It's funny that I cook for my 10-month-old daughter.

I only make dinner for my husband a couple of nights a week, and I hardly ever cook for myself. Give me a frozen burrito, and I'm good.

Elissa Eubanks/Staff (ENLARGE)

By making quiche from scratch, Minde Herbert can be certain of exactly what her twins are eating. Another benefit: 'By giving them the good stuff, they're learning good eating habits really early,' she says.

Chris Hunt/Staff (ENLARGE)

A typical lunch for 10-month-old Celia Ghezzi might include tri-color veggies (clockwise from top), plain yogurt and fruit compote. Celia's mother buys organic produce, steams it and runs it through a food mill.

ONLINE RESOURCES www.wholesomebabyfood.com www.myhomemadebabyfood.com www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com [an error occurred while processing this directive]

But for Celia, I have prepared most of her food from scratch since she took her first cautious bites of strained peas at 6 months.

Though most parents go Gerber, I've found several metro Atlanta moms also making baby food. Reasons range from saving money to the peace of mind that comes with knowing exactly what baby is eating. Some parents prefer homemade because they are afraid of contamination in baby food manufactured overseas. Others, like me, enjoy cooking something that is hard to screw up.

Just steam the heck out of vegetables or fruits and run them through a food mill, a widget that requires no electricity, just a turn of the crank. Dilute with water from the steaming process, formula or breast milk.

That's it.

As Celia has gotten older and tried more foods, I've gotten adventurous, combining pears, plums and peaches and tossing in fruits I've never tried, like fresh apricots. I buy whatever looks fresh, is labeled organic and, ideally, grown locally. I cook it up and see how she responds.

She is gloriously unfinicky, and everything I've served so far has gotten a green light — except cottage cheese.

For parents interested in making their own baby chow, the Internet is an endless resource of tips, such as the importance of introducing foods one at a time and waiting a few days to make sure baby handles it well before moving on. Entire cookbooks are available on baby purees, though I've never seen the need for one.

The main question I get from family, friends and other mothers is ... why bother? The supermarket shelves are stocked with baby food, some of which is organic and most of which is pediatrician-approved.

My mommy chef role started as part of an environmental kick. Earth moms favor locally grown produce, and store-bought baby food doesn't fill the bill even if it's labeled organic. I started hitting the farmers markets and, not being much of a produce eater myself, I found I could buy fresh veggies that Celia would eat even if I wouldn't.

I've stuck with making Celia's food because it's fun. She thinks I'm the greatest chef ever. She opens her mouth as wide as a baby bird, and grins after gulping down pureed summer squash and sweet potatoes, exposing recently sprouted teeth.

Alice Smith, a registered dietitian and program manager at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, said parents who feed their babies and toddlers store-bought food shouldn't feel guilty. "You're not a bad parent if you use commercial," she said.

Those who make some or all of their baby's food say that they find a range of choices in the produce aisle that they can't find in the baby section of the grocery store.

Susan Lauer, DeKalb County mother of 11-month-old Sam Payne, gets out her pots and pans for a few hours each month, making original concoctions that include leeks, rutabagas and other veggies typically not found in store-bought food.

"It seemed there was very little variety in the processed baby food, especially the organic lines," she said. "And I felt the homemade would provide more flavor and texture."

Lauer uses a popular strategy of making big batches and freezing baby-size portions in ice-cube trays. This makes homemade food almost as convenient and less wasteful than commercial food. As a side benefit, making food from scratch is cheaper than the prepared stuff.

A disadvantage of homemade baby food is it doesn't travel well. It's not safe to carry around in a diaper bag all day. Sam eats commercial food while at his child care center.

At home, Lauer feeds him her creations. "It is a time commitment to make the homemade food, but very rewarding when your little one gives you the 'mmm's' and big grins," she said.

Minde Herbert, a Douglas County mother of toddler twins, cooks for her kids because she wants to know what is going in their growing bodies.

"Just because the label says organic carrots, you don't know where that carrot was picked, you don't know when that carrot was picked," she said. "By giving them the good stuff, they're learning good eating habits really early."

Herbert and her husband eat healthy, so they give 18-month-old Sam and Jane many of the same foods they're eating. The babies started with avocados and yams and graduated to kale, spinach, organic chicken, beets, figs, kiwi and garbanzo beans.

At first, Herbert pureed everything with a hand blender. Now she feeds the kids bite-size pieces they can pick up. She thinks her diligence will pay off later when her kids reach for healthy foods. "Once you start feeding your child whole foods, they will never have a taste for processed foods."

For me, I don't want Celia to be the picky eater I am. I don't blame the Gerber my mother fed me for my finicky ways. But I like the idea of giving my daughter the freshest fruits and vegetables I can find, in desperate hope that she'll continue to think organic pears make the greatest dessert ever.

And for now, I want Celia to keep on thinking I'm a fantastic cook. She'll learn the truth soon enough.