How do I prepare my own baby food?

Clean everything first

• Before you start preparing food for your baby always wash your hands well with soap and hot water, and dry them with a clean towel or paper towel.
• You also need to make sure all your cooking equipment, baby’s bowl, cutlery and cups are clean.

Buying and preparing ingredients

• Always choose the freshest fruit and vegetables. Wash and peel as necessary and take care to remove any seeds or stones as they’re a choking hazard for babies. Then dice fruits and vegetables before cooking. 
• Choose tender cuts of beef, pork, lamb or poultry. Cut away all fat before cooking. Once cooked, remove any bone or gristle.
• When preparing fresh fish, carefully remove all skin, scales and bones. Once cooked, check again for any remaining traces of bone and skin.
• Do not add fat, salt, soy sauce, sugar, honey, or artificial sweeteners to your babies’ foods. Even though the food may taste bland to you, it is just right for your baby. Babies are born with 4 times more taste buds than we have as adults.

How to cook your baby’s food

Watch out for the amount of salt in food you give your baby, and avoid adding any yourself, because too much salt puts strain on their little kidneys - which are still developing. Also avoid adding sugar to foods, to help reduce risk of tooth decay and consumption of ‘empty calories’. Honey should also be avoided for baby’s younger than 1 year due to the risk of contracting infant botulism.

• Meats and fish can be steamed, grilled or microwaved. They can also be fried or roasted but make sure you don’t add too much extra fat. Always ensure that meat is cooked thoroughly with no pink bits left. Fish should be firm and flaky – if it’s still a bit squidgy it’s not cooked through.
• Fruit and vegetables can be microwaved, steamed or boiled. You can also oven-bake some fruits such as apples and pears. The best option to go for is steaming as it retains the most nutrients but you don’t need to splash out on a steamer - simply use a metal colander, a saucepan of boiling water and a saucepan lid.

How to serve

• At first your baby’s food should be completely blended to a smooth purée. As your baby gets older, you can start to make their food gradually chunkier. You can either use a blender or a mashing fork to mix the food to the right texture. 
• Always serve your baby’s food warm rather than boiling hot but make sure it has been cooked to piping hot and then allowed to cool.