Advice for making your own baby food?

izzetoot · February 2014

Sorry is this has been discussed already, but I searched for a while and couldn't find much. If there's a link to another thread just send me there!

Questions for S(+)TMs, I know its a ways off but I want to register for equipment to make my own purees for baby food. The Baby Bullet looks like a nice little package but Im concerned its too good to be true, doesn't work well or is over priced. Thoughts? Also, if there are any recommendations of small compact food processors (I have a huge one already) that work well and are easily cleaned and stored you recommend? ! And brands for storage jars/accessories, recipe books or just general advice.

Thanks in advance for any input!

katekat8721 · February 2014

I'll hopefully be using these

https://s3.argim.net/files/s/jenny_mccarthy.gif

katekat8721 · February 2014

Could you use a regular blender/food processor and just store the food in something like this? I don't know how feasible it is to take out and about, my FTM is showing!

green sprouts™ by i play® Polypropylene Freezer Cubes (Set of 8)

green sprouts™ by i play® Polypropylene Freezer Cubes (Set of 8)

Read247 · February 2014

When DS was first starting out we would puree vegetables in the blender with water to thin it out. We made a bunch of different kinds and froze them in sandwich bags. As he got older and was eating more things we bought on of these:

And whatever we were eating we would grind up and serve him. I didn't want him to be a picky eater and I didn't want to have to make him something special every time we ate. It worked for us and it was under $10.

bebemac · February 2014

I plan on making my own baby food but I haven't explored all aspects. I have a Vitamix that I will use, and I have been pinning things from Pinterest. Have you checked Pinterest out? Here are some links to quite a few boards that may be of interest:

https://www.pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=diy baby food

https://www.pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=Homemade baby food

purplegem11 · February 2014

We used a stick blender and a drink pitcher and it worked out great. wholesomebabyfood.com was a great resource. I bought ice cube trays and froze a ton at a time.

cMichelle0423 · February 2014

I used a baby bullet for a few months and loved it. I think it's well worth the money. It's easy to use and easy to clean. And introducing solid foods can happen as soon as 4 months, so I don't think it's too out there to register for it.

And it does come with two different types of blades, two blending cups, 6 storage containera, a spatula, and a silicone freezing tray. Oh and a nutrition guide and recipe book.

izzetoot · February 2014

bebemac said:

I plan on making my own baby food but I haven't explored all aspects. I have a Vitamix that I will use, and I have been pinning things from Pinterest. Have you checked Pinterest out? Here are some links to quite a few boards that may be of interest: https://www.pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=diy baby food https://www.pinterest.com/search/boards/?q=Homemade baby food

Thanks, Ill check those out! I want a Vitamix soooo bad, but too pricey for me:( Do you love yours? Maybe I should splurge...

deepoceanmama · February 2014

I think joules said something about the baby bullet being a big waste of money and to just use a food processor.

OP, there's a thread somewhere called something like "STM secrets" or something like that. People talked about the baby bullet in there. It's an insanely awesome and helpful thread. I've been considering reviving it with a s/o thread.

((Note: not snarky! I don't think this thread is redundant of that one, but I remember being helped on baby food specifically there.))

Edited to tag @joules235, whose name I finally found.

katekat8721 · February 2014

@read247 - sandwich baggies, way cheaper! Brilliant!

izzetoot · February 2014

deepoceanmama said:

I think joules said something about the baby bullet being a big waste of money and to just use a food processor. OP, there's a thread somewhere called something like "STM secrets" or something like that. People talked about the baby bullet in there. It's an insanely awesome and helpful thread. I've been considering reviving it with a s/o thread. ((Note: not snarky! I don't think this thread is redundant of that one, but I remember being helped on baby food specifically there.))

Thanks! I'll search for it. I tried the search icon for 'baby food' 'make you own food' 'baby bullet' and just found a bunch of food porn

and one person that said it was a waste of $

Read247 · February 2014

katekat8721 said:

@read247 - sandwich baggies, way cheaper! Brilliant!

bebemac · February 2014

Read247 said:
When DS was first starting out we would puree vegetables in the blender with water to thin it out. We made a bunch of different kinds and froze them in sandwich bags. As he got older and was eating more things we bought on of these:

And whatever we were eating we would grind up and serve him. I didn't want him to be a picky eater and I didn't want to have to make him something special every time we ate. It worked for us and it was under $10.

