Question for STM: Making your own baby food

mrsschmity · February 2016

Anyone ever gone the route of making your own baby food when it came time to introduce solids? If so, what products would you recommend for processing and storing? I was planning on just using my Ninja blender to puree, but curious what others use for storage. I do a lot of canning (salsa, spaghetti sauce, etc) and have seen that the Ball canning jars that I normally use also make smaller ones for canning baby food. Thoughts?

WinniethePoohsPants · February 2016

I made my own baby food using this:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/23000501?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227017092641&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40340779352&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=61838847833&veh=sem
I never canned or jarred the food afterwards, I simply put the purees into tupperware containers, placed them in the freezer, and let then defrost a little before serving. My DS liked his purees cold, I suspect it felt good on his gums.

AmberLiz99 · February 2016

Whatever blender/food processor you have will work. Baby bullet makes some nice freezing trays and storage containers that are just the right size. You can also freez the food in ice cube trays and dump into a plastic freezer bag for storage if you want to save a little money. They are about the right size for a serving.

mrsschmity · February 2016

Thanks ladies. @WinniethePoohsPants I like the one step process where you can cook/steam the food in the same processor - that is pretty nifty.

How long does the food usually keep for doing it this way? From what I've read in various places, it looks like it's about a month?

NicknShan · February 2016

I loved making baby food.

We used these for storage containers: https://www.google.com/search?q=baby+food+storage+containers&oq=baby+food+storage+containers&aqs=chrome.0.0l6.3559j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8#tbm=shop&q=baby+food+storage+containers+munchkin&spd=5996375275161268158

Although I rarely froze it, I usually just kept them in the fridge and made more as needed. I was sending it to day care and using some at home.

We also bought the baby brezza. It was super easy to clean, and I LOVED that it steamed the food for you. Just reduced one step.

I would totally consider getting the pouch maker thing as well. I feel like the baby food making was much shorter lived than the love for pouches.

alysemci · February 2016

I used baby bullet storage containers and the baby bullet. I got it for a shower present. Any food processor will work fine though, that's really all it is. I did like the storage jars because they had an adjustable date thing on them so I'd always be able track when the food was made. I also do a lot of canning and ball makes small glass containers with plastic screw on lids that are perfect for baby food.

alysemci · February 2016

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about for the ball jars. We never had to buy baby food and saved so much money just buying a few pieces of organic fruit/veggies each week. One piece makes a ton of baby food. Then when he got a little older we just have him whatever we were eating that day. He's not picky at all and loves all sorts of food so I think it's working well although that isn't always the case.

alysemci · February 2016

WinniethePoohsPants · February 2016

mrsschmity said:

Thanks ladies. @WinniethePoohsPants I like the one step process where you can cook/steam the food in the same processor - that is pretty nifty.

How long does the food usually keep for doing it this way? From what I've read in various places, it looks like it's about a month?

A month sounds about right to me. But from what I remember, I'd usually make enough puree for one week and then I'd run out of frozen purees on Sunday night. I definitely recommend investing in a food processor that steams and blends automatically- it's super easy.

fishwife799 · February 2016

I made baby food for our first. I would steam, puree and then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen I would put the cubes in a plastic bag and label them. Each serving was about a tablespoon. Unfortunately she never really took to pureed food and we ended up going the baby led weaning route. We used that for my son as well and it worked great. He didn't/doesn't like being fed so he was all about BLW. Here is a link about what BLW is for those of you who aren't familiar with it. I found it very effective and made my life just that much easier.

ETA- Helps of I actually add a link

https://homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning

fishwife799 · February 2016

Here is another link with good info

https://www.babyledweaning.com/

Emztron500 · February 2016

I never bought baby food but I didn't bother making it ahead either. I would feed my baby whatever we were eating but cooked a little softer and either give it to her in stick form (like sticks of soft sweet potato, carrot, tender thinly sliced meat, etc) or sort of mash it with the back of a fork and then put some on a spoon and let her feed it to herself.

likeabel · February 2016

I essentially did Baby Led Weaning which is basically letting baby eat all the same food as you but don't add salt or sugar. I'd just pull out some food for DS before I'd season it. I tried purées too but DS preferred to feed himself.

