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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Thoughts on Homemade Baby Food

Ok so maybe one day I will take a few pictures and show the process on this but I thought I would just share my thoughts on the subject.

After I had Thing 1, I decided that I would do as much organic food for him as possible. I nursed him...but didn't eat organics myself...it's much too expensive. Then came the dilemma of starting solids. I decided that I would wait until he was closer to 6 months to even start rice cereal, just to make sure he was ready. Believe me He. Was. Ready. I did Earth's Best organic rice cereal. I had been researching homemade baby food for some time and if I thought I could do it I would have even ground brown rice on my own. As it turned out I just made everything the kid ate.. and now that he is 2 he is a very good eater and will try pretty much anything.

Now I have Thing 2 and he is now eating baby food. I absolutely LOVE making baby food. I have so much fun trying new things out. With this little kiddo I have been much better at exploring new things and adding a little bit of spice to what he eats.
The other day I baked a butternut squash down and as I was pureeing it I added a little cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix and .... mmmmm it was tasty!
I love knowing exactly what my baby is getting and everything that is in it. When possible I make stuff that I have grown or that has been grown on my grandma's farm..that way I know that there has been no chemicals used on it either.
At first I thought it was going to be hard to take food with us or time consuming. But I have found that it is not any more difficult that than remembering to grab pre-packaged baby food. I freeze everything I make in an ice cube tray, once it is frozen solid I put the cubes in a freezer bag marked with the month it was made and what the food is. Then, when I have to go some where and take the food with me I just grab whatever cubes I want, put them in a bowl with a lid and usually by the time I am ready to feed them the cubes are thawed out. It's a simple process.
As far as making it I just steam whatever it is that I have bought/picked then run it through my Magic Bullet.( I have heard that there is a Bullet made just for making baby food but what I have works just fine.) I add a little liquid, usually breast milk but some times just water, and then any spices and puree. Then I freeze whatever we don't eat that day.
The biggest plus to making my own would be the money saver it is for me. I recently went to Dieberg's and bought Organic carrots, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. I spent about $8 (it was actually 7 and change) and that gave me about 60 - 70 meals. Had I gone out and bought those same meals in pre-package baby food I would have spent $20 - $30. So it is a big savings for me. There are too many benefits to not make my own baby food. And it's something I really enjoy doing. Even my now 2 year old Things 1 like to "have baby bites of the baby's food" It's a win for all of us.

1 comment:

  1. I made all of my daughter's baby food too and I'm a total believer. It's definitely cheaper and it made me so happy to know what she was eating. She didn't nurse so I pumped for her but didn't always make enough. Making her baby food eased a bit of guilt that she sometimes had formula (which is just silly mommy guilt anyway.) I really enjoyed making her food and still do! I never liked cooking before but this kind of turned me on to it. So fun!

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