Stages of Baby Food Consistency
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Puree
Should be the consistency of applesauce or finer. Start this around 4-6 months and slowly introduce new foods. Feed your baby a puree mixture of one food at a time. Carrots, for example, is one food. No salt or sugar should be added.
Mashed
Mashed food is different than pureed food. Mashed may contain chunks about the size of the chopped carrots shown below, however the majority will be close to a puree consistency. Start your kid on mashed at around 6-8 months. This is also a good time to include cereal in with the mash to include additional nutrients as your baby starts to slow down on breast milk or formula.
Chopped or Diced
By the Time your Child reaches 8-10 months they should be getting close to handling chopped or dice cooked vegetables.
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Pureed Food Machines
There are a lot of different baby food gadgets on the market. I think there is a place for some of them but most of them are just a baby size product of an adult tool. For most baby food prep ideas, you don't need a special blender specific for baby food. Try one of these:
Ninja Blender
The most versatile product that we have found is the Ninja blender. It does every thing from dough to crushing ice and beyond. It even pureed the carrots above. We bought ours years ago to do puree food and it has become a great product that has lasted. Smoothies from the frozen strawberries in the freezer, no problem. Just a great product that has proven itself in our house as a mule.
Magic Bullet Blender
We have tried the Magic Bullet Blender but it doesn't do the fine puree of baby food unless you put too much water in. It is significantly cheaper, however. It will crush ice and mix a drink, though.
Vitamix, Any Variety
The Vitamix is on the upper end of blenders. They have great reviews online but they don't fit in our budget so we have never owned one. I have linked to the basic model, they go up from here. Because of the price tag on these, they are often "renewed". Be sure to read the descriptions to make sure you are getting the product you want.
A Pureed Food Recipe 4-6 month Baby Food Prep Ideas
Steamed Carrots
About 20 Minutes
Makes about 1 Cup Pureed
What You Will Need:
Directions:
Fill the 4-quart pot with 2-3/4 cup of water. Set the strainer in the pot. Place on the stove and turn on HI. As the water is heating cut and dice carrots with a knife on the cutting board into small chunks, about the size of a pea. Dump the carrots on top of the strainer. Cover and bring to a boil. You will not need to stir the carrots. Steam for approximately 10-15 minutes. Check for tenderness.
Once tender, remove the pot from the stove and turn the stove off. Remove the strainer with the carrots from the pot. Place the carrots in the blender. Add 1/8 cup of water. Blend until pureed. If more water is needed, add the remaining 1/8 cup. If still more is needed, add more in 1/8 cup increments. Cool and serve.
Similar Recipes
Most vegetables and roots can be cooked in similar fashion. Our kids often had sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, peas and the like. We stayed away from shells of vegetables like green beans and pea shells.
Adding Meat and Grain
Meat and grain will introduce important nutrients needed like zinc and iron. Mash/Puree the meat until they get some teeth. There are a lot of cereals that can be found at the grocery store. My kids loved the Gerber (Oatmeal, Rice and Fruit) and Beech Nut cereal products. Search around for what fits in your family's diet. Earth’s Best and Happy Baby are other brands that have strong reviews in the organic variety.
A Mashed Food Recipe 6-10 month Baby Food Prep Ideas
Steamed Carrots with Meat
About 25 Minutes
Makes about 1 Cup Pureed
What You Will Need:
Directions:
Place the skillet on the stove and turn on to a MED. heat. While warming, cut the meat into chunks about the size of six sided dice. If it is ground meat skip this step. Add the oil when the pan is hot. Let the oil heat for about 20 seconds. Add the meat and brown and cook thoroughly moving it around in the skillet with the spatula, maybe 5 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and turn off stove. Put the meat, not the oil, in the blender with the carrots. Puree. If more water is needed add in 1/8 cup increments. Cool and serve.
Similar Recipes
Meat and vegetables go well together. Try different combinations following the above steps making sure the meat is cooked thoroughly. Try any variation of meat, root and vegetable.
What and What Not to Feed a Baby
Babies have a specific diet when they are first born. Milk!!
No other food should be introduced until much later. Honey and cow's milk should not be introduced until a baby is a least one year old.
Milk can be breast milk or formula. Formula is much more expensive than breast milk!!
Formula Products
Similac and Enfamil - These are the two main brands you will find at the store. We have used both and I have nothing bad to say about either. Check the labels for the best situation for your team.
Organic Formula Products
Happy Family and Earth's Best are the two main products that I could find that were certified organic. We have not used either of these. We found breast milk to be the best organic product on the market. Check the labels to be sure any formula product is something that you want your baby to have.
Our Way to Introduce Food
When introducing food, a milk diet should still be maintained as normal. As more food is introduced, this can be reduced. The Mayo Clinic* recommends 32 ounces of milk or formula per day while a baby is eating solid foods.
The Importance of One Ingredient At A Time
Start with one item with no additives (we always started with vegetables and roots). Do one at a time with three to five days in between adding another food. This is two fold. Do they like it (sometimes they don’t like it the first time they try it but will in subsequent attempts) and Are they allergic? Check for allergies by observing their poop (diarrhea is a sign of allergy), checking for rashes or if they are vomiting.
Baby Food Prep Ideas
My wife spent a lot of time cooking vegetables to mash up and feed our kids. We started with one vegetable while still providing our kids milk. Then we went to two and three and four and by the time they were eight months, they were eating everything we were eating at the table but mashed or from the blender. It was a lot easier for us to skip the baby food prep and make a little extra and put it in the blender. This saved us from purchasing a specific brand or product to give to our kids.
Now, years later, our kids still eat whatever we eat. I have heard a lot of parents say, “My kids won’t eat that.” We haven’t experienced that. I attribute that to my wife who was diligent in giving them food that we were eating. Sure there were foods our kids didn’t like. My oldest daughter hated potatoes. She would spit them out or dump them on the floor.
A Funny Story About That
On one occasion, we were at a restaurant for a company event and my daughter tried the au gratin potatoes, the sauce and flavor disguised the potatoes enough that she ate a lot of them. As the night went on, the potato aspect caught up to her and she ended up puking all of them up on the table…
Today is a different story, she will eat them with gravy and she doesn’t spit them out anymore. We only eat them once a week or so but it is a side dish that I had frequently as a kid.
Storing Baby Food in the Fridge and Freezer
Baby food can be stored the same way other food is stored when prepared as shown above. Baby cereal does not store well at all. Only make enough for the baby to eat.
My wife put the baby food in an ice cube tray (there are special containers for that now) and put it in the freezer. Once frozen, she would put it in a freezer safe sealable bag and we would just heat up a frozen food cube for our kids. These are typically good in the freezer for up to six months. This was really convenient and easy to make ready for a hungry person. To serve: put in a microwave safe container and heat up until warm. Careful not to get it too hot or cool it down if it is too hot.
If you have left overs from the baby's meal and you want to store it in the fridge, be sure to put it in a sealable container. Baby food will only be good for 2-3 days once heated up and placed in the fridge. Keep food frozen until it is needed or make it fresh.
Resources:
*The Mayo Clinic, Infant and Toddler Health, Solid Foods: How to Get Your Baby Started, Mayo Clinic Staff, Date Accessed, January 19, 2021.