Homemade Baby Food

[westbrook]

http://www.mormonchic.com/recipe/recipebox...es/babyfood.asp

 

this is a topic that needs to be addressed.

[Deb2of9]

You are right. Babies got to eat. I hadn't thought of it,but with the way my daughter has kids, I better be prepared for babies. My younger daughter plans on following in her sisters footsteps when it comes to having kids. So I need to know how to make baby food.

[goatherder]

We always just cooked veggies and put them through a food mill or blender with enough liquid to make it the right consistency. Same with fruit except bananas which can just be mashed and mixed with liquids. By the time they are about six months old, they can pretty much eat what you eat as long as it's not highly seasoned. Cooked cereals like cream of rice are good. At this age they can also start eating soft fruit raw.

 

Here's my favorite little boy enjoying some melon.

591-reallyyummy!.jpg

[HSmom]

I never bought, made or used baby food with my second baby. Think about it for a minute...humans survived for untold millenia before the advent of baby food manufacturing.

 

The official APA recommendation is breastmilk or formula only until six months of age. At that time, the baby usually has a palmar grasp (grasping with the whole hand, not the thumb & forefinger, which is a pincher grasp). There is a lot of stuff that baby can pick up and get to the mouth with a palmar grasp. At that point, they only need one meal a day, and that's more for learning about eating than for nutrition.

 

By the time they need a 2nd meal, they are about 8 months old and have a pincher grasp. Break out your casserole recipes, strain the broth off the soup, and get out your good knives, for cutting things into small pieces.

 

Oh, and you could torture baby with bland oatmeal, but I'd just wait until they can hold their own spoon and are old enough (a year) to have some honey sweeten the cereal.

 

JMHO

[Leah]

Used to use a 'Happy Baby, Baby Food Grinder' They still sell them. You can grind all sorts of things, they are adjustable for different size pieces.

[Shawna]

Our ped is a firm believer that a breastfed baby needs nothing else for the first year. I nursed dd for the first 4 months, but she was a voracious eater and we gave her cereals and baby food after that (and formula....I do wish I had nursed longer though!). I made almost all of her baby food. I used things I had canned (like peaches, applesauce, etc) and table food (meats, etc) from our meals. I threw them in the food processor (I had a baby food grinder but it didn't work very well, IMHO) and any extra I froze in ice cube trays. After they were frozen, I popped them out and put them in bags or containers. It doesnt' take much to have a month's worht of baby food in the freezer!

 

It is a crime, IMO, how much they charge for a teeny tiny jar of baby food at the store! What a rip-off!!!

 

SHawna

[Leah]

After SHTF, you might wind up with babies and no mother. It's good to know other options.

I wasn't able to breastfeed, looks like my DD won't be able to either. Some genetic problem, they said.

With some biological weapons, the contamination could be a factor to consider. Safely stored food could be less contaminated than breast milk of an infected mother.

[anna]

Cost is another huge factor. When I started making my own baby food, I quickly realized that the store bought variety consisted of mostly water. Even when mashing or blending moist fruits and veggies you still have to add liquid to get to the consistency of Gerbers.

[HSmom]

Originally Posted By: Leah

After SHTF, you might wind up with babies and no mother. It's good to know other options.... Safely stored food could be less contaminated than breast milk of an infected mother.

Good points!

[westbrook]

oh goodness I found another great site!!!

 

http://www.gardenandhearth.com/Baby-Food-Recipes.htm

 

 

[westbrook]

http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4309.htm

 

 

[mommato3boys]

We don't have babies in the family right now. I am not too worried about food. The boys never ate anything other than what we ate. They actually spit the baby food back at you. So I bought a baby food grinder and they ate what I cooked.

 

(Edited to add)

OOPS I forgot....About making your own baby food...

When the boys were little and I had left overs or I got a really good deal on fruit I would run them the blender, pureeing them, then I pour them in ice trays and freeze them. The only thing I would add was fruit fresh so that the fruit would not turn brown. I would then put in zip lock bags and when we went some where I would pack a couple of cubes of food and I knew they would always have something they could eat. As they got older and ate more solid food I would steam veggies and freeze then I could just grab out 4 or 5 whole green beans, a scoop of green peas, a carrot or two and they were all set.

 

However, I do worry about babies nursing or still on the bottle. So I searched for homemade formula. For the life of me I can not find this recipe again. So I can not give credit where credit is due. When I printed it off the web address did not print at the bottom of the page. This was from a grandmother who like her daughter was at their wits end. The baby was not tolerating formula and was loosing weight. The doctors couldn't find out the source of the problem. So Grandma to the rescue she started making her grandson's formula. So if this is yours thanks....

 

2 cups goat milk

2 cups enriched vanilla rice milk

1 tablespoon black strap molasses

1 tablespoon liquid acidophilus

1 tablespoon flax seed oil

1 teaspoon liquid vitamin C

1 teaspoon liquid CalMag (calcium & Magnesium)

1/8 teaspoon powdered wheat germ

16 drops concentrated Trace Minerals

1 teach baby vitamins (optional)

 

This is what she said...

Each morning I made his baby formula in a clean blender and poured it into his 4 and 8 oz Playtex nursers. I adjusted the Flax seed in the formula daily to be sure he didn't get constipated or diarrhea. I must add that when I started making his formula, I was terrified. I didn't want to do anything that would harm my precious grandson, but I was desperate. Nothing the doctors had done for him was helping and he wasn't getting any better.

 

She also added ... In addition to high levels of aluminum in soy estrogens in soy (a soy-fed baby received the equivalent of five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day), recent research suggest that high concentrations of manganese in soy can lead to bran damage in infants.

