Homemade Baby Food {from the land, not the jar}

The gift I didn’t receive at my first baby shower?

Nothing to do with how to make baby food from scratch.

No book, no manual, no how-to.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I worked as a middle school teacher at a small Christian school. Before leaving on maternity, the parents of my students surprised me with an amazing baby shower. My husband and I were overwhelmed by gifts and support — many of which are still within the walls of our home.

I Bought One Myself

Yet, we didn’t receive anything to help us make our own baby food. So, I found and bought a book on this topic myself. I read it quickly, thinking that it all made sense.

Forget the Gerber good starts, graduates, scary canned sausage links, and skip to the good stuff: food made from scratch. I purchased some BPA-free ice cube trays to go along with the book and kept it by my bedside for some late night reading.

Then Life Happened

Fast forward six months. Rubber meets road. 😉

I started feeding my baby what seemed normal at the time (pre-traditional foods) — organic rice cereal from a box, followed by vegetables such as peas, green beans, carrots, broccoli, and some potatoes. I eventually mixed chicken and beef in, and since no allergies appeared, I soon simply ground up whatever we ate for dinner.

This practice continued for my next two children as well.

Then We Learned About Traditional Foods

Then came our introduction to traditional foods and we majorly changed the way we ate and prepared foods.

I began feeding more traditional, homemade, nourishing baby foods to Nehemiah, our fourth blessing.

His first taste of food was gobs of egg yolk, swallowed with a smile and a big yellow mustache.

I made my mom’s jaw drop when I told her that his daily breakfast at six months old was shredded liver and egg yolk mash.

He grew big and fast, especially since he was only five pounds at birth.

However, nursing was hard with him — another story in itself — so I wanted to provide him with ample nourishment.

After the yolk, we explored vegetables like with my previous children, and introduced a new staple: homemade yogurt. Once his two top and bottom teeth came in, sauerkraut became his favorite snack.

Now he is three years old. And he still loves the taste of fermented carrots, potatoes, pickles, beets, and salsa. Given the choice, he prefers yogurt or fruit to grains any day.

Our fifth child, baby Amos, is pushing one now. His diet is essentially the same as Nehemiah’s was.

Fermented foods are a staple. He has yet to eat anything from a plastic container or baby food jar.

Traveling While Feeding Baby

I took Nehemiah across the country to my cousin’s beautiful wedding in California recently. I stocked my diaper bag with fresh fruit, coconut flour blueberry bites, and frozen ice cubes of various fruits and veggies. I carefully packed my suitcase with freezer bags containing enough frozen fruits and veggies, yogurt, and butter for each meal. He was a happy baby, eating just like back at home.

It’s Not Hard

Although it may seem overwhelming, feeding babies with real, wholesome foods is not difficult. If you’re already eating well, you can simply make your food a bit more baby-friendly by cooking it until soft and freezing the leftovers in ice cubes.

We try to eat in season as much as possible, which somewhat determines what and when I feed the baby. However, I try to have carrots, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, apple, and yogurt always on hand.

The yogurt is plentiful now that we have a milk cow!

Baby Amos is about to embark on a season of squash and sweet potatoes, pears, fresh apples, winter greens, and various dairy ferments of cheese.

What About When The Baby Has Teeth?

As the baby grows and develops teeth, chunkier food is okay, yet I still believe that until the baby is ready to really chew food instead of just swallowing small chunks, “mushy” meals are still important for digestion.

Also, especially in allergy-prone families, incorporating new fruits and veggies one at a time is very important to ascertain allergies. We have chosen to wait on grains until after one year of age.

Below are some ideas of foods that I have introduced at various stages. This is simply what has worked for my family and isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription.

Early Eaters

• plain egg yolks for a few days, then with raw, shredded, frozen liver (frozen at least one week)
• steamed carrots, broccoli, green beans, squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, peas, zucchini, or smashed potatoes, with butter and salt
• steamed apples, pears, apricots, strawberries, mango, cantaloupe, blueberry, peaches
• bananas
• yogurt
• avocados
• ground or shredded chicken, beef, or fish with broth
• cooled broth and water in a sippy cup

Has a Few Teeth

• continue with all of the above
• cheese shreds or small chunks
• ferments such as sauerkraut, beets, zucchini, peppers, carrots, ginger, garlic, sweet potato
• lentils and other legumes such as kidney, black, pinto, and navy beans
• fresh cut up fruit such as blueberries, grapes, dates, figs, raspberries,

More Than Just a Few Teeth

• keep incorporating all of the above, especially ferments
• experiment with baby portions of your meals (Amos’ recent favorite is our ground-up spaghetti dinner)

So there you are, momma! Make your own food and be thankful knowing what is nourishing your growing blessing.

Want more info on nourishing, homemade, traditional baby food? Here’s one podcast and three recommended books:

• KYF #31 — Nourished Baby {Wardee’s podcast}
• Nourished Baby by Heather Dessinger
• The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care by Sally Fallon Morell and Thomas Cowan
• Super Nutrition for Babies: The Right Way to Feed Your Baby for Optimal Health by Katherine Erlich and Kelly Genzlinger

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor. All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You are responsible for your own health and for the use of any remedies, treatments, or medications you use at home.