Make Your Own Baby Food

I started my baby on meats when she was about 7 1/2 months old. At first I tried store bought baby food from a jar. She couldn't stand the stuff. As a matter of fact, she actually gagged every time I put the food in her mouth. At first I thought she just needed time getting used to it. Like it says on the back of all of the jars and boxes of baby food, it can take up to ten or fifteen tries before a baby will accept a new food.
Boy am I glad I didn't heed that advice. I tried a few more times. I switched favors. She never did get used to eating baby food from a jar. I didn't really blame her either. I took a whiff of the chicken in broth baby food from the jar one day. ICK! Why would I feed my baby something that I wouldn't even eat myself? So from that day forward I made all of her food myself. And that changed everything. Sure it took a bit more work on my behalf but it was worth every effort. I never fought with my baby over food again. And I created a new creed. If I was not willing to eat my daughter's homemade baby food then I was not going to feed it to her.

Here are some of the recipes I used to feed my baby, and now I pass them on to you to make your own baby food. The recipes below are all beef based baby food recipes.

There are several ways to cook meat for making baby food although some methods are better than others. You should steer away from using a method that may deplete the meat of it's nutritional content. In my opinion, the best way to cook beef is to bake it or grill it. Other methods include boiling and poaching. Boiling is good for when you are in a hurry and need to cook it as soon as humanly possible. Poaching is good if you have a cut of beef that is not so tender. Cooking it slowly in liquid will help to keep the beef moist.

A great way to gradually work making your own baby food into your daily schedule is to incorporate it into the meals you cook for your entire family. For example, plan to cook a roast. Buy a roast that is big enough to feed the family and still have leftovers. Cook the roast to please the family. When the roast comes out of the oven cut a piece off for the baby, and place it back into the oven to cook until well done.

All of these baby food recipes will start by using meat that is cooked until it is well-done. It should then be cooled and cut to smaller pieces to fit into a food processor. The smaller you cut the pieces, the easier it will be to puree.

To make a beef puree place a cup or two of cooked and cut up beef pieces into your baby food processor. Place 2 - 5 tablespoons of water or beef stock into the processor as well. I recommend that you gradually add the liquid until the puree reaches the desired consistency. Serve the puree immediately or store in your fridge or freezer.

Beef and Vegetable recipes - To make your own baby food with a beef and vegetable recipe combine any cooked vegetable with cooked and cut up beef. Add your ingredients to a food processor along with water, beef stock, or vegetable stock. Puree until you reach the desired consistency.

Hearty Beef Stew recipe - Start with cooked, cooled, and cut up beef. Add this to your baby food processor. Next add your vegetables. All the vegetables should be cooked, cooled, and cut into small pieces. Add tomato, potato, carrot, and 2 - 4 tablespoons of either water, vegetable, or beef broth. Puree the mixture until desired consistency for about 30 seconds at a time stopping to stir the mixture.

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