You cut food into strips and cook it a little longer so it's soft but still stays together.

DS is an awesome eater and I'll definitely do the same this time around.

BabyboyS2016 · February 2016

Is this a significant cost savings?

peaceinnature · February 2016

I cooked and puréed DS's food and found that it did save money. Buying a butternut squash or a couple sweet potatoes makes a lot and compared to the price of $1-2 per pouch or jar it's way cheaper.

I just used the magic bullet that we already had and froze the food in ice cube trays then dumped the cubes into a ziplock. Then I could just grab a cube or two and defrost it in the microwave when it was time to feed him. I would also mix the brown rice cereal with a cube at a time, which worked really well. And then with soft foods like banana and avocado you can just mash them up with a little breast milk or formula.

hockeyfan42 · February 2016

fishwife799 said:

I made baby food for our first. I would steam, puree and then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen I would put the cubes in a plastic bag and label them. Each serving was about a tablespoon. Unfortunately she never really took to pureed food and we ended up going the baby led weaning route. We used that for my son as well and it worked great. He didn't/doesn't like being fed so he was all about BLW. Here is a link about what BLW is for those of you who aren't familiar with it. I found it very effective and made my life just that much easier.

ETA- Helps of I actually add a link

https://homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning

Highly recommend baby led weaning!! We did it with our first and she's a phenomenal eater. We will be doing the same this time. No purees here, not needed.

VikingGirl12 · February 2016

I LOVED making my own baby food. DS never ate a single container of baby food, ever. I had decided I was going to skip purees this time after him and go straight to solids and do baby led weaning with this one before we knew she had DS... which we kind of ended up doing with DS and loved it. But this baby likely won't have the fine motor skills early enough to make it work. SO, I'll be going the homemade baby food route again.. and excited.
I bought the baby bullet. The only reason I bought that over a different kind of blender was bc I wanted all the info it came with and the storage. I loved it. I still use it at least weekly to make DS (almost 2) smoothies. The small size made it easy to throw in the dishwasher and I could use it to travel with.
I would also suggest getting lots of good freezer trays if you plan on making big batches like I did. I usually made enough food to last an entire month in one day. And to begin with it only cost me around $6 a month in food. Whereas baby food costs 50c ish per container. Nope! Plus you know your baby is getting all the nutrients. Most store bought baby food doesn't have hardly any nutrients left since it's been heated to such high temps to give it shelf life.

VikingGirl12 · February 2016

Oh I also got the Munchkin three in one steamer/chopper/masher from tj maxx for around $5. But any microwavable tuppawear would really work

BabyboyS2016 · February 2016

I had not even thought about this. Thanks ladies!!!

ahernandez16 · February 2016

For you ladies that did baby led weaning, how did that work when other people (daycare, grandma, etc) watched your LOs?

I mentioned it to my mom and she looked at me like I was INSANE and she'll have the LO at least 2, maybe 3 full days (9-5) out of the week while H and I work. I'm concerned she'll spoon feed him while she has him and that'll throw off the groove. Did anyone have this issue? Was it not an issue for the baby to be spoon fed occasionally?

fishwife799 · February 2016

@ahernandez16 I'm a SAHM so it wasn't much of an issue for us. But luckily for me my mom and MIL take direction very well from me. They may not always agree but for the most polar they do what I ask. On the rare occasion they had them I would either supply the food or ask what they were having to see if it would work or ask them to make something specific. But I don't think being fed from a spoon would interfere much with the process.

hockeyfan42 · February 2016

ahernandez16 said:

For you ladies that did baby led weaning, how did that work when other people (daycare, grandma, etc) watched your LOs?
I mentioned it to my mom and she looked at me like I was INSANE and she'll have the LO at least 2, maybe 3 full days (9-5) out of the week while H and I work. I'm concerned she'll spoon feed him while she has him and that'll throw off the groove. Did anyone have this issue? Was it not an issue for the baby to be spoon fed occasionally?

We didn't do daycare, but for the times either set of grandparents watched DD, we never had an issue. We told them what we were doing, why and how to prepare the foods.