This reminds me of a toddler version of the yardstick drinks on The Strip!

bebemac · February 2014

izzetoot said:
Thanks, Ill check those out! I want a Vitamix soooo bad, but too pricey for me:( Do you love yours? Maybe I should splurge...

I could easily use it every day. It's the one kitchen appliance I could not live without. It was seriously worth every penny! I got mine at Costco.

ktwils2010 · February 2014

I really overthought the whole thing when making baby food for my dd. lol it's super easy.
I found it was a lot easier to make big batches and freeze it in small portions. I would make several different things on a weekend afternoon and then it would be easy to pull an oz of this or an oz of that out of the freezer.

All you need is a way to steam your fruit or veggie, a food processor and something to freeze it in. I bought a few ice cube trays from oxo tot made for freezing baby food and it worked perfectly. Once the food was frozen I popped them all out of tray and threw them in a ziplock storage baggie labeled with the type of food and date. Which then freed up the tray for the next batch. Easy peasy!

I'll add that I originally had a baby Brezza which was cute and convenient but made such tiny little batches that I had to use it several times in a row if I wanted to make an entire butternut squash for example. So I sold it and used my food processor which was much more efficient!

ktwils2010 · February 2014

ugabamafans said:
You do not need any fancy equipment to make your own baby food. It is so easy! I made batches and froze in ice cube trays. Then once frozen, popped out and stored in gallon size freezer bags. I used this website to get an idea of how to do it: https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/. It was great at telling you how to cook different foods.

Basically, you need to cook the fruit or vegetable until soft and then puree. It is easier to do it in batches and then take out a cube or two as needed.

This is an excellent website! It was my go to guide as well!!

chickpea912 · February 2014

ugabamafans said:

You do not need any fancy equipment to make your own baby food. It is so easy! I made batches and froze in ice cube trays. Then once frozen, popped out and stored in gallon size freezer bags. I used this website to get an idea of how to do it: https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/. It was great at telling you how to cook different foods.

Basically, you need to cook the fruit or vegetable until soft and then puree. It is easier to do it in batches and then take out a cube or two as needed.

Basically this. If you already have a food processor, I wouldn't go out and buy another appliance that does exactly the same thing. But then again, I'm all about trying to eliminate redundancy, so maybe I'm just crazy I also skipped a second stroller (snap and go) and just bought a carseat adaptor for my main stroller - why have two when I bought the fancy awesome one to use anyway). There is an allure to buying all the baby themed stuff out there, but it's just not necessary.

I cooked whatever I was making (steamed, baked, etc.) - there are recipes out there to guide you if you need inspiration. I only did a few batches of purees before I switched to BLW (baby led weaning), so I was pretty simple - squash, sweet potato, peas, applesauce, etc.

Ice cube tray. Not the fancy ones they market to us poor new mom saps who'll buy anything pretty and color coordinated. The $3 pack of two ones I could get at Target (or Walmart or wherever). I don't even think mine had a lid - they were that cheap.

Freeze. Dump into gallon sized freezer bags. Store. Defrost when using.

Super simple. But I'm into super simple.

izzetoot · February 2014

Thanks ladies, for some reason it made sense to get a smaller food processor and now it seems like the one I have is better for making multiple batches and freezing. Y'all are so smart:)

And, also the thread titled 'SMT Secrets' is AWESOME! I just went through the whole thing and just plugged stuff into my registry on another window while I scrolled down. Super helpful!

chickpea912 · February 2014

izzetoot said:

Thanks ladies, for some reason it made sense to get a smaller food processor and now it seems like the one I have is better for making multiple batches and freezing. Y'all are so smart:)

And, also the thread titled 'SMT Secrets' is AWESOME! I just went through the whole thing and just plugged stuff into my registry on another window while I scrolled down. Super helpful!

