For Those Who Make Their Own Baby Food and Introducing Meats

Eight months seems a little young to be introducing meats to his diet. Meats are very difficult to digest and he would be better off waiting a while longer before trying meat.

The way I prepared meats for my two children, now 22 and 20, is I purchased ground veal, lamb, turkey and chicken and made a small meat loaf in those small muffin tins. It was the perfect amount and they could even use their hands to eat it. Try adiding some unsalted organic catsup for flavor or a tiny bit of fresh tomato mixed in- no skin. Since I always prepared more than they could eat at one sitting, I would freeze the remainder and take out what I needed for other meals. I also rotated the meats so that they were always eating a variety of meats. I did the same for vegetables, always serving a variety. Today and always, they have eaten Everything.

Avoid, I repeat, AVOID taking them to McDonalds and other fast food (meaning processed) restaurants. I always told them that I was unwiling to pay Good money for Bad food. They tried their first McD at age six and responded that it was terrible. Yea!!! Actually the kids meals in any restaurant are Bad. Share what you have or order something healthy and take the rest home.

With regard to veggies, I think you might try just serving unseasoned (and that means no salt) steamed veggies. As they get older, you can add herbs and spices. But really, plain steamed veggies are really the best for a young baby. And they are so sweet, the veggies I mean. Ha Ha. Personally, I would use only organic which are readily available now.

Have fun with your baby and never wish to go forward or bakward even one day. Enjoy each Moment and your baby will love you for it.

Let me know if I have been of any help.
N.

I made my baby food for many reasons.
When it came to meat, though, I stuck to chicken and pre-cooked ham. I bought chicken, boiled it, and ran it through my mini-food processor. It worked well. The same for ham. I would use pre-cooked ham, and send it through the shredder. The older they got, the thicker and chunkier I made it for them. I also added the meat sticks when the kids were able to hold them. They are store bought. I was a little wary of doing meat myself due to the increased risk of salmonela and e.coli, so I was not afraid of using store bought baby food for meats. There is an organic line, Harvest, or something, that had some good choices, turkey, ham, chicken, beef. There were some good combinations of meat/veggies that I used.
good luck.

by your question, I assume you've already intro'd foods in general, you're wanting advice on meat?

First I gave the 'juices' - water/juices that were cooked with the meat. If I boiled chicken, I added some spices and made it a broth. I added this to her veggies as a 'sauce'. I sliced/shredded it super fine for #1 and gave it to her that way - she was 18mos old. I felt strongly about molars being in before intro-ing meat.
With #2 I'm going to try the 'scraping method'. That is, I'll take cooked meat and scrape it to get the essence of it w/o the fibrous matter. I'll still give him broths first before intro-ing the essence, and that before giving the whole product.

If you choose to puree in a blender and then thin it down with something, I would choose a milk - breast, rice, or soy. After he's a year, you can intro almond milk. Adding milk instead of water to thin something down adds more nutrients as it thins...

hth
K. H., mama to
Catherine, 4yrs
Samuel, 1yr

I like this web site.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/

I made all my own baby food when my kids were little. I started with a baked chicken and a pot roast. For the chicken, I just made sure I deboned it carefully. Put the meat in the food processor with some broth and start grinding. Keep adding broth until you get a paste texture. Then freeze like you do with the veggies (I put them in ice cube trays). Your meat "cubes" only need to be about half the size of your veggie cubes. When I served it, I would mix one meat cube with one veggie cube (carrots and beef, peas and chicken, etc.) You could probably also try ham, but I just did the two.

Another hint - when it's time to start those "chunky foods" they have in the store - I think they are called "Stage 3"? I used to just take whatever we had for dinner and process it slightly (spaghetti, chicken pot pie, beef stroganoff). Just don't puree it completely. It's more like chopping it pretty fine.

Don't stress yourself out over fat content because babies need fat for their brains! When you cook for yourself, just wait to add the salt until you get it on your plate.

Hope this helps!

i used a book called super baby foods. i don't agree with everything in there, but it has a lot of recipes. she's a vegetarian, but does address how and when to introduce meats.
good luck!
A.

