When her 32-year-old son was a baby, Ruth Cyr, now a nutrition associate at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension office in Lisbon Falls, learned how to make her own baby food.

Simply armed with a small saucepan and a potato masher, she would cook up fruit or vegetables with a little bit of liquid and mash them into a smooth consistency. “And that’s what I did with just about everything,” she said. As her son grew, she gradually added rice or pasta, and introduced small amounts of meat.

“Our children always ate what we had for dinner,” she said. When her third child arrived a few years later, Cyr shortened up the process a bit by upgrading her “tool bag” to include a small food processor.

The most important factor for her in making her own baby food, she said, was to try to increase the nutritional value of the foods she fed her children. For other parents, it is often the desire to stretch their grocery budget or the convenience of storing age-appropriate-sized servings directly in their fridge or freezer. For yet others, it’s the desire to go “green” (not just “green” vegetables, but rather, the less packaging and fewer glass jars purchased, the better it is for the environment).

While making your own baby food is relatively easy, there are some important things to keep in mind. For instance, Cyr pointed out that because each child is different, parents need to discuss with their pediatrician how to gauge when their baby is developmentally ready to have solid food introduced to his or her diet.

Safety is another issue. As part of her “Eat Well Program,” Cyr usually reviews a few safety guidelines with potential baby food makers. Most importantly: Work under the most sanitary conditions possible. Scrub down work surfaces; make sure all equipment is washed with soap and hot water and rinsed well; and wash your hands before preparing your baby’s food or feeding your baby — and ALWAYS after changing your baby’s diapers.

Finally, while Cyr shared a few basic recipes and lots of advice on how to get started,  more detailed information and instruction is available by taking an Extension office workshop, by going to their website and by watching their instructional YouTube video.

How to get started?

As a general guide, Cyr said most children are ready for solid foods around 5 or 6 months, although you should always consult with your pediatrician. The American Academy of Pediatrics adds that veggies should not be given to babies under 3 months of age and it recommends waiting to start solid foods until about six months.

Cyr suggests that your baby’s first introduction to solid food be rice cereal, followed by vegetables. Introduce fruits last — so your baby doesn’t become accustomed to their sweetness. Years ago, she said, fruits were offered first and babies would sometimes struggle to “appreciate” the less-than-sweet flavors of their vegetables. She strongly advises against adding any salt, butter or sugar to baby foods. When asked if there was anything that might require a small touch of additional sugar, she replied “No — not at all!”

Kate Yerxa, the Cooperative Extension statewide nutrition educator, said most people freeze their homemade baby foods. Serving size is generally one to two tablespoons starting out, increasing that as your baby (and his or her appetite) grows. Using ice cube trays can give you the right serving size. An alternate method is to drop tablespoons of the pureed food onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Cover and pop either the ice cube trays or the cookie sheet into the freezer. When frozen solid, place the frozen servings into a zip-lock bag or airtight plastic container.

“Basically, your freezer turns into your cupboard,” Yerxa said. The Extension office advises you to use your frozen baby food within one month, if possible, and throw away any unused foods after three months.

Because babies don’t know which foods are typically paired together, Yerxa said to have fun with your mixtures — “as long as you’ve already introduced each food separately — go ahead and mix fruit in with the vegetables!”

Around 12 months, Cyr said you can start to add herbs, such as parsley, to your foods, or onion and small amounts of spinach for additional flavoring. Another fun food to offer your child is avocado, Yerxa said. It’s healthy and because it sticks easily to a spoon, it’s great when they begin using utensils.

In the Extension’s YouTube video, Yerxa offers step-by-step instructions on preparing baby food. She demonstrates how to prepare, cook, puree and freeze peaches for your infant. Search under University of Maine How to Make Baby Food, or use this link: http://youtu.be/cili44BebXY.

What to avoid?

There is a short list of items to avoid until your baby is older: High nitrate vegetables, such as beets, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, celery, collard greens, lettuce, spinach and turnips, should not be fed to babies in large quantities. Limit the serving size of these vegetables to one to two tablespoons per feeding. Egg yolks are OK, but — because of potential allergies — hold off on introducing egg whites until closer to 8 months.

Baby steps to baby food:

Here are a few pointers from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension office:

Prepare fresh fruits or vegetables by scrubbing, paring or peeling, and removing all seeds and any fruit pits.

Prepare meats by removing all bones, skin, connective tissue, gristle and fat.

Cook foods, when necessary, boiling them in a small, covered saucepan with a small amount of water until tender. The amount of water is important — the less water used, the more nutrients stay in the food. Steaming or baking also works well.

Puree food using a blender, food processor, baby food grinder, masher, spoon or fork.

Test for smoothness by rubbing a small amount of food between your fingers. Add some liquid (such as formula, water, unsweetened fruit juice or breast milk) to achieve a desired consistency. As your baby ages and sprouts teeth, the consistency can be slightly chunkier.

Reheat frozen cubes of baby food in a heat-resistant container placed in a pan of hot water.

When cooking foods for your family, remember to separate out the baby’s portion before adding seasonings, spices, butter, etc.

Equipment doesn’t need to be fancy:

Spoon, fork and potato masher: Use these to mash soft foods, such as most canned fruits, bananas and potatoes, to the right consistency.

Sieve/strainer: It should have a small mesh. You can press foods through it with the back of a spoon. It can be used for juices, soft fruits and vegetables, but not meats.

Food mills or grinders: Food mills and grinders are useful when preparing soft meats and can be used for cooked fruits, vegetables and soft fresh fruits.

Blenders: Your blender can come in handy to prepare food for the baby. Food items cooked for the family can be blended smooth for the baby or frozen to be eaten later. Hand-held blenders are also useful.

Vegetable medley

(For babies over 5-6 months old)

1/2 cup cooked fresh, frozen or canned vegetables (such as potato, sweet potato, green beans, peas, carrots, yellow squash), without salt added

2 to 4 tablespoons cooking liquid: formula, water or breast milk

Cook fresh vegetables or use frozen or canned vegetables without salt or seasoning. (Read labels for ingredients.) Press vegetable chunks through a sieve or baby food mill. Thin with cooking liquid or formula to eating consistency. Or put cooked vegetables and liquid in a blender and puree until smooth. Serve or freeze.

TIP: After feeding your baby individual vegetables several times, some other good combinations include: potatoes and carrots, potatoes and green beans, and carrots and peas.

Simple strained meat or poultry

(For babies over 8 months old)

1/2 cup cooked meat (small pieces of lean chicken, beef, turkey or pork)

2 to 4 tablespoons meat broth, water or formula

Cook lean meat (any fat and skin removed) over low heat in a small amount of water. Puree meat and liquid until smooth. Serve or freeze.

“Your Choice” combo meals

(For babies over 8 months old)

1 cup cooked, cubed or diced meat (with fat trimmed off)

1/2 cup cooked rice, potato, noodles or macaroni

2/3 cup cooked, diced vegetables

3/4 to 1 cup liquid (formula, water, broth, or breast milk)

Combine and blend until smooth. Serve or freeze in serving-size containers.

Tip: If you prepare combination dishes, use them only after you have fed the individual food several times. Another good combo is sweet potato mixed with pasta.

Creamy custard

(For babies over 1 year)

3 egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups milk, warmed

Mix egg yolks and sugar. Stir in milk and mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture coats the spoon. Refrigerate. Use within 2 to 3 days.

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