Is this gif from American Psycho? Kind of freaky

Glad the STM secrets thread was helpful, though!

wtfisup · February 2014

No special equipment needed. Cook food until soft; mash or blend any way you like.

izzetoot · February 2014

chickpea912 said:

izzetoot said:

Thanks ladies, for some reason it made sense to get a smaller food processor and now it seems like the one I have is better for making multiple batches and freezing. Y'all are so smart:)

And, also the thread titled 'SMT Secrets' is AWESOME! I just went through the whole thing and just plugged stuff into my registry on another window while I scrolled down. Super helpful!

Is this gif from American Psycho? Kind of freaky

Glad the STM secrets thread was helpful, though!

Hahaha! Not trying to be freaky:) I found a bunch of Nene Leaks gifs but none of them really applied to 'thanks!' this one is pretty funny though

45 Ridiculous And Amazing GIFs Of Nene Leakes For Her Birthday

k318 · February 2014

I have one of those over priced baby food maker things that i barely used. This kid just wasn't that into purées. I would buy a bag of frozen veggies, steam them, then blend with some formula til smooth, put in these small Tupperware type container (oxo tots, they are six ice cube sized containers with a storage rack) and popped in the freezer. Had I not received these as shower gifts I probably would have just used a blender/food processor and ice cube tray.

For me, buying the jars probably would have been cheaper than the actual baby food maker since he really didn't take to them, we ended up doing something similar to baby led weaning with him. Maybe I'll use it more with this baby?

chickpea912 · February 2014

Random note - to this day, I have yet to buy a single jar of baby food. I don't know what it was, because I'm not normally one to get iggy about stuff like that, but I just couldn't do it. For some reason the idea just grossed me out, and since then, I've been more aware of processed food in our home. We also never did any pouches. I'm usually really laid back and whatever about most things, but for some reason, this got to me.

Just thought I'd share a random "my kid came in too early this morning" thought.

Katieluc106 · February 2014

I used the FAO Swartz one ( I was at babies r us and they had it in clearance for 18$) it was amazing had the steamer on one side and the blender on the other. Will be using it for this one too

making baby food is amazing!

lifeisbetteronthered · February 2014

We did BLW. So nearly no special prep at all. DD ate what ever we were eating (except honey, which is the only food restriction before 1), just cut into an appropriate size/shape for her to grab. So easy, I highly recommend it. And DD is such a good eater compaired to her cousins, everyone comments in how quick she is to try anything.

If I was to do the mush, we would have used out blender and ice cube trays. I love the idea if adding extra spices.

chickpea912 · February 2014

TomW&JennD said:

We did BLW. So nearly no special prep at all. DD ate what ever we were eating (except honey, which is the only food restriction before 1), just cut into an appropriate size/shape for her to grab. So easy, I highly recommend it. And DD is such a good eater compaired to her cousins, everyone comments in how quick she is to try anything. If I was to do the mush, we would have used out blender and ice cube trays. I love the idea if adding extra spices.

I'm not sure we will do purees at all this time - we might skip straight to BLW.

wtfisup · February 2014

TomW&JennD said:

We did BLW. So nearly no special prep at all. DD ate what ever we were eating (except honey, which is the only food restriction before 1), just cut into an appropriate size/shape for her to grab. So easy, I highly recommend it. And DD is such a good eater compaired to her cousins, everyone comments in how quick she is to try anything. If I was to do the mush, we would have used out blender and ice cube trays. I love the idea if adding extra spices.

Yeah, this is pretty much what's done in many other cultures. Spicy food, etc. Just make it something the kid can physically eat. I've fed curried pears and garlic potatoes to an 8 month old because that's what I had cooked. He was fine.

ahastin1 · February 2014

I'm probably going to sound strange for the next comparison, but it's truly the same (I promise!): DH has lizards that eat fruits/veggies and to make the process easier, we ended up making the mixture ourselves and freezing it and pulling it out as needed. There's really no need to make it more complicated to expensive with special equipment. Whatever blender/food processor you can find on sale, some small containers or bags and voila. It's all the same and baby won't care what type of thing it was made or stored in.

liberty95 · February 2014

This may be a little off topic, but keep in mind that there is a chance yiur baby doesn't like purées. I can count on one hand the amount of time DS actually finished a standard serving of the purées I made him.
We transitioned rather quickly into soft finger foods and such - somewhere between the land of purées and baby lead weaning.