Check out the book "Super Baby Food"

I'm a grandmother to a girl, 16...and 5-yr, 3-yr and 6-month old boys....for baby food, I add chicken/turkey breast, I saute' celery, onions(yellow,purple,or green or all), carrots, squash, (choose you own veggie preference) put them in a blender, season lightly...and grind it to puree consistency. For older ones finely chopped. Or make a chicken salad...same as above, but add chopped boiled eggs, fat-free mayonaise, sandwich spread and mustard...to your taste and add to the above, and before serving it I add a finely chopped apple or chopped grapes...another is get a 16-variety bean bag (some have seasoning in bag which I don't use)...prepare, when done, add veggies: celery, onions, carrots, squash, green beans, corn, shredded cabbage (purple or green)...I cook it down so that it's not too soupy, I also add ground flax seed and salba seeds...and puree to baby food consistency....I do not buy baby food jars..I do the same with fresh fruits and mix with yogurt, gr.flax and Salba seed, and sometimes add that to ice cream...Another favorite of theirs is oatmeal pancakes..I grind oatmeal (not too fine), I add 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 or 2 tsp. baking power, 2 splenda packets, 1 beaten egg, 1/4 tsp. mediterranean salt, vanilla, or almond, or your favorite flavoring (I add 1 TBSP. of fat-free hazelnut coffee-mate), ground flax seed, Salba Seeds, then I add approx. 1/2 c. milk (I like coconut milk), and lastly slowly stir in the coarsly-ground oatmeal....I like it very thin, because my 5 and 3-yr olds like crunchy peanut butter on their pancakes...I make different shapes, but lately they like theirs one on top of the other with peanut butter in the middle and cut like a pizza, sometimes folded over like a taco....those are just some of the things I make for them...sometimes they request burritos..I saute' bell peppers, onions, fresh spinach, or finely chopped zuccini, chicken or beef sausage, or turkey bacon, cooked and drained of all extra fat, scramble eggs, a little milk, I heat a whole-wheat tortilla on the griddle on one side, break a slice of cheese and add thin little slices around the circumference of the tortilla, so that as you roll it it melts and sticks to the tortilla so it won't unroll easily and put it back on the griddle to lightly brown the burrito evenly..sometimes they like their hashbrowns in with the egg-veggie mixture, or on the side with catsup....hope these help..........MamaBird

I'm a Great-Grandmother,
I can tell you what I did with my children. For the meat, I had a blender that had a small jar you could use. I put well cooked meat in it and added the meat juices to it. Blend till you get the consistency, you want. I was amazed at how much liquid it took to make it smooth like the store brought jars were. With veg's, babies can pick up peas, (finger food) Hot dogs, dice small and let them eat as finger food. Canned pears can be mashed with a folk. Same with boiled Potatoes, Just try mashing "big people" food, That way they get to taste what you eat and should not be too picky as they get older. Grandma Edie

I found this book absolutely wonderful:

'First Meals' by Annabel Karmel (available from Amazon.com). She is an amazing nutritionist who specialises in babies and children. It goes through when to introduce what foods and has many wonderful recipes which will become family favorites.

Enjoy.

Josie

Hey K., I actually made my own baby food for my son and when it came time to give him meat, I started with beef stew----that way it had carrots and green beans...familiar tastes already. I put it through the baby food mill and he loved it! It's also good cause that's a food you can serve your family as well. I would look for recipes like that...ones you can make for the family and grind them up for the baby afterwards...add salt at the table if you want it in your. Hope that helps!!

The book Super Baby Food has all the information you need. It has a chart suggesting when to start each different food as well as recipes and tons of information about making your own baby food. I still use it and my son is 21 months old!

My son would not eat the meat baby foods in a jar, and I don't blame him, they were disgusting looking to me. I took sandwhich meat and a mini food processor to grind up his meat into tiny bits. It would be crumbly looking. I then packed it in a small bowl to send to day care or put it on his plate for home. I used ham, turkey, roast beef, and chicken.

We choose not to include meats until after 12 mos. We offer organic fruit and veggie - and no dairy at all for the first 12. We have done this consistantly for all of ours. when we add meat we do so in tiny amounts. We never puree the meat as the texture is far better ground or finely cut/sliced. We offer one at a time plated with familiar items.
Best wishes!

I used a great book for all my baby food. It includes age appropriate foods, weaning, solids, and food allergy info. "Top 100 Baby Purees" by Annabel Karmel. She has chicken, lamb, beef, and fish recipes and introduces them from 6 to 7 months and up. Too many tips and recipes to just jot them down for you. Best of luck.

Many years ago when my son was little (about 6 months), I was able to find things like chicken livers and beef kidneys in packages. I would take the chicken livers a little onion and a bay leaf - no salt and cook it until the livers were tender and then drain them and put in the blender (before food processors) and blend with some liquid until it was a good consistency not too thick and place back into the baby fruit jars seal and freeze. Similar cooking of the beek kidney. These organs had the most natural vitamins at the time. I even made homemade chicken vegetable soup for my son when he went to the hospital because he would not eat commercial baby food and the doctor on call said he would but he wouldn't. So trust your instincts and make up your own and enjoy the experience.

