Homemade Baby Formula That is Safe, Nutritionally Sound, and Doctor Approved
I’m old enough to remember my mother making baby formula for my little brothers. My young self recalls canned evaporated milk, Karo syrup, and some super stinky brown liquid—more than likely, Poly Vi Sol vitamin drops. The horrible taste lingers in my memory as sketchy as that recipe might be. Of course, I tasted it.
Clearly, my brothers Tim Hegg, M.Div., Th.M., and David W. Hegg, M.A., M. Div., who thrived on homemade infant formula, turned out better than okay. Neither suffers from poor brain or bone development. Both are prolific in modern and ancient languages, published authors, and highly-respected professors at the college-, graduate-, and theological seminary levels; both are extremely musical and not bad looking, either. I am their proud sister.
Okay, back to baby formula, which is about as scarce as hens’ teeth at this writing. Of course, upon hearing the dire straits in which so many parents are finding themselves, my first thought was, just make it yourself! I should have been more compassionate, but you must remember who you’re dealing with here. My philosophy is if I can possibly make it myself cheaper, better, faster—why would I buy it?
Warnings, loud warnings
A quick online search for homemade formula specifics smacked me in the face! Dozens of loud warnings to never even think of making baby formula yourself. I get it—messing with an infant’s development by inadvertently withholding any of the proper nutrients necessary (amazingly found in perfect proportion in a human mother’s breastmilk) is dangerous.
Although pediatricians and doctors say you should not make your own baby formula, the fact is that people made their own for years before formula became commercially available in the 1950s.
If the choice is letting your baby go hungry or making your own, then there is no choice at all, is there? Pediatricians telling families not to make their own even if they cannot find formula leaves them with no solution.
Lack of proper nutrition at the right time in a baby’s early development could result in irreversible damage. Do not, I repeat do not, rely on my mother’s ancient recipe, in which I’m certain to have left out a couple of important ingredients! However, rest assured, what follows has been carefully developed by health professionals and is doctor-approved.
Meet Dr. David Jockers
David Jockers, DNM, DC, MS is a doctor of natural medicine, functional nutritionist, and corrective care chiropractor. He is the founder of Exodus Health Center in Kennesaw, Georgia. Dr. Jockers and his wife, Angel, adapted (from Weston A. Price Foundation where you can learn even more) and developed this homemade-from-scratch recipe for baby formula when Angel could not produce enough breastmilk to nourish their baby twin boys well.
The recipe is specific (don’t leave out a single item unless marked as optional) and uses ingredients easily located either locally at your drugstore, health food store, or online. I will give you as many links and resources as possible, some from Dr. Jocker’s website store.
Let me give my warning: Initially, acquiring all ingredients will not be cheap. However, each batch of formula uses only a small amount, so your initial investment should last for quite a long time.
One last thing: If you opt to make homemade baby formula, make sure you run this by your doctor, pediatrician, or other health professional first for your physician’s approval. I am not a doctor, and I try hard not to play one on this blog!
Ok, with all of that introductory information out of the way, let’s go.
Homemade Baby Formula
Yield: 36 ounces
Ingredients
- 2 cups of filtered water
- 2 tsp collagen protein
- 4 tbsp. lactose
- 2 cups milk (raw whole, grass-fed, or regular whole milk)
- 2 tbsp. heavy cream
- 1 capsule’s contents of Lacto (optional, for lactose digestion support)
- ¼ teaspoon acerola powder
- ¼ teaspoon of infant probiotics
- 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast flakes
- ½ teaspoon of cod liver oil
- 1 teaspoon cold-pressed sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- (optional) ¼ teaspoon butter oil
You can find these ingredients to make homemade baby formula bundled together: Nourishing Traditions Kit for Homemade Formula.
