Making Your Own Baby Food

I don't have a link to one of my pins today - I am a little saddened by this.  I need a soapbox please.

I make my own baby food, I like it, it works for my family.  It seems to be a major trend right now and since you only need minimal equipment, anyone can do it - just remember to research before you start!  Talk to your pediatrician, or a dietitian, or even a government hotline phone call, something!  Before I started feeding my baby, my pediatrician asked me my feeding plan and I said that we were going to make our own, he gave me some papers from the American Academy of Pediatrics "Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5" as a reference.

The reason I don't have a pin to a baby food recipe from Pinterest because there are a few foods YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE HOMEMADE FOR YOUR BABY: beets, turnips, carrots, spinach, and collard greens. *** "In some parts of the country, these vegetables have large amounts of nitrates, a chemical that can cause an unusual type of anemia (low blood count) in young infants.  Baby food companies are aware of this problem and screen the produce they buy for nitrates.  They also avoid buying these vegetables in parts of the country where nitrates have been found.  Since you cannot test for this chemical yourself, it is safer to use commercially prepared forms of these foods, especially while your child is an infant."***

Most of the Pinterest baby food recipes include carrots or spinach, so I haven't been able to find a good source for new combo ideas.  Right now I'm still struggling to get my baby to enjoy fruit and mozzarella cheese.  So far, the biggest hit has been homemade chicken noodle soup!

I showed my friend how to make baby food today, we made green beans and peas, pineapple banana, and avocado.  Just cook the beans and peas first, all the others were soft enough already, and puree without water for stage 2 eaters, or with water in a 2:1 ratio - food to water.  Use a blender, bullet, or hand mill.  The food is good for 3 days in the fridge, and you can freeze in ice cube trays for later.  I use a Baby Bullet and I love it!

**One other side note: boxed baby cereals were recommended over home prepared ones because the iron was more easily absorbed, if you are worried by the rice scare or fear constipation, opt for barley and then oatmeal!