Hi K.! I made all my own babyfood for my little darlings....and my "food Bible" was a book called Super Baby Food. It was a wonderful guide for how to make it, what order to introduce, lots of healthy baby and toddler recipes, and loaded with great info! I recommend it for EVERYONE who has a little eater!! The author is Ruth Yaron and it is published by FJ Roberts Publishing. I ordered mine online at www.superbabyfood.com I promise you that it is GREAT! Have fun....every baby stage is such a blessing!!

I have the super baby food book.

But basically you just puree everything. Stem veggies for about 10-20 minutes (depending on the veggie) and then puree. Carrots need to be steamed for at least 20 minutes. You want them as soft as they can get before pureeing or else you just end up with chopped carrots.

When I steam apples, I put some cinnamon in the boiling water to give them a little flavor. The US is one of the only places that says no spices in food so I try to add yummy-ness. About 8 months I start adding stuff like mint, vanilla, garlic etc to the food!

Avocado is a GREAT first food that many people don't try. And you don't have to do any pureeing!

As far as meats, I don't do them until they are over a year. The idea of pureed meats just grosses me out. Kelsey started refusing baby food about 8 months so we do lots of ground turkey in stuff.

I love the book First Meals Expanded Edition by annabel karmel, it's awesome!
L.

chicken soup works for us, just boil the bones of a roasted chicken (leave some meat on it) with veggies and a little bit of butter and nature's seasoning. Throw in some noodles and cook for an hour.

My son loves anything with nature's seasoning on it. He really just loves anything we eat. If he can't gum it, we blend it. I no longer make him separate foods. He's about to turn one.

Good for you for making your own!

With my daughter, at about 9 months, we just gave her what we were eating cut into very small pieces. We started with chicken and moved on from there to pork chops then beef. We made a mistake with my son and introduced him to deli meats first and it took forever to get him to eat regular meat.
Good luck!
A.

my advice is get your childs doctors advice. SO sayiing I raised my kids in the 60's really 61 thru 70 are my birth years of my kids and each year the doc had a new plan I threw up my haned and just did my thing --we did that kind of thing in the 60's but the one thing I bought was the baby meat I used the blender and as I canned my own vegetables, I was ok there but I purchased the meeat as I couldn't gring it pureed fine evough for me. and this worked I have 4 fine healthy adults and they grew just fine. with not adverse effect. Do it any way the child will take it. Mine liked mixed with veges any combo and I never used a special recipe. SORRY I just put it together and fed the kid and he or she ate it. KC

One thing you can do is if you have a garlic press. Take any meat that you cook for dinner like chicken breast and place a small piece in there and press it through. It comes out real fine and in pieces that they can chew. It does take awhile to press through enough meat for a meal. Also, there is other ways to have protein in his diet like tofu, egg yolks and lentils. Good Luck!

What I have found to be the easiest thing to do is take a whole chicken (bones, skin and everything) and boil it (make sure the whole chicken is covered with water) with carrots (or whatever other vege your baby has eaten before) for one hour. When it is finished, take it out (dont dump the water) and let it cool (I like to cut it open in a few places...when it is cool enough to handle, pull all the meat that you can get out of that sucker and puree it with the carrots and some of the water you boiled the chicken with until it is a consistency that your baby can easily eat.

My son did not like it by itself at first, so I would mix it in with everything else that he loved until he got a taste for it :-) GOOD LUCK!

Hi K.,

I am a mother of three soon to be four. I just love making my own babyfood. It is much tastier than the prebottled stuff(I've tasted it, yuck!). Most people start off by giving chicken or turkey first becuase they are softer and easier digested. My kids loved spaghetti with meat sauce. You can spice up the meat anyway you like it. Just keep the salt low(it's harsher on baby kidneis). And grind it up well(how ever smooth or lumpy the baby likes it). My secret is to saute onions until they are carmely sweet and mix it in with the meat. I hope this helps

Super Baby Food is good.
I honestly didn't give meats till after a year or so. He ate veggie chikn nuggets and got protein in other ways.
But there are lots og great books.
GOOD LUCK

