Make your own baby food

Making vegetable baby food
• Choose fresh or unsalted frozen vegetables. Canned vegetables are not recommended because they contain salt.
• Good choices for home preparation include peas, green and yellow beans, sweet potatoes, parsnips, white potatoes, asparagus, zucchini, and pumpkin.
• You may want to delay introducing spinach, cabbage, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, turnips, squash, and carrots until your baby is at least seven months old. These vegetables contain substantial amounts of nitrate, and nitrates can be toxic in babies because they have difficulty eliminating them. You can reduce the nitrate content when you prepare these vegetables by choosing freshly picked or frozen vegetables and puree the cooked vegetables with fresh water rather than the cooking liquid.
•To prepare fresh vegetables, wash them thoroughly before peeling them.
• Cook all fresh and frozen vegetables before pureeing or mashing.
• To conserve nutrients while cooking, leave food whole, when possible, or cut into large pieces, and have the water boiling before you add the vegetables.
• Cook vegetables in a small amount of water and only until tender crisp. Steaming or microwave cooking are ideal.
• Cook frozen vegetables without thawing according to package directions, disregarding any seasoning suggestions.
• Puree vegetables while they're still hot.
• When pureeing, add cooking water (except from nitrate-containing vegetables), if necessary, to make a smooth consistency.

Making fruit baby food
• Choose fresh, unsweetened frozen, or dried fruit. Fruits canned in water or fruit juice may also be used. Avoid using fruit canned in syrup with high sugar content.
• Good choices for home preparation include apples, pears, bananas, peaches, apricots, plums, prunes, papayas, mangoes, and avocados. Avoid fruits like strawberries, raspberries, and pineapple because of fibre or seeds.
• Wash fresh fruit thoroughly, then peel.
• Bananas, papayas, mangoes, and avocados can be served raw. Simply mash with a fork or puree in a blender. If needed, thin with juice or water.
• To conserve nutrients while cooking, leave food whole or cut into large pieces. Cook fruit in a small amount of water and only until tender-crisp. Steaming or microwave cooking are ideal. Cook frozen fruit without thawing, according to package directions, disregarding any sweetening suggestions.
• Puree the fruit while it's still hot.
• When pureeing, add unsweetened fruit juice or cooking water, if necessary, to make smooth consistency.
• Cook all other fresh and frozen fruit before pureeing or mashing.
• Canned fruits do not require cooking.

Making meat and other protein baby foods
• Choose lean cuts, either fresh or frozen.
• Good meat choices include chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, pork, liver, and veal.
• Good fish choices include halibut, sole, flounder, and haddock.
• Legumes and tofu are good alternate protein choices.
• Not suitable for babies under one year of age are wieners, sausages, ham, salami, bologna, bacon, corned beef, and canned fish. They contain high amounts of salt, fat, spices, and chemical preservatives in some cases.
• Use low-fat cooking methods; either braise, roast, stew, or boil.
• Avoid frying.
• Cut meat into small pieces to decrease processing time.
• Puree meat while it's still hot.
• Add water or vegetable liquid, if necessary, to create a smooth consistency. If your cooking equipment is unable to grind meat to the desired texture, use the commercially prepared baby food.
• To prepare legumes for a baby, cook them well, then press them through a sieve to remove fibrous husks.