When I had my first baby, I was determined to make all of his baby food myself. But I really didn’t know what I was doing and got overwhelmed fast. I was buying lots of fresh organic produce that I had to wash, cut, cook, puree, and store. As a new mom, I already had my hands full and felt like produce was going bad before I had time to prepare it, or if I did prepare it my son was wasting most of it. I got so frustrated and overwhelmed that eventually I started buying store-bought purees instead.
When my second baby was born, I did a mixture of purees and softer pieces of food (I wanted to dip my toe in baby lead weaning but was still a bit unsure and nervous about choking). With two kids at home and on more of a budget, I decided to give making baby’s food myself another go. But this time I did my research. I looked into what tools would work best, found recipe and food ideas, and figured out some shortcuts to make things easier. For example, I didn’t need to buy all of that fresh produce. Have you ever cut up a butternut squash!? Why not buy organic frozen fruits and veggies instead? Then all I had to do was steam them as needed and either cut up, mash, or puree depending on what it was and how I wanted to feed it to my baby.
Now that baby number three is almost six months old and ready to start solids, I’m dusting off all of my old tools to start making food again. I do buy baby food at the store occasionally so that I have some on hand in a pinch or to let him try a new flavor before I make a big batch. But overall I’ve found that making your own baby food at home can be easier and cheaper than buying it at the store as long as you have the right tools. Here are fifteen things to consider buying if you want to make homemade baby food too.
Things to Buy If You’re Making Homemade Baby Food
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Baby Brezza Elite One Step Baby Food Maker
If you want to make things as easy on yourself as possible, get a steamer/food processor combo like the Baby Brezza Elite One Step Baby Food Maker. It steams, blends, and purees with the touch of a button. You can use it to blend fruits, veggies, fish, and meats. And you can either automatically steam and blend together, or separately if you prefer, making it useful for steaming food to use as finger food if you are doing baby lead weaning or feeding baby purees in a more traditional method of starting solids. And you can use it as a regular steamer and food processor as well, making it worth the price tag.
Buy It: Amazon, $114.99
Photo: Amazon
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Nuby Garden Fresh Mash N Feed Bowl
Sometimes you might not want to give whole pieces of food, but you don't want to completely puree either. Having a masher on hand makes it easy to soften food like bananas or avocado until baby is better able to eat more solid pieces. This Nuby Garden Fresh Mash N Feed allows you to mash, feed, and store all in one container too.
Get it: Amazon, $6.99
Photo: Amazon
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The Happy Family Organic Superfoods Cookbook for Baby & Toddler
Sometimes when you make baby food at home you get stuck in a rut of making the same old sweet potatoes or butternut squash. Or maybe you don't even know where to begin. This is a great cookbook that specializes in feeding babies and toddlers. It's a wonderful resource for making baby food at home, and with more than seventy easy-to-prepare recipes made with all-natural ingredients, the Happy Family Organic Superfoods Cookbook offers a fresh, nutritious, and accessible approach that is really helpful. Even better, the recipes are packed with nutrient-rich superfoods that are easy to find at the grocery store (think quinoa, chia, and kale for babies; strawberry-beet pudding with coconut milk and chia for toddlers). Introducing these flavors early and often is what got my kids interested in trying new things as they got older.
Get it: Amazon, $19.25
Photo: Amazon
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OXO Tot Baby Food Freezer Tray & Cover
When making baby food at home it is much easier to do a large batch at once and then freeze it for when you need it. You don't need the super fancy freeze trays---in fact, simple ice trays will do. But I really like these trays from OXO because they have a lid, which protects your food from freezer odors and freezer burn and lets you stack them for storage. Just pop a couple out for each meal!
Get it: Amazon, $4.99
Photo: Amazon
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OXO Tot Baby Blocks Storage Containers
Another great storage option are these OXO Tot baby blocks. They allow for freezer storage when you make large batches of baby food (saving you time and money), but they are also great for packing to take on the go. They are PVC, BPA, and phthalate free, and dishwasher and microwave safe.
Get it: Amazon, $19.99 for 12 piece set
Photo: Amazon
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Lilypots
If you plan to do a lot of homemade food prep and freezing, a Lilypots is a really great tool to have as well. It defrosts the baby food gently from steam so the nutrition in the food isn't compromised. You just place it on top of any small saucepan.