We have a 9 month old boy, and he's now eating the same foods we do, as long as he can chew them and get them down with his two teeth. We always make his baby food for him unless my mother-in-law buys him some pre-made. He actually started eating solids around 3 months (which is about the soonest you should do it) with fruits (mainly just applesauce, to get him used to solids). You can start with fruits and veggies, then after they've had a good variety of those, their taste-buds will be accustomed to trying new tastes. Like all things, ease into it. Do a few different kinds of foods at first, then as time goes on, you can begin introducing new foods almost every day! A lot of times, we'll just blend up canned foods in the blender to feed him. Adding basic things like a little salt or sugar is usually enough. Sometimes I even add cinnamon to his fruit, and he loves it! Just keep it simple while they're young, because their taste-buds are still getting used to all of the new tastes you're presenting to them. We have also blended up food that we have been eating so that he can eat it, too. Canned ready-made meat&vegetable soups are awesome because they provide a full meal! Just some ideas to think about. Also, a really good book that will help with all of your questions is a book published by Parents magazine called the Parents Answer Book. It has a child medical handbook in it and everything. Good luck with your baby!

I don't really follow any special recipes. If what I made for myself and husband seems reasonably healthy, I'll just put it in the food processor. My daughter really eats just about anything...garlic, onion, meats...She is almost a year old, and I only just recently started giving her meat. The first time I did it was a roast I had put in the crock pot, and I just used the food processor. Now I'll give her tiny bits of torn up chicken (baked). Casseroles (with plenty of veggies) seem to work well.

I made my own baby food for all 3 of my children, but did not have any recipes; I just bought one of those soft food grinders, that looks like a white cylinder with a sieve on the top and a small hand crank (you can get them at Babies R Us), and would put in whatever healthy, soft-ish food I had made for dinner, and grind it up. They all enjoyed this, and never had any diaper dermatitis from allergic reactions, probably because I made fresh food from scratch, most of the time. I waited until they were older than 6 months and just let them try stuff; they usually loved what we were having.
I don't think I introduced a lot of citrus-y things right away, i.e. heavy tomato sauces. I think I waited on that until after they were older than a year. We also didn't eat a whole lot of red meat, just a lot of chicken / fresh vegetables, so I don't have any experience with introducing regular red meats.
Good luck!

I think we started meat around 10 months, but I'm not 100% certain. I just offered pieces of any soft meats we were having for dinner on the highchair tray. If you want to make something separate for the baby, the crockpot is the easiest way to make the meat moist and tender. Try chicken breast with a little bit of broth.

We've never done purees and I especially wouldn't do them with meats. Don't make more work for yourself than you need to!

I use a book called Super Baby Food. I love it it has TONS of recipes and tons of resources for feeding your infant through toddler and beyond. Hope that helps. I waited until my son was 9 1/2 months and I gave him plain shredded chicken and he did fine with it. he is now 11 months and has had everything from chicken to lamb to beef. We haven't given him pork yet and I am holding off on some kinds of fish because of mercury levels. But basically bland first and itty bitty piece. Once they are good with it bland you can add spices but skimp or forego salt as much as possible

When my girls were about 9 months old, I started tearing up little pieces of thinly cut deli meat like turkey and placing them on the high chair surface. They liked picking up the pieces themselves, plus it was an easy way to introduce meat.

There is a FABULOUS book called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yarron. There is more information than 10 people could accomplish but pick and choose what you want to do and go with it. Also, at babies r us or some other place like that there is an old fashioned baby food grinder that will do wonders with ground beef, and chicken. Fish flakes nicely. I mixed the meats with sweet potato or apple sauce for consistency and introduction reasons. Good luck!

When I introduced meats to my little one, I used a vegetable base. For example, I would steam carrots until they were very soft, and boil a thin piece of lean meat, then puree the carrots and the meat in the blender (I'm too cheap to buy a baby food processor). If I needed to liquefy the puree some I would use the same water that I used to boil the meat. That way it would keep some flavoring of the meat. As my baby got use to the amount of meat that I had given her I would gradually add more meat.

Hope this helps

When I would make meatloaf for the whole family, my babies would also love it because it is already moist and broken up into little pieces which may need to be fork smushed a little more.

Meats and proteins can be very easy to introduce into your baby's eating. First start with very well cooked meat like chicken that will fall off the bone. When my children were this age we used our crock pot a lot. If you slow cook the meat in lots of liquid it is guaranteed to be baby pleasing. Also freezing small bits in an icecube tray are helpful on nights that you make something that is not as baby friendly.

My kids didn't like bottled baby food. I didn't officially make my own but I bought a small food grinder and I would grind up whatever we were having for dinner. I know you are supposed to try a new food for several days to check for allergies so you could just cook a chicken breast and grind it then put it in the fridge and warm it up for each feeding. that should last a few days. Then you could try a different meat unitl you rule out allergies. I knoew there is a very good baby food cookbook out there but it seemed very labor intensive to me.