guarantee is the "HiPP BIO" badge, which confirms compliance with the strict requirements of organic production. It regulates even more factors than EU BIO - the quality mark of bioproducts, which is determined by European legislation.