Get it: Amazon, $29.95
Photo: Amazon
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NumNum Pre-Spoon GOOtensil
I made some big changes between the way I fed my first son and the way I fed my second, and my second is such a better eater because of it. It was partly a version of baby lead weaning and partly the fact that we largely let him feed himself (or at least try, rather than spoon-feeding everything to him). And these little tools were awesome for that. Calvin's first bite of solid food was mashed avocado that he fed himself with the NumNum GOOtensil.
Get it: Amazon, $10.99 for a set of two.
Photo: Amazon
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Munchkin White Hot Infant Safety Spoons
If you prefer to spoon-feed, or once baby is ready for a spoon, these Munchkin White Hot Infant Safety Spoons are my favorite. They are the perfect size for little mouths, and the tips turn white if the food is too hot. They're perfect for those purees you are steaming.
Get It: Amazon, $5.46 for a set of 4.
Photo: Amazon
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Munchkin White Hot Toddler Bowls
A good bowl is key for self-feeding toddlers, and what I love about the Munchkin White Hot Bowl is similar to what is great about their spoon---the colorful center strip will turn white if food is too hot. That's great for parents when feeding baby, and also a great way for toddlers to learn how to tell if food is too hot to eat once they are feeding themselves. Plus the bowls are deep for easy scooping, BPA free, and microwave and dishwasher safe.
Get it: Amazon, $6.15
Photo: Amazon
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Infantino Squeeze Station
One of the great things about making your own baby food is that you can use it at home and on the go. One of my favorite ways to serve purees and give a healthy snack or on-the-go meal is in squeeze pouches. The Infantino Squeeze Station helps you to do that. It presses your homemade foods into single-serving, ready-to-go Squeeze Pouches so you can customize what your child eats and save money.
Get it: Amazon, $16.62
Photo: Amazon
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ReSqueeze Reusable Food Pouches
Resqueeze is the perfect reusable squeeze pouch, ideal for feeding soft foods to infants, toddlers, and school-age children. Resqueeze is a convenient, cost-saving, and environmentally conscious alternative to existing store-bought food pouches. You just pour your favorite applesauce, yogurt, smoothie, or puree into the bottom opening, close the double-dual zip seal (no leaks!), and use again and again. A clear strip lets you see what is inside, and they are BPA free, and dishwasher and freezer safe.
Get it: Amazon, $12.99 for a 6 oz 4 pack, $14.99 for a 9 oz 4 pack
Photo: Amazon
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Sili Squeeze with Eeeze
The Sili Squeeze is another squeeze pouch option that allows you to make your own squeeze pouches with homemade baby food that you can reuse again and again. This one has a spout for six to twenty-four months that is aimed to prevent spills (which is great in theory since the worst thing about squeeze pouches is that one good squeeze leads to one big mess) and a free flow spout for toddlers age twenty-four months and up.
Get it: Amazon, $15.99
Photo: Amazon
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Boppin Baby Food Feeder
I love these feeder/teether combo devices. They are great for letting babies feed themselves without getting too large chunks of fruit, and you can put frozen fruit or frozen homemade purees inside to help with teething pain and discomfort. I had a different brand first that is made of mesh and is terrible to clean, but the Boppin Baby is made of food grade silicone and can be easily cleaned with soap and warm water. It's a definite must-have.
Get it: Amazon, $10.99
Photo: Amazon
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Nuby Garden Fresh Fruitsicle Frozen Popsicle Tray
Turn homemade purees (or even breast milk!) into a popsicle for babies six months or older. Nuby's Garden Fresh Fruitsicle Frozen Popsicle Tray is specially designed for making fresh puree popsicles at home. They are the perfect size for baby’s small hands and are designed to catch drips as the pop melts. They are perfect for teething babies with sore gums and are easy to use. Just fill compartments with fresh puree, breast milk, or juice, snap handles into the mold, and freeze until solid.
Get it: Amazon, $7.99
Photo: Amazon
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Sunsella Ice Pop Molds
Popsicles are a childhood staple of summer. But store bought versions are filled with sugar and other unhealthy ingredients. Make your own at home using fresh fruit purees (you can even hide some veggies in them!) with these Sunsella Silicone Ice Pop Molds. These are perfect for toddlers and children of all ages (including popsicle-loving adults). And these leak-free tubes can be frozen on their sides, are BPA free, and are dishwasher safe.
Get it: Amazon, $10.99 for a set of 6
Photo: Amazon
