Make your own baby food

Storage of homemade baby food
Once you've made your baby food, serve it immediately or put it into the refrigerator or freezer. Leaving the food at room temperature increases the risk of contamination. If refrigerating it, cover the container with foil, plastic wrap, or a tight-fitting lid. Store it in the refrigerator for no longer than one or two days. If freezing it, you can keep pureed fruits and vegetables for three months, meats for one month. There are two methods of freezing baby food.

Food-cube method
• Sterilize the utensils.
• Pour a serving of pureed food into each cube of an ice-cube tray.
• Cover the tray and put it in the freezer.
• When the food is frozen, pop the cubes out of the tray and store them in a freezer bag.
• Prevent the destruction of the vitamins in the food by using a straw to suck as much air as possible out the freezer bag before you seal it.
• Label and date the bag, and store it in the freezer.

Plop method
• Sterilize the utensils.
• Take a spoonful of pureed food and drop or plop it onto a cookie sheet. The size of each plop should be the size of one serving.
• Cover the plops with plastic wrap and put the cookie sheet in the freezer.
• When they're frozen, remove the plops and store them in a freezer bag.
• Prevent the destruction of the vitamins in the food by using a straw to suck as much air as possible out the freezer bag before you seal it.
• Label and date the bag, and store it in the freezer.

Serving homemade baby food
Serve refrigerated food the same way you serve refrigerated commercial baby food. To serve frozen food, take a serving from the freezer bag just before you're ready to serve it. Thaw and heat it in a double boiler, in a custard cup in hot water, or in the microwave oven. Before serving, stir food well and check its temperature. Never refreeze pureed food once it has thawed.