Good Nutrition Starts Early

Preparing your own baby food is not only a cost effective approach, but is also a great way to introduce fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats to your baby's diet. Good nutrition begins early and by preparing your own food you control what ingredients go into your baby's food. Not only are you laying the foundation of your child's diet, but you will be saving in baby food costs as well, which can quickly add up. Preparing your own food is easy and less time consuming then some may think. All you need to provide your baby quality fresh food is fresh or frozen vegetables, fruits, meats and a food processor or blender.

Here are some of my top 5 favorite and easy pureeing food choices to try with your little bundle.

1) Strawberries
1 cup frozen or fresh strawberries. Blend until desired then pour into ice trays to freeze some for later or serve to your baby now. If it is not mixing well add a ½ cup of water to the blender. Fruits are easy to blend and you can mix and match them to mix up your baby's diet and expose them to a wide arrange of fruit.

2) Chicken with Lemon Zest
Cook your chicken breast as you would normally. Once it is cooked thoroughly; add to blender or food processor in cut up chunks. Next add lemon zest using a grater. I would zest one or two lemons depending on how much chicken you are chopping up. Then add ½ cup of water (more if needed). Finally blend until completely blended and at right consistency for your baby.

3) Spaghetti
Cook spaghetti as you normally would cook for yourself or your family and then throw some in your blender for your baby to enjoy! This is an instant hit with babies. You can even sneak in a vegetable here with some pureed carrots.

4) Sweet Potato
Bake 1 or two sweet potatoes until tender. Peel off the skin and place into blender with a ½ teaspoon of cinnamon. Blend all ingredients until smooth. You can add water if needed to reach desired consistency.
Serve to baby or freeze for some for later.

5) Ham and Pineapple
Cook your ham as you would normally. Once it is cooked thoroughly; add cut up pieces to your blender with fresh pineapple chunks. Serve immediately or freeze for later. This is a wonderful meal to go with the sweet potato puree as well.

As your baby gets older you can make your purees a little thicker, so they can adapt to different textures of foods. Remember to always wash your hands before preparing your baby's food and keep raw meats away from where you are preparing any other purees to avoid contamination. With a little planning and preparing you are giving your baby the best possible start in nutrition.