Not only is making homemade baby food much easier than most people realize, but it can also save parents a ton of money, too. As convenient as those pouches and jars might be, they can get pretty pricey after a while -- and there are only so many flavors and combinations on the shelves. Preparing baby and toddler meals from scratch ultimately exposes kids to a wider variety of flavors, textures, and nutrients.
Still, it can be tricky to figure out what to serve and when. While prepackaged baby food comes conveniently labeled with the corresponding age and stage, the same can't be said for the raw ingredients in the produce aisle.
The truth is, there are very few hard-and-fast rules about which foods should be introduced at what ages, and recommendations can vary from pediatrician to pediatrician (and patient to patient).
More from CafeMom: 5 Myths About Making Baby Food -- Debunked
The recipes that follow are generally considered to be appropriate for the ages listed, but it's always wise to check with the doctor before adding any new foods to a baby's diet. And the majority of these dishes only require the most basic of cooking skills (just chopping, steaming, and puréeing for the most part) -- some even make use of cooked ingredients that might already be on the table!
Feeding babies and toddlers doesn't have to be stressful or incredibly expensive -- it can even be fun! (For real.)
