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My mom used to do this. She told me she'd cook things (peas, carrots, liver, whatever she had), puree them, and freeze them in ice cube trays. Then she could thaw and heat whatever it was in baby-sized portions for delightful infant me.

Maybe this is too simple, but what about just mashed bananas? Or perhaps other soft fruits (and other foods) that can be easily mashed, like mangoes or kiwi. Definitely purreed veggies too.

I know you are supposed to introduce foods slowly, but also make sure there is lots of variety and natural flavor!!

It was so easy - I intended to use the food mill thingie someone gave me, until I found that a fork was just as handy. Avocados, strawberries- any ripe fruit mashes beautifully, soft-scrambled eggs (with cheese melted in sometimes), chicken livers (anemic child), yogurt, soft cheeses such as cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, tofu (she liked it then; not now), just about any steamed vegetable, from peas to zucchini. Just nothing that a baby might choke on (like chunks of hot dog or popcorn). I never bought a single jar of baby food until my elderly dog needed some in his waning months.

My son just turned 6 months today :) Admittedly, I have been trying him on some solids - usually a teaspoon or so - for the past 2 weeks or so.

We tried the suggested rice cereal thinned with breast milk, which wasn't much of a hit, but we'll keep trying. And we also tried some mashed banana thinned with breast milk, but he actually shuddered trying to eat that. I hate bananas, maybe it's hereditary? But enough about us...

There are tons of websites and books with guidelines for nutrition, allergies and what foods to start with, etc., but I don't think that was your question anyway.

I just found Baby Cubes online, and am looking forward to trying them out. The advantage over a traditional ice cube tray is that each cube can be removed from the tray separately and has it's own snap-shut lid. Good for tossing in the diaper bag in the morning when you know you'll be out for the day.

This is nice, someone who wants my advise. With both my boys I did this. 1st off let me share this tip, I would carry a garlic press in my diaper bag, I would put anything through it from, cantaloupe to rib eye steak, just mix the steak with a little of your baked potato and some butter, yum.

What I would do is starting as soon as they could gum food, and didn’t mind some textures. I would make a whole slew of meals. Then pulse them in the food processor, separate them into those little glad, freezable containers. I would make these things kind of stew like and extra soft. And limit the amount of salt, but do taste to make sure it tastes good. Also is another good tip, keep some Gerber rice cereal on hand to thicken meals that became to runny after freezing and reheating.

Chicken noodle soup, with the norm-carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and chicken broth, Pulse that pretty good, then just before separating into the containers, add in soft noodles or rice.

Beef Stew, pretty much on the puree side.

Beef and barley soup

Lamb and barley Stew

Imagine this one……Stuffed baked potato with Chicken, broccoli, cauliflower and cheese sauce. Cook everything well done, peel the potatoes and throw it all into the food processor. They loved this one.

Spaghetti with meat sauce. Cook the meat, rinse and drain, place tomato sauce and meat in food processor. Puree, then stir in some extra soft small noodles. ( I added a little bit of sugar to the sauce to make it kid friendly, sometimes tomatoes can be too acidic)

Split pea soup with ham.

The list goes on and on. Basically I would try to emulate anything that they made in the jars. I would serve these things with cranberry sauce or apple sauce. And make sure I had 5 -8 of at least 3 kinds in the freezer at all times. Then to serve, I would place the container in a micro-safe bowl (just incase it overflowed) on high for a minute or so. If it was too thin, stir in some rice or barley cereal, or even some instant mashed potatoes.

Honestly I never bothered with the 1st foods because it was so much easier to buy them and they were over it so fast. As soon as they had some of momma’s home cookin’ that was it. I hope you try some of my

Besides the other comments, which are all great BTW, don't be surprised if someday you get tired of the hand-grinding and find yourself coming home with a case or two of little glass jars. ;-)

I would agree to start from the beginning with home made stuff. My daughter did great with a combination of home made and jarred, but when I went away when she was 14 months old, for some reason, she kicked up a fuss with her dad over the home made stuff - and never went back to it. So persevere! I had a lot of luck with pumpkin which is coming into season soon in my area. As much nutrition as squash and slightly sweeter which might be more palatable to your baby depending on tastes.

Good for you! It's really easy and gratifying. All my kids ate homemade food and I'm not a health food fanatic or anything, I just enjoy good food and the whole process. (Although, my daughter is 23 and people did think I was then) Just steam everything and use a foodmill so you can strain out any strings or lumps. A food processor is not a good idea because you don't get an even consistency. Hold off on wheat, strawberries, tomatoes and any seasonings. They're known allergens and that little system needs to be more developed. Also, never introduce more than one new food per 2 days. That way you know what it is if there's a reaction. It's also a good idea to grab a jar or 2 from whole foods for those days when it's going to have to be in the baby bag ALL day. I'm sure there are thousands of books out now, but the one I really liked, and still loan to people, is "The Well Fed Baby". It has age appropriate suggestions and recipes. There is also a small hand-held food mill made especially for this purpose that fits right in the baby bag. I don't remember who makes it but I think I bought someone one at Sur la Table. Just looked it up and kidco makes the one I'm talking about. ENJOY!

I used a gizmo called the "Happy Baby Food Grinder" (which you can get online - do a quick search) for years when my boys were small. I liked it better than an electric one because I could tuck it into a diaper bag or tote and use it in restaurants and relative's houses.

It's a mindlessly easy thing to operate - all by hand - and it comes apart easily and cleans up fast. We started with pureed fresh fruit, then mashed potatoes, rice or pastas thinned with broth, steamed veggies, soft tender meats, and so forth. What I cooked for us, baby ate also. I kept spices minimal and used jarred baby foods maybe...half a dozen times during all 4 boys, and then only in emergencies or when travelling. You definitely get used to the better quality and freshness of fresh, homemade food. I also think the transition to regular solid food was easier for each child since the texture was closer than that of the pureed, thinned-out slop in the jars.

Plus.....homemade is so much more economical!

p.s. If it's still in print, look for the book "Feed Me, I'm Yours". Great little recipe ideas for feeding infants and toddlers.

With my son I used the magic bullet blender. It worked really well for fruits and veggies. I didn't try to do meat in it but that might work too. It's nice because it's small and convenient when you want to do a quick batch of something. It also purees well. You don't get chucks like with a food processer.