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Babies: 3 - 6 Months
belladonna11307
member
Making your own baby food?
belladonna11307
member
Is anyone currently or planning on making their own baby food? From what I've heard it isn't that hard and might be less expensive than buying all of those jars of food. Any thought or experience? Thanks!
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Re: Making your own baby food?
I posted about this last week and was directed by multiple people to this fantastic website--
Link
yes - wholesomebabyfood.com has been my go to resource. It really hasn't been too hard, but we are just starting. I buy a few different fruits or vegetables at a time. Make up a big batch of different foods at once and freeze them into ice cube trays, I then store the cubes in labeled freezer bags and take out a cube as needed. So far it has been easy.
I made all my DD's food and plan to do the same with DS. Not only was it easy, but it was really fun! I am not sure what you can get in the pre-made jars, but I felt like a.) we knew exactly what she was getting b.) it was fresh and c.) we could do unique combos that I can't imagine jarred food having
It also encouraged us to eat healthier. We would eat the same foods that we pureed for her.
You can keep frozen purees for three months tops. Just an FYI.
I make all of DS' food and it is much cheaper. It's $1.00 for 2 tubs of regular Gerber. Organic costs more.
I bought a few pears for $3.46 and made the equivalent of 15 jars of Gerber.
1 butternut squash for 99 cents made the equivalent of 20 jars of Gerber.
1 bag of frozen green beans for 79 cents made the equivalent of 18 jars of Gerber.
See the trend?
I also use wholesomebabyfood.com for all of DS' food.
http://pandce.****/index.cgi#general
I have a ton that I have made. super easy. I just use my food processor to puree and make big batches and freeze in silicone cup cake pans pop them out of that and throw it in a ziplock freezer bag.
so far I have apple sauce with cinnamon, plain apple sauce, sweet potatoes puree, peach puree, pear puree and roasted sweet potatoe chunks for when she is into finger foods.
good luck .
We just got the go ahead to start DD on solids! I am definitely planning on making my own. A good point the pedi made today is when they are just starting out and learning to eat, they may not eat a lot. So you'd be opening a new container of bought food that you can't even keep if your LO doesn't eat a lot. So kinda wasting money.
this exactly!!! it's been really easy! i put them cubes in individual breast milk storage bags (i had a bunch and im not BFing anymore) in the freezer
**Kelly***
There's a ton of info in that link I posted above.
I plan to use my regular old blender for things I'll make and freeze in larger quantities.
I plan on making DS food when we move on to solids. I have the baby bullet, more so because I liked the accessories and it went on sale
I just thought, we don't eat processed, out-of-the-jar food every day. Plus, have you really read the ingredients and nutritional charts of baby food? There is sodium in everything! I will know exactly what he is eating and not have to worry about recalls or empty calories. Plus, frozen fruits and vegetables are sometimes more nutritious than fresh because it is frozen at the ripest time. Just make sure it doesn't have additives. Most don't.
you do not need the baby bullet or any other specialty baby blenders.
you can either use your food processor or a blender. I like my food processor so I can make big batches, it is easy to clean (no small parts) and it is already in my kitchen and does not take up any more space. I can also put veggies in hot and puree them right away and I can add to it too while it is mixing. very little mess.
I also use a silicone cupcake pan that I already had. it works awesome.
PSA ~ for the packaged containers of food ~ you can freeze them in portions so you are not wasting them either.
It's SO easy, and the food tastes delicious. You would never get me to try anything out of a baby food jar. I fed Anna homemade applesauce today and I was jealous that she got to eat it.
I just cook the food to soften it and blend it up in our Vitamix. Then I freeze it in a baby food freezer tray. Once they're frozen, I pop them out and store them in ziplocs. To reheat, I just throw some of the cubes in an omelet pan over medium heat!
I use a combination of frozen vegetables (like peas or green beans), and fresh (like broccoli or apples). I've read that frozen vegetables are often as healthy (or healthier) as fresh.
I cook and prep something maybe once a week. Right now we've got green beans, cannelini beans (yup), peas, carrots, and apples in the freezer for her.