This is part II, of a guest post by one of our readers, Laura Butts. Laura is a wife, mother, crafter, scrapbooker, beginning sewer, and sometimes preschool substitute teacher from Orlando who loves being able to stay at home with her two children! I am very appreciative to Laura who took the time to share her expertise with us.
View Part I here.
Here are the foods that I recommend starting with:
- Apples
- Pears
- Sweet Potatoes
- Butternut Squash or any Winter Squash
- Pumpkin
- Bananas - They work pretty well. Leave them in their peel. They will turn black in the slow cooker. This is fine; once you peel it the banana is nice and mushy inside. If it is too thick, you can add water, mix well and then freeze in cubes.
- Zucchini and summer squash Make sure to strain seeds.
Some foods that needs a little more attention:
- Green beans – These work, but you really need to blend well and then strain them.
- Broccoli - Somewhat difficult as the stems are very stringy. Make sure to strain.
- Stone Fruits such as Peaches, Plums and Nectarines - These are also stringy and need to be strained.
Foods to avoid:
Carrots - I was told that they are high in nitrates and should be avoided when making at home. When you purchase packaged carrot baby food they have been strictly tested by the FDA.
Additional Tips:
Feel free to add spices sparingly, but never add sugar, salt or honey to baby food. Also, if you choose to thin your baby food with breast milk instead of water, make sure to only do so when you are ready to use the food. It is best when the breast milk is fresh and not frozen.
Freshly made baby food should be refrigerated and used within 3 days. Frozen food should be used within one month.
I hope you have enjoyed this guest post and we truly appreciate Laura taking the time to share this with us!
As stay-at-home moms for eight years, Melissa and Shelley know what it takes to live a savvy lifestyle within a budget. Their passion for helping people has expanded their reach from Stockpiling Moms.com to also including speaking engagements, book authors (Savvy Saving Couponing Secrets from the Stockpiling Moms) and conference co-hosts. Melissa and Shelley are best friends who met through 
I too am very passionate about feeding my children homemade organic baby foods. I as well, made all of my son’s baby food (he is now a very healthy 2 year old and great eater as well!) and plan to with my 4 month old daughter wen she starts solids in a few months. One tip I may add, from research I have read, carrots are also a great food to make at home. But, yes true they can be high in nitrates from the soil they are grown in. To eliminate this issue, steam your carrots but do not reserve the steamed water for thinning/ puréeing. Use fresh water to thin. Same instructions for beets as well. All other fruits and veggies, if steaming, is best to reserve the water and use it for thinning as it contains many nutrients from the veggies.
I made carrots for both my kids with no issues. Baking them is also a good option if you are worried about nitrates. Personally, I would trust something homemade in my own kitchen before I would trust anything tested by the FDA.