making your own baby food

  Why buy jarred baby food when the real stuff is so much healthier, better tasting, and better for your child? We base our little man’s diet off Super Baby Foods, but it doesn’t take a recipe to steam, puree, and freeze veggies. What you do need that Super Baby Foods provides is a very thorough guide to selecting and preparing every imaginable fruit, vegetable, and herb for babies & toddlers (especially if you’re like me and a bit veggie-illiterate). It also includes lots of toddler recipes that are healthy and natural. I still refer to it even though I’ve been reading it for over a year! I even tabbed the prep section for quick reference. We don’t recommend (nor does the APA) starting solids like veggies before 6 months of age. 1) Purchase & prep.   Head to the local coop, Farmers’ Market, or natural foods store. Start with a simple digestible veggie like sweet potato or one of the winter squashes. Or a very mild uncooked fruit (though I did a roasted pear once that J loved). Pick a few nice medium-sized sweet potatoes, let’s say, and head for the cashier. Scrub it up well with your clean veggie brush, peel it (I didn’t peel it in the above photo as J is old enough to handle the skin), and chop it into equal sized hunks. You’re going to blend it later so it doesn’t matter how large or small, just ensure they’re equal in size for steaming’s…