Luckily, though, there are about 1,000 ways to incorporate purées into other foods if you have leftovers on hand.

MollySm · February 2014

I find food processors and things like that to be a pain in the butt. We used our immersion blender (stick blender, hand blender) and it is so easy to use. You can blend in any container, and it's super easy to clean off because it's just one piece. I don't know what brand we have, but anything like this

https://www.amazon.com/KitchenAid-KHB1231ER-Speed-Immersion-Blender/dp/B005GFXK1K/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1392566722&sr=8-15&keywords=immersion+blender

As for actually making it, I didn't make giant portions at a time, because she got interested in our food fairly quickly and I hate wasting food. But I would make a reasonably big batch of a fruit and a veggie at first on Sundays. Once she started sharing our food I would still make a little of the plain stuff, but I would also just blend up whatever we were eating. So I had probably 20 little 2 oz containers in the freezer at a time at the most.

Ice cube trays are the easiest, but I wanted something more portable because I took Lucia to work with me, so I'd need to pack her breakfast and lunch in the morning. We got something like these (they don't seem to make the actual brand we used anymore) and loved them. The lids were attached so you weren't having to find them. I could just take one out, let it thaw, and then just feed her right out of that container.

https://www.amazon.com/Kidco-Freeze-Reusable-Containers-16-Pack/dp/B009C0GW42/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1392567028&sr=8-3&keywords=baby+food+containers+attached+lid

It was super easy and super inexpensive to make her food. Plus she moved quickly to eating our food which has led to a lifestyle where I spent very little time making her something different from what we were eating. That was really important to us in thinking about what we wanted our family meals to be like.

MrsAMB07 · February 2014

I made all the food for both of my kids without any fancy, gimicky equipment. All you need is a food processor, strainer, and ice cube trays. I'd rather invest in good BPA free trays than more equipment that will take up space in my kitchen. Purees are actually a relatively short phase, much shorter than I realized, so I'm glad I didn't buy anything special for it.

Roast or steam the food, blend it, strain it if you need it super smooth, freeze it in cubes (1 or 2 oz.) and them freeze the food cubes in labeled ziploc bags.

I found this to be the most economical approach and it didn't take up nearly as much room in my freezer as all of those storage containers they sell in the baby stores.

I highly recommend WholesomeBabyFood as a resource when the time comes.

b48kate · February 2014

Anyone have any particularly favorite informational sites or resources regarding BLW? This is a new concept for me (what a helpful thread for this FTM)!

Mztwilson · February 2014

Honesty I have a regular bullet and I made food daily. I just put whatever I made for whatever meal it was in the bullet blended it and fed it to baby. I didn't have to worry about checking dates or anything. It was a pain in the but always cleaning it but after a while I just got so used to it it didn't matter.

ncbelle · February 2014

We also did BLW and I highly recommend it! So much easier

@i Internationalkate I have a blog post here with links and info: https://www.becomingmamas.com/baby-led-weaning-an-alternative-approach-to-starting-solids/

b48kate · February 2014

Thank you @ncbelle. Bookmarked!

catsinawindow · February 2014

I honestly think that those baby food makers are a waste of $$. Plenty of other kitchen appliances do the same thing and are otherwise useful as well.

With DS, we steamed veggies in a big pot, then moved them to a food processor to make the baby food. We spooned the food into ice cube trays, then stored the cubes in freezer bags once they were frozen. Super easy to pull out a few cubes, thaw, mix with cereal, and serve!

In the past year or so, I've discovered the immersion blender. I'll be using it this time (unless we do BLW which we are considering). With the immersion blender, we can steam and blend all in the same pot. Less dishes which is always a good thing in my book!

hotsaucencake@live.com · February 2014

From what I've read, the baby bullet is a waste of money, especially of you already have a food processor. I would just use a full size food processor or blender to make bigger batches and freeze the leftovers in ice cube trays or portioned out some other way. If you really want to make small batches, then I would get a hand/immersion blender. The one I have came with the blender attachment, a food processor attachment and a whisk attachment. You can use it in whatever bowl or pan you want, so you can make whatever amount you need to. I think mine was about $30, and I use it all the time.

Want a personalized experience?

Advice for making your own baby food?

Re: Advice for making your own baby food?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards