How to Store Homemade Baby Food Like a Pro |

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It’s simple to make and shop homemade child meals. In this post I provide an in-depth guide with anything you have to have to know about how to shop homemade child meals like a pro!

What Is The Difference Between Homemade Baby Food And Store Bought?

When you make your personal homemade child meals you know precisely what you are placing into your baby’s meals. The price of generating your personal child meals is substantially much less than shopping for shop purchased. You can also make your personal child meals blends based on your child’s likes, dislikes, and nutritional wants.

Store purchased child meals is more handy. There is no prep or storing vital. Unlike homemade child meals, you do not have to be concerned about storage. Jarred meals will maintain in the pantry till opened. It’s also simple to bring with you when you are on the go.

However shop purchased child meals charges more. You finish up with fairly a bit of waste, since of packaging. There are also a range of preservatives added to child meals that might not be wholesome for your kid. Some shop purchased child foods include contaminants like heavy metals.

For more info about contaminants in child meals pouches check out my post, The Best Baby Food Pouches.

Is Store Bought Baby Food As Good As Homemade?

In my opinion shop purchased child meals is not as superior as homemade for afew motives:

1. Potential heavy metal contamination discovered in quite a few brands
2. Store purchased child meals tends to be incredibly fruit forward and thus substantially greater in sugar (some child meals pouches can include up to 17-20 grams of sugar – as substantially as a Snicker’s candy bar!)
3. Store purchased child meals is more high-priced than homemade child meals.

What Baby Food Can I Make At Home?

You can make practically something into child meals at house. You can make the meals that you are cooking for your self, into child meals by basically pureeing the meals. For older babies, you can just leave the foods soft and mashed so they’re chunkier in texture.

• Pureed vegetables
• Pureed fruits
• Combination of fruits and vegetables
• Grains, pastas, and cereals
• Combinations of vegetables, grains, or fruits
• Soups or stews

What Baby Foods Cannot Be Made At Home?

You can practically something into child meals, on the other hand, there are particular components you can’t add to your child’s child meals.

• Salt: Do not add salt to your child’s child meals. Salt is not superior for babies’ kidneys (this applies to babies below the age of 1). In addition, foods or spices that include a higher quantity of salt, really should also be excluded. Some of these foods include things like bacon, sausage, higher salt crackers, crisps, or chips.
• Sugar: Babies do not have to have sugar. Avoid adding any foods that are higher in sugar. This consists of higher sugar fruits, syrups (like maple syrup, agave, and so forth), and fruit juices.
• Honey: Avoid adding honey to your baby’s meals. Honey consists of bacteria that include toxins that can lead to infant botulism.
• Nuts and Peanuts in Whole Form: Introducing nuts is a difficult approach since your child might have allergies. But it is particularly critical not to feed your child entire nuts as they are a choking hazard. When you really feel like you are prepared to introduce nuts, work closely with your pediatrician to get guidance on the very best time to introduce it to your child as effectively as how substantially to introduce at 1 time. And make certain you are utilizing a nut powder, puff or paste (vs. the entire nut).
• Cheese: Babies really should not consume soft cheeses or mold-ripened cheeses such as brie, or blue cheese. Soft cheeses have a higher threat of containing listeria.
• Eggs: Avoid raw eggs, or eggs that are not completely cooked.
• Large Fish: Large fish such as swordfish, marlin, tuna, shark include higher amounts of mercury.

In addition to this, there are particular entire foods you shouldn’t give babies below 1 year old. Here is the list of 10 whole foods to avoid for babies.

Does Homemade Baby Food Need To Be Organic?

While child meals does not have to have to be organic, it is far better to make your child meals utilizing organic components. Organic foods do not include hormones, antibiotics, or synthetic pesticides that have potentially damaging acute and chronic effects, particularly for youngsters and babies that are more susceptible to their damaging effects. Organic child meals is far better to make for your kid.

My Go-To Homemade Baby Food Recipes

My top rated 10 simple go-to homemade child meals recipes include things like vegetable purees, low sugar fruit purees, and vegetable and fruit combinations.

How Much Baby Food Should I Make?

I advise generating substantial batch of child meals, and storing the leftovers in the freezer.

This will make feeding child a range of foods every single day without the need of obtaining to make a range of batches of distinctive purees.

How to Store, Freeze &amp Thaw Homemade Baby Food Purees

When preparing child meals there are a handful of issues to look at when storing.

Do you want to use the puree correct away?

Do you want to freeze some of the puree to use later?

