Question about making your own baby food.

AshleyDehaven · May 2013

So now that we are within a month or two of introducing purees to our little one i am looking into the option of making his food myself as opposed to buying premade purees from the store. It just seems healthier to me, and with a little one who is already in need of special formula for tummy troubles i don't want to give him anything with unnecessary additives and preservatives KWIM? I'm not granola or anything, but i want to do what is healthiest for him. So here are my quesitons, bare with me here, i am a first timer lol.

Okay so, cost, right now we are spending over 400 dollars a month on that formula i mentioned. We have a car payment, insurance, phone, cable, internet.. etc All on an Army salary. So while no amount of money is too much for the health of my baby i DO need to be conscious of outgoing expenses. I would assume that a person would save more by making there own baby food? Or am i totally off base?

Also, i am a SAHM and my husband is gone until late weekdays and weekends are a circus here, so i would need to be able to make big batches once or twice a week either with him in his rocker in the kitchen with me, or during a nap, and his naps are generally an hour or so long. Do you think that would be feasible? It doesn't seem like a very involved process, but as i have never done it, advice from people who have is definitely appreciated.

Finally, storage. I know it can be frozen, and this is what i would do, as like i said, i need to do big batches. Would it be worth buying some of the freezable food jars they sell on diapers.com or would covered ice trays work better? I know that the trays are one ounce portions and the jars are 2 ounces. In your experience how much does a little one eat in a sitting usually?

Sorry if these questions all sound stupid, i am just trying to make as informed a decision as possible. Thanks for reading and any advice you can give.

sbevmc09 · May 2013

Cost depends because the cost of food varies (both actual produce, and baby food), really. IME you'll save a little or spend about the same depending on what you do. We did all organic produce so that upped the cost and a lot of it was locally sourced just because that's what we buy when we can. I think you could definitely save some money though.

IMO it's not all that involved. I too did big batches and froze it. Usually on the weekend when I had backup, but it really didn't take too long to do it and the hands on time was low.

IMO it's best to freeze in cubes. Saves money and space and I like that the portions are smaller so you only have to pull out what you need. The last thing you want to do is waste food, especially the food you spent your time making! The amount that they eat is going to vary greatly. At first they're probably going to eat literally a few spoonfuls. When they're a little bigger and more used to eating solids they might eat a few ounces at a time. That's why I like the smaller portions. I would just pull out what we need and put it in a reuseable container.

zonagirlie · May 2013

sbevmc09:
Cost depends because the cost of food varies (both actual produce, and baby food), really. IME you'll save a little or spend about the same depending on what you do. We did all organic produce so that upped the cost and a lot of it was locally sourced just because that's what we buy when we can. I think you could definitely save some money though.
IMO it's not all that involved. I too did big batches and froze it. Usually on the weekend when I had backup, but it really didn't take too long to do it and the hands on time was low.
IMO it's best to freeze in cubes. Saves money and space and I like that the portions are smaller so you only have to pull out what you need. The last thing you want to do is waste food, especially the food you spent your time making! The amount that they eat is going to vary greatly. At first they're probably going to eat literally a few spoonfuls. When they're a little bigger and more used to eating solids they might eat a few ounces at a time. That's why I like the smaller portions. I would just pull out what we need and put it in a reuseable container.

I agree with the ice trays. They work brilliantly. There are special baby food trays, but truly you can get away with some quality ice cube trays from Target or BB&B. You just don't want the dollar store kind that will melt or get all icky because they're super thin.

I pinned some recipes and ideas on my pinterest wall. I don't remember if you follow me. We're going to wait as long as possible to introduce food but when we do, we'll start with things like avocado and sweet potatoes. Those you don't really have to "process" much.

drpayne · May 2013

Just wanted to add that wholesomebabyfood.com is a great resource.

Want a personalized experience?

Question about making your own baby food.

Re: Question about making your own baby food.

Choose Another Board

Search Boards