I’ve had a few friends ask me about baby food lately so I’ve put together this post which outlines the following:
- Which foods we started with and when
- Key things to include when making your own baby food to boost nutrition for babies
- A quick overview of how to easily make baby food at home
- A few reasons why I chose to make vs. purchase my own baby food
- A few notes on liquids for blending
What We Started With and When
We started James on solids right around 6 months because that’s when he seemed ready and would actually keep a bite of food in his mouth instead of spit it out. Some babies might be ready earlier and some may take longer to warm up to food. Just take your time and follow your baby’s lead!
The following is a list of purees we fed James in the order we introduced them over the first 2 months. This is just for ideas! You can start however you want, but in general the first few months should focus on iron-rich foods like cooked meats, along with healthy fats, cooked vegetables and cooked fruit. Raw fruit and vegetables can be hard on the digestive system so hold off on these for a little while. Avocado and banana are the exception here as they contain enzymes that make them easier to digest and are OK to give uncooked.
You’ll notice that the purees get more “complex” over time. It’s important to ease into solids to avoid overloading the digestive system! If your child gets constipated, back off of solids and focus on breastmilk/formula for a day or two.
- Avocado + sauerkraut juice
- Egg yolk + bone broth or sauerkraut juice
- beets + spirulina powder + coconut oil (blended with beet “juice” from steaming)
- butternut squash + coconut oil + bone broth
- chicken + acorn squash + bone broth
- spinach + bone broth + grass-fed butter
- chia seeds soaked overnight in full fat coconut milk + beets + blueberries
- banana + sunflower seed butter + hemp mylk
- lamb meatballs (meat + spices + onion) + acorn squash + bone broth
- Banana + almond butter
- 1/2 butternut squash + 1 c. shredded chicken + 1 zucchini + 1 c. peas + bone broth + 1 T. curry powder
- 1/2 butternut squash + 3 apples + 2 c. spinach +1/4 c. coconut oil + hemp mylk + 1 tsp. cinnamon
- Split pea soup (peas, carrots, bone broth, onion, celery, sea salt)
- Peanut butter + banana + hemp mylk
- Broccoli soup (broccoli, bone broth, coconut milk, ghee, sea salt, celery, carrot, onion) + spirulina
- Butternut squash + salmon + hemp mylk + dried dill
Key Things to Include
Make sure to include healthy fats like egg yolks, avocado, liver, butter or ghee, coconut oil, olive oil, hemp and chia seeds, cod liver oil and wild salmon. These help with nutrient absorption of critical fat soluble vitamins A, E, D and K.
Also include iron rich foods as babies run out of their stored iron around 6 months! Iron rich foods include meats, poultry, lamb and fish as well as egg yolks. Vegetarian sources include broccoli and green veggies, lentils and beans, seeds, quinoa, blackstrap molasses, sea vegetables, and spirulina powder.
Simple(ish) Tips to Make Your Own Baby Food
- Use silicone muffin tin liners, rather than individual containers. Make the baby food, pour into the muffin tin, freeze, then pop out and store in a freezer bag/tupperware. This way you only have to label one container instead of a dozen little ones, plus, it’s really easy to just defrost 1 or 2 at a time when you need them.
- Don’t try making more than 1-2 recipes at a time. I typically just do 2 recipes, once a week, and make a large batch of each. This way you have a variety going at all times without an insane mess in your kitchen. I typically include squash as you’ve seen above, so I’ll use half the squash in one recipe, then mix it up and use the other half in another.
- Make things like split pea or “creamy” broccoli soup that the rest of the family can eat as well. It’s never too early to start doing “one meal for the whole family.”
Reasons to Make Your Own
There’s a few problems with store-bought baby food. First, they don’t include healthy fats which are key for a growing baby. Babies brains and nervous system are mostly fat, so they need fat! Plus, fats help with nutrient absorption, and help lubricate the digestive track-which can be helpful for avoiding constipation, a common issue when starting solids.
Second, store bought baby food is heated to extremely high temperatures to make sure that mold and bacteria don’t grow inside the jars/packages while they sit on the shelf for who knows how long. This high heat ruins a lot of the nutrients, making it a lot less nutritious than freshly made baby food.
Third…did you know you can’t recycle those pouches!? And man, pouches are popular!
Lastly: I just think it’s really important to know what is going in baby food. Their little bodies are more sensitive because their detoxification pathways are still maturing. I like to know that everything is organic, full of good fats, and that it tastes good!
Blending Liquids
Bone Broth: Always a good choice and a great first food on its own! This is great for the gut lining as it essentially helps seal the gut so that proteins from food don’t “leak” into the blood stream. (That’s a really simplified version of what I’m getting at! hah!) But anyways… it’s a great way to ensure against allergies and prep the gut for food!
Hemp Mylk: A lot of people would recommend using breast milk, but I don’t have time to pump that much! I make hemp mylk at home by blending 1/2 cup hemp seeds with 4 cups water. No need to strain. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Great source of healthy fats!
Cooking water: If you cook your ingredients in water, use that! A lot of nutrients can “escape” in the cooking water so don’t let it go to waste!
Sauerkraut juice: Traditionally made sauerkraut is FULL of probiotics, which are so great for little babies bellies that are starting to eat real food. Probiotics help with nutrient absorption, digestion, brain health… all around it’s so important to include probiotics in the diet! It’s also so awesome to introduce this flavour to kids. My toddler now eats sauerkraut by the spoonful since we started him on the juice so young. Just make sure the sauerkraut you buy is traditionally made and found in the refrigerated section. There should be no vinegar in the ingredients!
That’s it! Let me know if you have any questions… I know there’s a lot of pressure when it comes to starting solids, but go at your own pace, and do what feels right for you and your baby!
