How to make sure your baby has enough iron Researchers at Starship Hospital recently found that babies who were initially fed commercial baby food had less iron deficiency than those whose first meals were homemade. Almost one in six (14%) children in Auckland under two years of age are iron deficient. Homemade or bought? Dr Clare Wall, one of the key researchers, says: "We tend to think that homemade is better than bought, so these results are quite surprising. What we think it shows is that people need to be very careful to include enough iron-rich meat in their homemade baby food. Homemade baby food is great but we must ensure there's enough iron in it by including some meat, chicken, liver or fish at least every few days." The research also found that babies who ate fruit with a meal, rather than in between meals, had less iron deficiency. This is because the vitamin C helps the iron in food to be absorbed. Basic method for homemade baby food Take breast milk or iron-fortified formula. Add some iron-fortified baby cereal with mashed/pureed fruit (vitamin C in the fruit increases iron absorption from the cereal). Then add meat with vegetables (meat helps a baby absorb up to four times more iron from the vegetables Simple foods to make at home Keep some lamb's liver frozen (Note: lamb's liver is rick in iron but also vitamin A and too much vitamin A can damage the liver, so feed your 7-12 month