How do you thaw frozen child meals?

How extended does the child meals final when frozen or when in the refrigerator?

What is the very best way to shop homemade child meals?

I advise storing child meals in person servings. That’s why utilizing the child meals trays or ice cube trays is a wonderful alternative. Each cube is 1 serving (which equals 1 ounce of meals). So that way you do not have to have to defrost more meals than your child can consume at a time.

What You’ll Need to Store Your Baby Food

I advise freezing your homemade child meals in ice cube trays for storage. I appreciate these Mumi & Bubi Trays because they come with airtight lids and hold a ton of child meals!

I freeze the child meals in these trays. Once they are frozen, I pop out the puree cubes, and transfer them to an airtight freezer protected zip-top rated bag.

Other ice cube trays that are straightforward to use for child meals storage include things like:

Baby Food Storage Ideas Without An Ice Cube Tray

WeeSprout Glass Baby Food Containers are yet another alternative. They are 4 oz jars that can be placed in the freezer, and are also dishwasher, and microwave protected.

If you choose storing your child meals in pouches, the Infantino Squeeze Station is a wonderful alternative. These BPA free of charge pouches make taking homemade child meals on the go simple! They’re dishwasher protected.

How Long Can You Store Homemade Baby Food In The Freezer And Refrigerator?

Baby Food Stored in the Freezer:

Homemade child meals stored in the freezer will final for 3-6 months. The meals retains its nutrient excellent very best if eaten inside 3 months.

The child meals will nonetheless be superior for 6 months, but might shed some of its nutritional worth.

Baby Food Stored in the Refrigerator:

If you are storing your child meals in the refrigerator use it inside 48 hours. If you are transferring frozen child meals to the refrigerator, it will take about 12 hours to thaw, when thawed use inside 48 hours.

How Long Does Homemade Baby Food Last At Room Temperature?

Baby meals left at area temperature is superior for up to 2 hours. If the area is incredibly warm, more than 90 degrees, the child meals will only be superior for up to an hour.

However, if you transfer the meals to the refrigerator it will final for up to 48 hours.

How To Freeze And Store Baby Food In The Freezer

Step 1: Prepare your fresh child meals puree.

Step 2: Scoop the puree into clean ice cube trays. You can use trays that are particularly created for child meals as pointed out above, or just use a clean and sanitized ice tray. The silicone trays make it much easier to cover and seal even though in the freezer, and pop out of the trays.

Step 3: Transfer the frozen cubes of child meals to a freezer protected container such as a a freezer protected zip-top rated bag. Make certain all air is out of the bag.

Step 4: Clearly label the bag with the contents and the date. Use inside 3 months for very best benefits.

Is It Safe To Freeze Baby Food In Zip-Loc Bags?

It is protected to freeze child meals cubes in zip-loc bags that are created for the freezer. Be certain to push out all air from the bags, so that you do not finish up with freezer burn.

Does Freezing Baby Food Lose Nutrients?

No, freezing child meals does not lead to the meals to shed nutrients, as extended as you are utilizing it inside 3 months.

If you defrost it right after 3 months but ahead of 6 months, the child meals will shed some nutrients, while it will nonetheless be protected to consume.

How To Thaw Baby Food

When defrosting child meals be certain to use inside 48 hours, or throw out if you do not use all of it inside that time.

Refrigerator: Transfer your frozen child meals serving to the refrigerator. Take the quantity of servings you wish to defrost, location in a serving bowl for every single 1, cover and location in the refrigerator overnight. It requires about 12 hours for the child meals to thaw fully.

Warm water bath: Place your child meals serving in a water proof zip-top rated bag. Place the sealed bag in a warm water bath. Replace the warm water if necessary. Then transfer to a serving bowl.

Microwave: Place the child meals cubes in a microwave protected dish. Use the defrost setting to thaw the cubes. Stirring in among. Make certain the meals is cool for child ahead of serving.

How Long Is Frozen Baby Food Good For Once Thawed?

Once thawed frozen child meals will have to be eaten inside 48 hours.

Is It Okay To Heat Baby Food In The Microwave?

Yes, it is okay to defrost child meals in the microwave. I advise utilizing the defrost setting so that the child meals does not cook or get as well hot.

Be certain to test the temperature of the meals ahead of serving it to your child so that it does not burn their mouth.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to storing homemade child meals purees the approach is quite straightforward and when you get the hang of it you will be cranking out nutritious homemade meals for your tiny 1 like a pro!