One of the main ingredients of the holiday season is delectable food. Families and friends gather over feasts to celebrate and enjoy home cooked meals and traditional dishes. Babies should be treated to the same savory, lip smacking meals; and we’ve whipped up some delicious homemade organic baby food recipes that may be cost effectively made from the same ingredients you’re bound to have on hand while preparing your festive dinners. The reason we recommend making your own organic baby food is due to its many important benefits. Conventional fruits, veggies, meats, and grains contain pesticides that not only pollute our bodies, they also pollute water, land, wildlife and air. Babies are particularly vulnerable to pesticides due to their smaller bodies and less efficient metabolisms. They absorb more chemicals, pesticides and toxins from conventional foods. For this reason alone, organic foods are a far more wholesome option for your little ones. If you’re worried that buying organic food for your baby is too expensive, don’t panic. Review which organic food items are worth the cost and learn 11 ways to save money on organic food.

How to make easy homemade organic baby food

WHAT YOU NEED You don’t need sophisticated tools to make baby food. At bare minimum you’ll need a pot to cook in, a fork to mash with, and ice cube trays for storage. If you want to get fancy, a blender or food processor and a steamer are also handy, but in no way required. A blender is useful for pureeing items like organic spinach – you can mash spinach with a fork, but not perfectly.

THE BASICS The basic plan for making homemade baby food is to cook your fruit or veggie until super soft and then mash or puree to the desired consistency. If you require a thinner consistency, (for younger babies) and you don’t have a blender, you can mix in breast milk or formula to thin out your mash to the proper consistency. If you mash your baby food too much, simply add a bit of baby cereal to thicken it back up.

HOW TO STORE To save homemade baby food, pour leftovers (or pre-planned large batches) into ice cube trays, cover and freeze. When your baby is ready to eat, pop two or three cubes out, heat, and serve.

Following are two baby pleasing recipes…

Fresh Organic Green Peas and Potatoes

Boil one small, peeled organic potato. When the potato is almost soft enough to mash, steam one and one-half cups of fresh or frozen organic green peas in a separate pot. When completely soft, add both the potato and peas to your blender, or place in a dish to mash. Add a pinch of ground ginger, then mash or blend to desired consistency, serve, and freeze the extra.

Sweet Organic Apples and Carrots

Boil or steam one organic carrot and one half of a cored and peeled organic Gala or Red Delicious apple. Cook until soft and easy to mash. The apple will soften before the carrot, so remove the apple from the pot as the carrot finishes cooking. When the carrot is totally soft, allow it to cool, and then mash the carrot and apple together in a dish. If you have a blender, feel free to blend instead of mash. Mix in a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg, serve to one hungry babe, and freeze the extra.

*Top tip: Mash and add cooked organic beans, lentils, or brown rice to veggies or fruits for added nutrition and protein.

We hope your tiny tot gobbles these recipes right up.

[images via stock.xchng]