Instructions:
1. Pour one cup of the filtered water into a pan over medium heat
2. Add collagen protein and lactose to the warming water to dissolve, stirring occasionally.
3. While the collagen and lactose are dissolving, place milk in a clean, glass blender and add the remaining ingredients, make sure to open the Lacto capsule and adding only its contents, not the capsule itself:
4. Then remove the pan from the heat and pour in the remaining half of the water to cool.
5. Next, add 2 teaspoons coconut oil and (optional) ¼ teaspoon butter to the water to melt.
6. Add the water mixture to the blender ingredients and blend for about 3 seconds.
7. Pour the blended ingredients into glass jars and refrigerate.
Homemade Baby Formula
Ingredients
- 2 cups filtered water
- 2 tspn collagen protein
- 4 tbsp lactose
- 2 cups raw whole, grass-fed, or reg whole milk
- 2 tbsn heavy cream
- 1 capsule's contents Lacto (optional for lactose digestion support)
- ¼ tspn acerola powder
- ¼ tspn infant probiotics
- 2 tspn nutritional yeast flakes
- ½ tspn cod liver oil
- 1 tspn cold-pressed sunflower oil
- 1 tspn extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tspn coconut oil
- ¼ tspn butter oil (optional)
Instructions
- For links to locate the specific ingredients go to EverydayCheapskate.com/babyformula
- Pour one cup of the filtered water into a pan over medium heat
- Add collagen protein and lactose to the warming water to dissolve, stirring occasionally.
- While the collagen and lactose are dissolving, place milk in a clean, glass blender and add the remaining ingredients, make sure to open the Lacto capsule and adding only its contents, not the capsule itself.
- Then remove the pan from the heat and pour in the remaining half of the water to cool.
- Next, add 2 teaspoons coconut oil and (optional) ¼ teaspoon butter to the water to melt.
- Add the water mixture to the blender ingredients and blend for about 3 seconds.
- Pour the blended ingredients into glass jars and refrigerate.
- Nutrition is for one 8-oz. serving: Cal 108 Fat 4g Total Carbohydrates 4g; Sugars 3g Protein 3g
Notes
The information in this post for homemade baby formula has not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration or any other medical body. We do not aim to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. Information is shared for educational purposes only. The content of this blog is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have. They should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
You must consult your doctor before acting on any content on this website, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
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So much better than whats out there
My mom fed me and all my sisters on this formula of evap milk and karo syrup (water to dilute the evaporated milk) and she boiled it first! I’m still alive and I would recommend it, if you are warning people, if there were no other things available to feed your baby would you let your baby starve because you can’t come to terms with it?
Thanks for the recipe and seems to be great BUT this recipe followed exactly makes half the servings. If there are updates or corrections could u please advise??? Many thanks! I welcome your thoughts.
Hi … I would refer you to Dr Jockers site, where you can contact him directly. This recipe is taken exactly as he has published it, with full attribution of course.
This formula will be excessively high in protein (stressful for newborn kidneys) and low in iron and folic acid. Would not trust credentials of chiropractor author. Not saying there isn’t a reasonable homemade recipe out there, but this one isn’t it. Dr Neil, Pediatrician
With the exception of babies with food allergies or certain medical conditions, it does sound like there are certain ‘DIY’ formulas – that if fortified in the right way- will make an acceptable substitute for commercial formula for the average baby…until that formula is available again. This isn’t “one size fits all”. It likely means consulting with a physician to figure out what is right for one’s child. But it’s common knowledge that babies survived (and thrived) before commercial formula were available; parents made their own formula at home. Since we can now ‘fortify’ a baby’s nutritional intake…even if manufactured formula is in short supply ….with many different products even if homemade formula is used , This is something smart parents can figure out with cautious optimism.
Just wanted to say excellent job.
The AAP has approached this shortage irrationally.
How can anyone possibly tell mothers that a home kitchen cannot possibly be made safe enough to sterilize DIY formula?
This is all about doctors fearing liability for saying homemade formula is okay and the general medical tendency to infantilize grown women.
They don’t think the average woman is diligent and scrupulous enough to use a gram scale, measure in ml and stick precisely to recipe formulated by doctors and nutritionists.