 

 

My 2 cents...

I do know that aluminum is linked to Alzheimer's. I have started cutting aluminum out of our lives. I have pretty much succeeded no if I just have to find some antiperspirant/deodorant that does not have aluminum in and I will be happy.

 

 

[westbrook]

homemade formula... http://www.westonaprice.org/children/formula-faqs.html

 

very long with questions and answers, included all the recipes needed.

 

I can't vouch if this is better or worse.. I post it to offer more recipes in case you can't get to one ingredient, perhaps a blend of others may work.

[westbrook]

now this is more like a survival recipe!

 

Homemade Baby Formula Recipe

Formula can be so expensive. This recipe is great for a family on a budget.

 

Preparation time Less than 15 minutes

Ingredients

- 2 (12 ounce) cans evaporated milk

- 32 ounces water

- 2 tablespoons Karo syrup

- 3ml Poly Vi Sol Vitamins

Directions

1. Mix thoroughly.

 

 

Zwieback Biscuits are hard and sweet. They are perfect for teething infants.

 

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup formula or breast milk (whole milk for babies over 12 months)

- 1 envelope active dry yeast

- 1/4 cup granulated sugar

- 1/4 cup melted butter

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/2 teaspoon ground anise (or cinnamon)

- 3 unbeaten eggs

- 3 cups unbleached flour (may use white, but it has less nutrients)

 

Directions

1. Heat the formula or milk until very hot, but not boiling (scald). Set aside and let it cool to lukewarm.

 

2. Add yeast to the milk. Stir until well blended and let it rest for 6 minutes.

 

3. Add the sugar, butter, anise (or cinnamon) and eggs. Stir until well blended. Add enough flour to handle the dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth, adding flour as needed. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

 

4. Roll out dough to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into strips 1 inch wide, then cut the strips to 3 inches long. Place on a buttered cookie sheet, 1 and a half inches apart. Let rise again for 30 minutes.

 

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake biscuits for 20 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool.

 

6. Makes about 18.

 

 

 

There's nothing better than homemade teething biscuits for your little one.

 

Ingredients

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

- 2 to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

 

Directions

 

1. Beat eggs and add sugar, vanilla extract and flour. Mix well. Roll dough between two sheets of floured wax paper to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut desired shapes and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Let stand overnight for 10 to 12 hours.

 

2. Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes.

 

all of these are from:

http://www.foodclassics.com/re2429/recipes.php

 

 

[Violet]

My mom raised me on the canned milk formula. That is what they had back then, canned milk.

I know some people say that you shouldn't give them the Karo syrup because it can have molds or something. It sure helps for a baby that is constipated.

I know a gal online that has a friend that works in one of the baby food plants. She said the government allows a certain percentage of rat dropping, rat hairs, insects, etc. in the baby food ! We were not about to feed our grandbaby rat droppings !!!

We did the same for our daughter and for our grandson, too, just blended up what we had and froze any extra. I also canned special jars of fruits for him. Little diced pears, peaches, etc.

[PureCajunSunshine]

I've heard good comments about this book:

 

Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron (amazon.com link below)

 

Ruth Yaron cares deeply about what your baby is eating--so much so that her bestselling Super Baby Food is encyclopedic in both scope and size. Ounce for hefty ounce, this manual/cookbook/reference guide is worth its weight in formula, packed as it is with detailed information on homemade baby food, nutritional data, feeding schedules, cooking techniques, recipes, and other invaluable feeding tips.

 

 

$15.64 for a big book: 608 pages, 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches

584 customer reviews added up to a very high four star rating

 

http://www.amazon.com/Super-Baby-Food-Ruth...n/dp/0965260313

[westbrook]

bump

 

[bibliomane]

We are so bad. When the kids are starting solids we just feed them anything we are eathing. (homemade, non processed) I just take out a portion before I season it too much and puree it.

 

An eww moment, my maternal grandfather had 10 brothers and 2 sisters (same biological parents, all made it to adulthood.) He grew up dirt poor in rural AL and their mother would just chew up some of her food and then give it to them. Sometimes you do what you have to do.

 

cheryl

[westbrook]

absolutely right!

 

as New Mothers are moving from processed foods to healthier foods, they are looking for all the information we can give them on how to do just that.

 

I never thought about buying banana baby food, just peeled the banana some and taking the back of a spoon, smashed and mushed the banana and fed. As I needed more banana exposed, I just peeled it a bit more. When baby was done eating, fold the skin back up, place in refrigerator and bring it out for the next meal and repeat.

 

 

[bibliomane]

great idea for the banana! I usually just mush up a whole banana and store it in a pint jar. That would be one less thing for me to wash; and that is GOOD.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted By: bibliomane

We are so bad. When the kids are starting solids we just feed them anything we are eathing. (homemade, non processed) I just take out a portion before I season it too much and puree it.

That's exactly what I did with my kids, who are strapping grown men now.

Sometimes I would cook small batches of plain chicken, or carrots, or whatever. Puree and freeze in ice cube trays. Then pop the frozen cubes into zip bags for storage.

I had a three-section baby food warmer dish. I'd put a cube of each into a section, cover with a plate to warm up. Perfect! That was my baby "convenience" food.

Oh, and the first solid they ate was mashed banana. I mashed it with a fork. They loved it.

[TXQFMom]

terrible mom here too... I nurse and we do NOT do anything other than milk for the first 9-11mos depending on the baby.

 

In a SHTF scenario first I would try nursing extra babies... but we also have dairy goats.

 

I agree with the point above baby food is a new invention... not something I would think to try to duplicate....

 

NOW a nifty invention is those mesh self feeders that might be something to store...