Making Your Baby's Meals: What You Need

So, you've figured out your WHY and have decided to continue on this endeavor of making your baby's meals. I'm so excited for you! I hope you have as much as I do making Nora's meals!

There are really only a few things that you need to get started.

1. Your blender
2. Covered Ice Cube trays
3. Fresh storage containers
4. A Cookbook. My favorite is The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet

Now lets go through your materials!

1. Your Blender. You absolutely, positively do not need to buy a specialized appliance for making baby food! Purees are nothing new, and your blender is perfectly capable of handling them. Beware of the Baby Bullet. I bought one a few months before I needed to start cooking for Nora. It comes with some great accessories, cute storage containers, a silicone freezer tray, a little cookbook. But, after few months of using the bullet, it began to leak terribly, and make a big mess every time I used it, which was daily. That, and it is NOT dishwasher safe. This mommy does not have time to hand wash everything! If you already have a Magic Bullet, it will do the job just fine. I started using my Kitchenaid blender after my Baby Bullet kicked the bucket. It takes up a little more space than I would like on my counter top, but it works beautifully!

2. Ice Cube Trays. Batch cooking is the way to go when making baby food! After you've made a batch, you'll need to freeze most of it. Ice cube trays are great, in that they will divide your food into perfect 1 ounce portions. And, they will thaw quickly in the fridge (or in the microwave, if you're in a rush!) Do a quick search on Amazon for Baby Food Storage, and all kinds of options will come up.

3. Fresh Food storage containers. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using your tupperware for this, but if you need them, some small storage containers specifically for baby food are great. I still have my little bullet storage containers, and I have to admit, they are pretty darn cute with their little smiley face on them! You'll want to store in 2 oz portion sizes, and your purees are fine in the fridge for about 3-4 days.

4. A cookbook. Pick one, and don't look at anything else. I say this because you will find that everyone seems to have a differing opinion about what foods are acceptably when. It will just frustrate you, trust me. I like The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet because it was written by a nurse and a nutritionist, it has a wide variety of foods, and has a ton of information about nutrition! I've kind of become a nutrition junkie since starting this endeavor. The only thing that I have found that I don't really agree with is the use of spices, cinnamon specifically. I started adding cinnamon to Nora's oatmeal and fruit when she was about 8 months old, and she gobbles it up! They say no spices until a year.

Of course there are other things that you will need, such as a stove, pots and pans, a microwave, knives, vegetable peeler, cutting board...but I hope that you already have these things in your home!

Next time we'll get started, okay!?