(No doubt they are also envisioning street corner entrepreneurs selling homemade formula via FB Marketplace & Craigslist, which is indeed scary)
So educate people! Create hospital endorsed videos training mothers to make and store formula that safely satisfies an infant’s nutritional needs. It would have been simple enough to publish Amazon links of the required ingredients.
Instead they abdicate all responsibility.
It is not unlike the veterinarians who have for decades warned clients away from providing nutritionally superior home cooked and raw food to their dogs because “everything he needs is in his can.”
Meanwhile, cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs over 10 years, with 50% of older dogs developing the disease and approximately one in four dogs eventually dying from it.
I am not saying commercial baby formula promotes disease — it clearly doesn’t — and it is, after all, a transitional food, not a lifelong diet. But it’s got crappy corn syrup and other cheap ingredients. It isn’t magic!
How absurd to presume that a careful parent buying the highest quality, medically and nutritionally endorsed ingredients can’t at least approach if not exceed a formula adequate for their infant’s needs.
My great-granddad made my grandma goat’s milk formula because she could not tolerate cow’s milk. He said he made the formula with a can of goat’s milk, karo syrup and some vitamins prescribed by her pediatrician. She is 67 today and had no health problems growing up.
Recommending that desperate moms feed their babies a homemade formula that contains raw, unpasteurized milk is a recipe for disaster. Be careful if you plan to feed your babies homemade formula, and definitely do not use raw milk. You’re already rolling the dice, why risk bacterial contaminants on top of that.
What would you suggest BP for parents who have no formula, are not breastfeeding? Raw milk as present in the resources in this post is an option.
I am wondering if the electrolyte continent of this recipe has been evaluated for the delicate sodium balance of young infants?
Take a look at the resources cited in the post, Jenny.
so this is a worldwide issue with baby formula company, Nestle.
Still lobbying to sell their formulas to women who have no access to clean water
Why aren’t any of these other formulas suitable ..if you can’t find yours .I say a different one close to the one you have will work too maybe better. Well the baby get use to it . Unlike feeding hungry and starving .. my friend said her baby was on a certain baby formula for babies with stomach problems . The Found that Walmart brand worked for there baby . I think they have more then a tummy ach if they don’t eat. I think part of the problem is now too mother’s are buying more and think if I can’t get this . Why can’t the manufacturer ramp up production .
Thank you for your article. I am forwarding it to my email list. It is so sad that there are so many who have goats and cows that are not allowed to even give their milk to others. Keep up the good work, Mary!
Do not expect all to agree, but I have five sons 6’ -6’6”. They were all nursed and formula was pet milk-water and Karo. Always preferred a Good general physician. They, at least ones I had. We’re well-rounded in education and ability to take care of patient needs. Did not include FDA nor government in decisions. Something I could not take care of, went to doctor. There have been so many babies born Before Formula was a business. How in the world did they survive. Mother’s milk usually is nourishing and provides in the first weeks defenses naturally to the infants. Their immunization system. God provided that in a mother.
We had to make formula for our preemie twins because I couldn’t produce enough milk. I made a goat milk version similar to the one above (from Weston Price), and they loved it and did well on it. Their doctor totally approved. People should not throw out the idea of making their own simply because of the AAP. This stuff (like most home-made food) is much better for your baby than highly processed powder formulas.
I’m still waiting for a pediatrician or medical organization dismissing even the idea of homemade formula to give an alternative. “Keep looking,” or “Buy it online” is not a very good alternative. Seriously, what is a parent to do when they infant has no food?
I think this is great and would like to send your article to our local, weekly paper to help get the word out, with your permission, and credit acknowledgement of course. We are a small mountain community in North Idaho. I also want to thank you, Mary, for all the great advise you provide. Priceless!
Regards,
Richard Hurley,
Saint Maries, Id. Pronounced Mary’s. No joke!
