First of all congratulations and best of luck.
i ALWAYS prepare baby food at home.i have 3 small kids.the older 2 eat normal food now as they r 4 and 2 yr old,my youngest is 8 months.All 3 of my kids were always fed the homemade food i prepared 4 them and they r super healthy with the grace of God.
to start them on semi solids(when they r 6 months old,or 4 months old if they had not been breast fed,in some doctors' opinion),i always started with banana,rice cereal and wheat cereal,yogurt etc.whenever u start the baby on a new food,i.e introduce something new,put a little honey(organic off course) in it,that makes the baby digest the food easily until his stomach gets used to it,which takes 3,4 days.mashed banana with half a tsp of honey mixed with it,is good.I used to steam apple and make puree.Fruits that have more fiber like berries,pears etc should be introduced a bit later and with caution as they have tendency to make baby's stomach loose.
For rice cereal or u could call it rice pudding,boil a tbs of rice in a little water which should not be wasted.let it evaporate and cook with the rice,add some 2% milk in the rice when its tender enough,add a little sugar(i prefer honey),cool and make puree.Likewise for wheat cereal,take a spoon of wholeweat in a non stick pan,add a spoon of margerine or butter and cook and keep stirring until it browns a bit and u can smell the flour and butter,then add milk and cook to a boil,the consistency is like mashed potatoes.You can also make semolina pudding the same way as wheat pudding.Its really good for the baby and it helps gain weight fast.
Another recipe is put a tbsp of rice and 1 tbsp of yellow lentils,one bone-in piece of chicken together in a pot,add water and a pinch of salt and cook on low heat until everything looks meshed and completely cooked,add a tsp of butter,let cool.debone the chicken piece and discard the bone.make puree.This is really healthy and great for loose tummy.
Then u can steam or boil carrots and peas,potatoes,add some salt and even a pinch of black pepper and make puree.
I have a lot of other recipes.I love making baby food at home and keep experimenting.This is my favorite passtime and i love it when my babies eat that food and like it and look healthy.
Best of luck.
