Making baby food is healthier for your baby, and offers your baby an introduction to foods rich in variety, flavor, color, taste and smell. All of your friends (and your mother-in-law) will think you are a super parent for making your baby’s food. The big secret — it is super easy and takes less than 30 minutes per week.

A common approach to making baby food is called the “ice cube tray” method. The concept is simple: make large quantities of basic food purees using a standard blender or food processor and freeze it in single servings (1 ounce) in ice cube trays. With this method, you only need to make baby food once, maybe twice, per week. Over time you build up a large variety of single-serving baby food cubes in the freezer.

Here are the four basic steps of making baby food with the ice cube tray method:

Step 1: Prep
Depending on the type of baby food you are preparing, you will need to wash, chop and peel the fruits and vegetables. You should not use detergent or bleach when washing fruits and vegetables because these chemicals can leave a residue that will be absorbed by porous food like produce. If you are using frozen produce, simply open the package.

Step 2: Cook
Cook the food in the microwave or use a stovetop method of steaming. We prefer microwave cooking for several reasons: saves time because foods cook faster; retains more nutrients than other cooking methods; and it is easier clean up. If you prefer the stovetop method of cooking foods, you must use a steamer basket. DO NOT boil food, boiling food reduces nutrient content. Foods must be cooked well. They are done when the can be pierced or mashed easily with a fork.

Step 3: Puree
Pour the food and cooking juices into a food processor or a blender and puree. Food consistency is created during this step. You want your baby to have food that is soft and velvety in texture. You may need to add water to some foods to get the right consistency. Although water will slightly dilute the food’s nutritional value, the difference is not significant enough to worry about.

Step 4: Freeze
Pour the food puree into ice cube trays. Cover and place them in the freezer for eight to 10 hours or overnight. Pop the baby food cubes from the freezer trays. Place the cubes in a freezer storage bags or stackable containers (Label the bag/containers with the date and the type of food), and return them immediately to the freezer. Baby food cubes stay fresh for up to two months.

Sample Recipe: Apple Puree

6 medium golden delicious apples

Step 1: Prep
Wash, peel, core and cut apples into one-inch (3 cm) slices.

Step 2: Cook
Place apples in a microwave safe dish. Cover. Cook 5 minutes and let stand for 5 minutes. Cook an additional 5 minutes. The apples are done when they can be pierced easily with a fork.

Step 3: Puree
Place apples and cooking juices into a blender or a food processor. Puree to a smooth texture.

Step 4: Freeze
Spoon into So Easy Baby Food Trays or ice cube trays. Cover. Place in freezer eight to 10 hours or overnight. Remove cubes from trays, place in storage container or freezer bag, and return immediately to the freezer.

Makes 24 1-ounce servings. Stays fresh for two months in the freezer.

To serve, select frozen apple cubes from the freezer, defrost and warm, check the temperature and feed.

Age to introduce: About 6 months

Serving homemade baby food

Using the ice cube tray method of making baby food makes it is easy to create a large variety of food cubes in your freezer. When it is time for feeding, simply select the food cubes from the freezer, thaw them and feed them to your baby. You may want to warm the food first. Baby food can be served cold, at room temperature or slightly warm. Never serve hot food to your baby, and always check the temperature of food or drinks before feeding them to your baby.

Baby food should have soft, velvety consistency. If you are just starting solids, thinner food is better than thicker food. If you defrost the food and see that it is too thick, you can easily thin it by adding some breast milk or formula. This also adds a little extra nutrition too. If the opposite happens, and the food is too thin, you can easily thicken the food by adding a little baby cereal, mashed banana or plain yogurt.

After your baby has been introduced to a variety of single flavor foods and he is a little older, you can begin making meal time more interesting and introduce your baby to array of tastes, by combining different foods to create medleys.

Here are some examples of foods cubes that taste great together:

• Green peas and sweet potatoes
• Green beans and white potatoes
• Broccoli, cauliflower and melted cheese
• Butternut squash, corn and mashed tofu
• Peaches, pears and rice cereal
• Mango, Papaya and banana
• Raspberries, apples, yogurt and ground walnuts

About the Authors
Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby (www.FreshBaby.com). Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it’s better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Fresh Baby’s breastfeeding accessories and baby food making supplies provide parents with practical knowledge and innovative tools to support them in introducing their children to great tasting, all-natural foods – easily and conveniently. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family’s healthy eating habits!