Seems like the foods we started with weren't really conducive to spoon feeding anyway. When DD was a little older and getting yogurt, we'd spoon feed her some. She didn't mind it and still ate her other foods unassisted.

ahernandez16 · February 2016

Thanks, ladies! My mom isn't so much against the no baby food aspect as she is against baby feeding themselves. She thinks we're losing out on a "bonding" experience.

Hopefully I can show her some literature on it and she'll get on board but if not, it's nice to know that it shouldn't hinder anything if grandma insists on feeding him while she has him. I can ask her to cooperate, but y'know - can't make her and she's watching our kid for free and this doesn't seem like the issue to make a big fuss about.

tjenkins528 · February 2016

We did baby led weaning but also gave him oatmeal. He was fine going back and forth and daycare actually loved it. DS was able to handle food easier and they knew they didn't have to chop everything up really small for him like they did the others.

alysemci · February 2016

I always prepare and provide and food for anyone who watches my son. I just feel like it's my job. Maybe if you give them the foods you what them to feed the baby it will be easier?

SoEnamored · February 2016

I remember thinking that baby would eat pureed food for a long time but it was merely a hot minute. We had the baby bullet and just ground up whatever we had for dinner - for the baby to eat for dinner. At daycare we just bought the organic baby food jars - despite our best intentions. It's such a small period of time where they are eating pureed food before they're onto tiny bites of table food and other things that they can gum on.

amangels2 · February 2016

Where do you get recipes and such for how to make baby food? I'm sure I could google it, but I'm curious what you ladies have to say. I had figured I would buy baby food, but this thread has me intrigued. I just might go add a baby bullet to my registry.

VikingGirl12 · February 2016

ahernandez16 said:

For you ladies that did baby led weaning, how did that work when other people (daycare, grandma, etc) watched your LOs?
I mentioned it to my mom and she looked at me like I was INSANE and she'll have the LO at least 2, maybe 3 full days (9-5) out of the week while H and I work. I'm concerned she'll spoon feed him while she has him and that'll throw off the groove. Did anyone have this issue? Was it not an issue for the baby to be spoon fed occasionally?

This was the source of many arguments between me and MIL (she keeps DS while I work). She was so strongly against it because she always thought he was going to choke. She went to extent of sending me stories to my email about babies that choked bc of blw (I still call bs). I sent all his food with him so she had no other job but to put the food in front of him and watch him. She always said she did as I asked but there were a couple of times when I found out she hadn't. I tried to make it easier for her by sending food in those suckable food pounces so he was still feeding himself. I also bought those little sacks he could suck food from that releases the food- I froze pieces of banana or yogurt for it and he gnawed on it. That way she wouldn't have to worry about choking. Ugh still makes me mad!

Tawny87 · February 2016

@ahernandez16 we did baby led weaning at home with our twins, so so much easier. My mom had them twice a month and insisted on baby foods. I was like as long as you feed them I don't care. We never had a problem switching between.

Oops I mean week. My mom had them twice a week!

vulpini · February 2016

I used a small food processor, a steamer, and my oven for roasting. I stored by freezing in ice cube trays and then dumping thw cubes into a ziplock bag to reuse the trays. Later I just stored in small containers that I already had.

Rosehip15 · February 2016

I just mashed up food I already had - bananas, avocados, apple sauce, oatmeal, etc., and pretty quickly just starting letting them feed themselves best they could.

Of course, this mostly means letting the baby use the dining room as a canvas for expressionist art, but I haven't got the patience to spoon feed for long, and when they get hungry & coordinated enough they'll figure out how to get it in their mouths.

andreamarie05 · February 2016

I used a small hand blender to purée the food and I stored the food in fresh baby storage trays that I found online. They are rated for food storage and each space is an ounce. They even say you can store and freeze breast milk in them if you plan to do that as well.

MamaNicoleof3 · February 2016

I've read quickly on BLW- it wasn't really a "thing" when our youngest was a baby (he's now 6). It's basically cooking and chopping food into small pieces and give baby control?

etr152517 · February 2016

AmberLiz99 said:

Whatever blender/food processor you have will work. Baby bullet makes some nice freezing trays and storage containers that are just the right size. You can also freez the food in ice cube trays and dump into a plastic freezer bag for storage if you want to save a little money. They are about the right size for a serving.

