Shortly before it was time to start my little girl on solid foods, I decided to make her homemade baby food. Several factors influenced my decision. The first was that there had been a recent recall of commercially jarred baby foods. The fact that I was leaving the health and safety of my child in someone else’s hands made me quite nervous.

The second factor was that I wished to serve my daughter primarily organic foods. However, processed organic foods looked far from savoury. The third factor was cost. Commercially prepared foods are expensive. I was sure I could cut those costs significantly while ensuring the absolute best nutritious food for my daughter.

Making your own homemade baby food is a personal decision. It takes some time and diligence, but there is great satisfaction in watching your child savour the food that you have prepared so lovingly for them.

Here are some tips and methods I used to prepare my daughter’s baby food.

photo credit: ©depositphotos.com / studioM

Consider storage.

The first step is to purchase some good quality reusable jars. My personal favourites are the Bernardin 125 mL mason jars with snap-on lids. However, I’m not too fond of the snap-on lids because the lids and jar rings rust easily.

I recently learned that there are BPA-free screw-on caps available for these jars. I’ve ordered them, and I can’t wait to use them. They are also refrigerator, freezer, and dishwasher safe!

What will you serve?

Decide what types of foods you want to prepare. This will often depend on your child’s age and the complexity of the food you wish to make for them. I initially started my baby food preparation with vegetables such as corn, carrots, and peas. After a while, I added meat to her diet (turkey and chicken). Of course, I chose organic foods, but you can choose whatever suits you and your family.

You can always choose frozen vegetables if certain vegetables are out of season. I particularly liked Stahlbush Island Farms’ frozen vegetables. Not only are they organic, but they’re affordable and available at many local grocery stores.

How will you prepare your homemade baby food?

I chose to steam my vegetables and meats. Steamers are a great way to preserve food’s nutritional value. Most steamers come with instructions for timing the cooking for optimal flavour and nutritional value. I found these instructions exceptionally helpful!

All the food I made was prepared in a blender, although a food processor could also be used. I prepared one batch at a time, washing the steamer tray and blender after each batch. However, lovely all-in-one steamers and blenders are on the market specifically created for making baby food. 

I prepared the meat last to ensure no accidental contamination of the vegetables.

Remember good food handling practices.

Before filling jars, make sure they are clean and sterilized. The sterilization process does not have to be as arduous as when canning (since your foods will never be stored in a pantry), but it’s good to ensure that all the jars and lids have had at least a 3-minute boiling water “bath” before filling them with food.

I would fill the jars about 3/4 full. On the lid, write the date the food was prepared and the contents of the jar. I found that a piece of scotch tape and a permanent felt-tip pen worked well for labeling.

Just look at those beautiful colours!

How to store your food.

Food should be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. I usually store a two-day portion of food in the fridge and the rest in the freezer.

With my little girl, we found that 36 jars of food would last about 6 – 7 days. Therefore, I only had to make her food once a week. Preparing 36 jars would usually take 2-3 hours.

How will you serve your homemade baby food?

Consider how you will warm your baby’s food. It doesn’t make sense to make such wonderful, nutritious foods only to zap them in the microwave! We would warm a bowl of water in the microwave and then submerge her jars in the hot water for about 10 minutes.

Remember to introduce only one new food at a time. It’s always good to know how your child handles and processes the foods introduced to them. You may want to keep a food diary for your child while you are in the phase of trying new foods.

Need recipe ideas?

There are a variety of baby food cookbooks on the market. I didn’t use these very much as I preferred to keep my daughter’s meals simple and free of extra flavours and spices. However, having a cookbook to inspire new ideas or provide additional guidance in preparing your child’s food doesn’t hurt. 

I hope these tips have helped and inspired you to consider preparing your baby food. Please feel free to share any of your tips, suggestions, or comments on baby food preparation.

Jennifer Bly

Author of My Kitchen, My Classroom: An Introduction to Homeschool and creator of The Deliberate Mom. Jennifer writes about parenting, homeschooling, her faith, and life with her husband and two girls. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Applied Human Service Administration Degree with a specialization in Early Learning in Child Care.