As a mom, the most important thing in your life is keeping your babies healthy and happy. I believe that nutrition plays a huge part in that. Helping your baby to explore new flavors and textures makes them more adaptable in their toddling years and easier to please in a bind.

I made all of my baby food for both daughters and loved doing it. It occurred to me that there may be moms out there nervous about giving it a shot and I wanted to be there to be a resource for those interested in making this choice.

If you have read my blog before you know that I try to take the anxiety out of stepping outside the commercially accepted box. It took me almost 18 months, but I took the plunge on cloth diapers and discovered how absolutely un-intimidating they are. And now I am here to say that making your baby food is not only nutritious, but really fun.

All you need is a pot, water, a stove, a blender/masher/food mill, your choice of appropriate organic fruits and veggies, ice cube trays and you are ready to go. While locally grown, organic, fresh fruits and veggies are always great, there are some things that just aren’t in season when you baby is ready for them. In that case, check out the frozen section. You can find all the organic veggies and fruits you want frozen. The freezing process retains more of the nutritional value of the food than the canning, plus there are no added preservatives, sugar or salt (always read the ingredients to make sure).

I generally boil all the food before mashing it up, but it isn’t always necessary. For instance, you will want to boil sweet potatoes, carrots, beets and butternut squash for a while just to get it soft enough to mash/blend. However, peas, green beans, apples and pears can be steamed or lightly boiled and be perfectly fine to blend. Then there are the bananas and avocados which you can just mash with a fork. Other great baby food ideas are mangos, blueberries, peaches, black beans, lentils and noodles. I usually reference http://wholesomebabyfood.com to make sure I am using age appropriate foods.

As your pediatrician will tell you, it is important to introduce new foods slowly to ensure that you can trace back what you fed them if there is an adverse reaction to something. I do my shopping and prepping on Sundays. I pick 3-4 items and cook them, blend/mash them and freeze them on Sunday and have all the food I need for the week. I usually pick two fruits and two veggies, then you can mix and match as you see fit. For example, my daughter, Lucy, loved peas and pears and Polly loved apple and butternut squash.

To freeze your baby food, simply get some ice cube trays. Most ice cubes from the trays are about 1oz. so it is easy to control portions without wasting any food. Start with 1-2 cubes then add 1 at a time as your baby’s appetite grows. Pour your blended food into the trays, freeze them and then pop them into freezer safe storage containers. Before you go to bed, simply pull out the cubes you are going to use the next day, put them into your baby’s bowls and stick them in the fridge. That way your cubes are thawed when you are ready for breakfast the next morning.

Another great thing about making your own food is that you have complete control over texture. If you think your baby is getting bored with pureed sweet potatoes, try mashing them with a fork next time for a chunkier texture. You can even pull out some to cut into small finger foods.

Also, experiment with flavor. I use cinnamon, all spice, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, curry and anything else that I think sounds good. By doing this you are developing your baby’s taste buds early. I think it has made all the difference for my kids.

I thoroughly enjoyed making my baby food. I saved a lot of money, composted all of my scraps and didn’t have excess jars filling up my recycle bin. Plus I was supporting my local farmers by shopping at the farmer’s market. And most importantly, it was fun for me and healthy for my babies!