Making your own baby food does not only help you save money, but it’s also more nutritious than buying baby food! You only need to buy your usual food supplies at the store, and then get them ready for processing. If you’re not sure on how to prepare baby food yourself, don’t worry! We will help you get it done! Just read on to know how to prepare your own baby food!

Food preparation:

• First, you have to wash the vegetables and fruits to make sure they’re clean. For vegetables and fruits that need to be softened (apples, prunes, carrots, potatoes), cooked them first before having them pureed or ground.  You can have them baked, boiled, or steamed until they’re soft. If you want to boil them, you should only use little liquid and then add more when mashing them.
• Peel them and strain out seeds when needed. There are some fruits and veggies that don’t require any liquid when mashing at all. You simply just have to add a seasoning.  If your baby still can’t handle many solid foods, you can add more liquid. But if your baby has adapted eating more solid cooking, you can lessen the addition of liquid.
• There are also some types of grains which can be pureed or ground such as guinea or millet. You can have them grinded in a food mill. You can then cook them accordingly. When your baby is older, you can prepare them whole grain foods.
• For meat and poultry, you have to remove the skin first and trim out fats before cooking them. You can then have them grinded using a food processoror have them ground in a food mill, adding a little liquid. If your child is a little older, you can chop the cooked meat into pieces before giving it to him.

Serving tips:

• You can have them served a little bit lower than body temperature so that your baby can eat them without burning their mouth.
• If you heat meals in the microwave, just make sure to stir it up to avoid “hot spots” where some areas of the heated foods are hotter than other parts.
• You have to portion out the food your baby is able consume for a specific eating time.
• You also have to try and keep the feeding from being too messy - food can come in contact with your baby’s saliva, causing bacteria to build up.
• Addition to sugar, honey or corn syrup should not be tolerated as it could cause botulism – a fatal form of food poisoning in babies.
• Seasonings should also be used because babies tend to enjoy foods with different flavors.
• Also, refrigerate leftover baby food in an airtight container, but they should be consumed within a couple of days.

Always keep in mind that the foods you are preparing could be the very same foods you eat with the whole family. Also, always keep the cleanliness of your foods so that your baby’s health is not risked. Follow these tips for better food preparations, and consider a baby food cookbook for more ideas!