There is nothing cuter than watching your little one chase food around the highchair tray with her fingers, and seeing the sense of accomplishment in her face when a tiny little piece of food actually makes it her mouth.

When your baby is between eight and nine months old, you can begin to introduce finger foods to encourage your baby to begin self-feeding. It is very important that the texture of finger foods be very soft, so that your baby can “gum” the foods. To get food soft enough for gumming, many of them will need to be cooked.

Examples of finger foods that can be served raw include small pieces of:

• Banana
• Avocado
• Tofu
• Semi-hard cheeses — Jack, Colby, (introduce over 12 months)
• “O” shaped cereal
• Puffed rice cereal

Examples of cooked finger foods:

• Apples slices
• Pear slices
• Whole asparagus spears
• Carrots sticks/rounds or baby carrots
• Zucchini or yellow squash rounds
• Broccoli spears
• Sweet potato slices or cubes
• Whole green beans

To smooth the way for introducing finger foods here are few tips that may help you out:

• Always feed your baby in a “seated position.” The risk of choking rises as you introduce finger foods.
• Never let your baby eat foods without adult supervision.
• Don’t be in a rush. Introduce finger foods one at a time and slowly add different ones.
• Continue to feed your baby softly, pureed baby foods for most of the meal, and transition to more finger foods over a six- to eight-month period.
• Start with foods your baby likes.

Here are few finger food recipes to help you get started with finger food fun!

Sweet Potato Cubes
Your baby will like the bright orange color and sweet taste of these little morsels. Babies have a natural sweet tooth developed from drinking breast milk or formula, which are sweet. The natural sweetness of sweet potatoes make them a favorite among babies!

Directions:
Wash, peel and dice a sweet potato into small cubes about ½-inch in size. Place the cubes in microwave-safe dish, cover, and cook them in the microwave on HIGH for 5 to 7 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes. You’ll know they are done if you can mash them with a fork.

Add a little spice in her life:
Sprinkle a dash of cinnamon, nutmeg or ground ginger on the sweet potato cubes before you cook them for a little extra flavor.

Storage:
Covered container. Stays fresh four to five days in the refrigerator or up to two months in the freezer.

Age to introduce: About nine months

Cinnamon Apple Slices
Your baby will like the sweet juicy flavor and the challenge of picking these up will help develop her fine motor skills. These are super easy to make and great for any meal or as a snack!

Directions:
Wash, peel and core 1-2 golden delicious apples. Cut the apples into slices about ¼-inch thick. Place the slices of apples in plastic bag and sprinkle a dash of cinnamon over the apples slices. Close the bag and shake it up so the cinnamon is distributed evenly over all of the slices. Place the slices in a microwave safe dish and cook them in the microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes. Let them stand for 5 minutes. They are done if a fork slides into them easily. Cool completely before serving.

Storage:
Lasts four to five days in the refrigerator or up to two months in the freezer.

Age to introduce: About nine months

Dusted Tofu Cubes
These nutritious, little cubes are fun to pick up and they taste good too! For a little variety, you can use banana instead of tofu.

Ingredients:
1/4 teaspoon flax seed, finely ground
1-2 tablespoons of Cheerios (or other cereal) OR 2-3 graham crackers
5-6 1/2-inch cubes of firm tofu

Directions:
Place ground flax seed and cereal/graham crackers in a bag and crush into crumbs. Add tofu and shake lightly to coat the tofu cubes with the crumb mixture. Serve immediately.

Age to introduce:
Over 12 months (without flax seed 8-10 months)

About the Authors
Cheryl Tallman and Joan Ahlers are sisters, the mothers of five children, and founders of Fresh Baby (www.FreshBaby.com). Raised by parents who love fresh foods and entertaining, their mom, a gourmet cook, ensured that they were well-equipped with extraordinary skills in the kitchen. Both with long track records of business success, they decided to combine their skills in the kitchen with their knowledge of healthy foods and children to create Fresh Baby. Cheryl and Joan put a modern twist on the conventional wisdom that when you make it yourself, you know it’s better. Their goal at Fresh Baby is to make the task of raising a healthy eater a little bit easier for all parents. Fresh Baby’s breastfeeding accessories and baby food making supplies provide parents with practical knowledge and innovative tools to support them in introducing their children to great tasting, all-natural foods – easily and conveniently. Visit them online at www.FreshBaby.com and subscribe to their Fresh Ideas newsletter to get monthly ideas, tips and activities for developing your family’s healthy eating habits!