This is exactly what I did. I used our ninja to purée then put in silicone ice cube trays so I could easily pop them out then bagged them up until ready to use. It was inexpensive and worked well!

MamaNicoleof3 · February 2016

etr152517 said:

AmberLiz99 said:

Whatever blender/food processor you have will work. Baby bullet makes some nice freezing trays and storage containers that are just the right size. You can also freez the food in ice cube trays and dump into a plastic freezer bag for storage if you want to save a little money. They are about the right size for a serving.

This is exactly what I did. I used our ninja to purée then put in silicone ice cube trays so I could easily pop them out then bagged them up until ready to use. It was inexpensive and worked well!

Totally what I did, too. So easy and fun to make yummy combos (cinnamon applesauce, anyone?)!

likeabel · February 2016

ahernandez16 said:

For you ladies that did baby led weaning, how did that work when other people (daycare, grandma, etc) watched your LOs?
I mentioned it to my mom and she looked at me like I was INSANE and she'll have the LO at least 2, maybe 3 full days (9-5) out of the week while H and I work. I'm concerned she'll spoon feed him while she has him and that'll throw off the groove. Did anyone have this issue? Was it not an issue for the baby to be spoon fed occasionally?

I also didn't/don't do daycare but my mom or MIL usually watch DS about once a week. My mom was no problem because she essentially did baby led weaning with me and my siblings (way before it was cool) so she felt like I was following in her footsteps and my MIL was in disbelief and thought I was crazy at first but once she saw him in action thought it was the greatest thing! She still requests I bring him over early so she can watch him eat.

I used to spoon feed him oatmeal or yogurt sometimes (I'd usually scoop what ever was left on his tray into the bowl) and he'd be fine going back and forth. And he loves those reusable pouches!

Rosehip15 · February 2016

MamaNicoleof3 said:

I've read quickly on BLW- it wasn't really a "thing" when our youngest was a baby (he's now 6). It's basically cooking and chopping food into small pieces and give baby control?

Yes. Since it wasn't a thing, I guess I was just lazy, since my youngest is 9;)

I'd occasionally spoon feed, and the sitters/relatives could do whatever worked for them. I get it if they don't feel like cleaning up the huge mess that babies make and prefer to spoon feed.

MynaBird · February 2016

Rosehip15 said:

MamaNicoleof3 said:

I've read quickly on BLW- it wasn't really a "thing" when our youngest was a baby (he's now 6). It's basically cooking and chopping food into small pieces and give baby control?

Yes. Since it wasn't a thing, I guess I was just lazy, since my youngest is 9;)

I'd occasionally spoon feed, and the sitters/relatives could do whatever worked for them. I get it if they don't feel like cleaning up the huge mess that babies make and prefer to spoon feed.

You and my parents both -- they didn't call it "baby-led weaning" 36 years ago, but it's how I learned to eat.

newbabymakes4 · February 2016

amangels2 said:

Where do you get recipes and such for how to make baby food? I'm sure I could google it, but I'm curious what you ladies have to say. I had figured I would buy baby food, but this thread has me intrigued. I just might go add a baby bullet to my registry.

I made my own purees for DS, and it wasn't as overwhelming as I thought it would be. I set aside an hour or so during his nap and did a bunch of jars at once and froze them. @amangels2I used Sage Spoonfuls, someone gave me their cookbook and some glass containers that hold ~4oz which was too much to start out but ended up being a good serving size when he started eating more (and I would eventually do two different things per meal). I preferred glass containers to plastic, and they could go straight into the dishwasher. You don't need to get any special equipment like blenders or anything like that, whatever you already have works great.

GinnyJ2012 · February 2016

My SIL gave me a steamer/blender in one and I love it. I froze in ice cube trays and then put into freezer bags for later use. Around 18 months DS1 went through a phase where he only wanted pouch food so I made smoothies (fruit/veggie/Greek yogurt combo) and froze them in bags to put in reusable pouches. I still do that anytime I make a smoothie I put extra in a bag to use for quick snacks on the go.

amangels2 · February 2016

@newbabymakes4 thank you! I will check out that cookbook!

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