Make my own baby food…
Why would I want to do that?
Well, it’s cheaper and tastier than buying it from the store. You can buy a bag of carrots for the cost of two jars of baby food and make a whole batch. And really, you don’t make it everyday…you make a batch and use it from the freezer for a couple of weeks and then make another batch.
My sister, Megan, and I both had a baby about the same time. They just turned two (if you remember the Elmo party and Cake Pops). Anyhow, when they were ready to start solids – we both decided that we were going to give making our own baby food a try. The babies both loved it.
We both relied a lot on this site: www.wholesomebabyfood.com – here they have step by step instructions on how to make almost any kind of baby food yourself. You would be amazed at the different combos they suggest…things that you may never think to feed a baby.
I have enjoyed making baby food again with baby #4. She’s a pretty good eater -her current favorite is pumpkin with a dash of cinnamon.
I’m going to walk you through the basic process. There are a couple of things that you need:
The fruit or veggie you’ll be making – here I have a baked sweet potato.
A gadget for pureeing – you can use a food processor, a blender or an immersion blender – my particular favorite for baby food and so much more.
Lastly, something to make frozen cubes in, this is actually made for baby food, but I’ve also used a regular ice cube tray and it also works great.
There are several different ways to prepare the fruit/veggie – boiling, steaming, baking. So you will prepare it according to your preference. I baked these sweet potatoes because I like the taste better than if they were boiled.
Then puree, adding water (or cooking liquid) to achieve the right consistency. I didn’t have to add any to these, sometimes I will right before serving to get it just right.
Fill the trays with the puree. Freeze until solid.
Once frozen, put the cubes in quart size freezer bags, label them and place them in the freezer.
When you are ready to serve, remove what you need from the freezer. Place in a microwave safe container, for 1 cube defrost for 40 seconds. Stir and heat for 10-15 seconds. You will need more time depending on how many cubes you are heating.
You can combine different fruits and veggies to keep things interesting. It’s not hard to take these on the go either. If you take them from the freezer and put them in a container with a lid, they will probably be thawed by the time you need them, even without the microwave.
Check out Wholesome Baby Food to get more information on this surprisingly easy, healthy and frugal way to feed your baby.
I made most of Z’s baby food…It was so easy and economical too! Plus I knew what was going into his food. Sometimes I would add baby oatmeal or rice cereal for a different consistency and added substance.