Yes permission granted Richard. And thanks very much! Source it as Mary Hunt’s EverydayCheapskate.com
This is not in alignment with the Academy of American Pediatrics’ recommendations. The author of the recipe is not a medical doctor.
Do you know what the AAP recommends that parents do in the face of unprecedented shortages? I just heard that, by way of example, 57% of parents of infants in San Antonio TX are not able to get baby formula. That’s alarming!
The only recommendations I’ve heard is to ask your doctor’s office for samples. As if there is any left. Let alone enough to feed your child for a week. Or to try food pantries. They all say DON’T TRY HOMEMADE RECIPES.But this is the first article that I’ve even seen anyone address it or offer an alternative So thank you Mary. And Denise, it stated very clearly in the beginning of the article that she is NOT a dr and you seek the of your owndr. But the person she got the recipe FROM is s dr. Everyone is aware this is not what the AAP is suggesting. Hence the need for the article.
Lol. My kids are grown. If I were in the position many moms are in now. You bet your bottom dollar I would make this formula. What did moms do prior to formula and they couldn’t breast feed? Doctors and government can only take you so far sweetie. Then comes God and common sense. Are you a mom of an infant? If so let’s say you can’t find baby formula anywhere. But this is not approved!!
What do you do?
Let your child starve to death because doctors don’t approve. Or the fda. Blah blah.
Or.
Take yourself to the store. Speak to the pharmacist. And go home, make your child formula and feed him?
Your answer should be interesting.
My mother raised six kids, born in the 1950s and 60s, on homemade “formula”. When the baby turned one, he/she started drinking cow’s milk. Mom also fed us cereal with milk for breakfast, sandwiches and chips for school lunch, and home cooked meals for dinner that contained meat, veggies, bread, and occasionally, dessert. We all turned out to be strong and healthy. Once every month or two, my dad would bring home a fast food treat for lunch or dinner — pizza, KFC, McDonald’s or Burger King.
Here’s my mom’s “formula” recipe. Mix one part evaporated milk with one part tap water. That’s it. If the baby is constipated, add a little Karo syrup until the baby isn’t constipated.
(I don’t have anything against formula. My wife breast fed each of our kids until they bit her with their new teeth, usually when they were about six months old. Then she switched them to powdered formula out of a can, usually Enfamil. They all grew up big and healthy too.)
I think you might be missing the vitamins part. I was raised on that formula but liquid vitamins were always added. A baby just drinking evaporated milk would be nutritionally deficient.
Thank you, Mary. I am long past this stage of life but can only imagine the panic of mothers with babies right now! This is brilliant!
Raw milk: who if anyone is testing the source of the raw milk for disease? Babies can die from Listeria monocytogenes and other bacteria that are otherwise killed by pasteurization. This recipe says nothing about time and temperature since it includes raw milk it gives no information on possibly pasteurizing the formula itself
Please note that regular whole milk is given as an alternative for those who are concerned about raw milk. Obviously, one would need to source raw milk from careful dairy farmers. I don’t know the current regulations, but I do know dairy farms are inspected by the USDA.
You can buy Raw milk in California at Whole Foods. I also think Texas sells raw milk at Whole Foods
It’s a law that all raw milk producers provide evidence of testing for all diseases. There are states that allow purchase from the store. In Colorado, all raw milk goes through formal testing. With that said, it’s always good to know your diary. I purchased raw milk direct from dairy for years because it healed my daughters eczema. Although I breastfed my kids, if I had to do formula, I would definitely go with the authors recommended recipe for the best nutrition. The person suggesting just evaporated milk is potentially recommending a recipe that isn’t very nutritious. Even my mother gave us that when we were bS use, however, she did add liquid vitamins as evaporated milk is not that nutritious in its own.
That recipe is way too complicated — ours was 19 oz. of Evaporated milk, plus an equal amount of boiled water and 1 T. Karo (clear) syrup!
I made this formula for my son who couldn’d take regular formula,,,but I added vidalin vitamins. My aunt had the formula since she had her 5th child. It gradulately changed with the baby’s age and weight.