Your smart baby food and health care.According to most pediatricians, mother's milk is the perfect food for your baby.
Once your baby reaches the age of six months, you may wish to begin introducing
other foods to her diet.
You can avoid those store-bought jarred foods filled with additives and who knows what by preparing baby food in your own kitchen.
Baby Food Equipment
Most of the equipment you will need will probably already be in your kitchen.
• Fork or masher
• Sieve, strainer or ricer
• Steamer
• Food mill, blender, food grinder and/or food processor
Homemade Baby Food Safety
Preparing safe food for your baby, is no different than preparing safe food for your family.
• Begin with clean hands.
• Be sure all parts of kitchen equipment have been thoroughly cleaned of old food particles, and rinsed with very hot water.
• Wash utensils and cutting board between different foods, and especially between cutting raw and cooked foods.
• Do not store ground, prepared foods in the refrigerator or freezer longer than the recommended times.
Never refreeze thawed foods.
• Refrigerate or freeze unused foods immediately.
Do use ice cube trays to freeze puréed foods. Each cube should be about one ounce. Once frozen, pop out the cubes, store in a sealed plastic bag, and use within two months.
• Do discard unfinished meals. Bacteria forms quickly.
• Do introduce new foods at the rate of one per week, so you can pinpoint any allergies.
• Do make sure your child has accepted most vegetables and fruits before trying any meats.
• Do steam or microwave vegetables and fruits to retain as much vitamins and minerals as possible, as opposed to boiling.
• Pureeed meats and eggs should be used within one day, while fruits and vegetables can last three days in the refrigerator.
• Frozen meals should be sealed in airtight containers and used within two months.
