Yummy baby food... that's normally a pretty big contradiction, yes?
What if you could have baby food without all the extra additives, at 1/2 of the cost of store-bought (or less!!)? And if it was easier to make than going to the store, comparing prices, ounces, and how much you need for the next week with 2 kids in the cart?? AND you can do it in your underwear?!
Yes? Yes.
I did this when my older son started on solids - we had needed to switch to formula, so I was now shelling out the cash for formula & wanted to find some way to try and recoup my costs. I tried pureeing produce for him and it was incredible. I saved SO much money, it was so easy, and he loved the fruits & veggies. We went on a trip at one point during his baby food days & I couldn't easily transport the frozen goods on the plane, so we bought some at a grocery store when we got there... yeah... meals didn't go too well that trip - whether it was taste, consistency, or both, he was not a fan of it. I don't blame him, that stuff tasted gross.
I digress...
My younger son is now starting the venture into solids, so it was time to break out the gear & get started. My arsenal consists of a knife, a couple large pots, a dozen ice cube trays, and a hand blender. That's it.
This would be 4 pounds of sweet peas, ready to be cooked.
Pretty much every fruit & veggie in the market can be steamed, boiled, or baked. I prefer to boil & bake, but it's really up to you. Fruits like peaches, plums & apricots do better when you cut them into chunks & steam them. This time, I did sweet peas, green beans, carrots, apples, and a couple sweet potatoes.
I bake the sweet potatoes with the skins on, then peel them while they're warm & mash them. I know people who leave the peels on as there are nutrients in the skin, but as a person who can't stand the idea of eating the skin on a baked potato.... I peel. For peaches and apricots, I leave the skins on, just make sure you wash them before you cook.
If I'm boiling or steaming, I cut the produce into chunks, put it in the pot, and cover with water.
I didn't think to take pictures this time around, so these are apples from my older son. You get the idea, though.
Once your produce is cooked and squishable (If you take a chunk of apple out of the pan & can easily mash it with a fork, you're good), drain the product but keep the water you cooked in. The puree will be really thick and chunky when you get started, and the water will help thin it out and make it easier to put in the ice cube trays, easier to freeze, and easier to digest for your little one.
** Please note that this does NOT apply to carrots - toss the "cooked" water & use "clean" water. Nitrates from the carrots can seep into the water, and is not recommended for babies under 8-10 months. **
Now it's time to pull out the hand blender/blender/grinder, whatever your weapon of choice might be. Add water until you get the texture/consistency you'd like. I do make my purees a bit chunkier so that my kids get used to the texture of food and I can thin it out more with formula at meal times if needed.
Something that I find both interesting & important - it's a lot easier to puree the produce while the produce is still warm. However, it's not the best idea to put the hot puree into your ice cube trays & into the freezer. You're likely to warp (or even melt) your trays, frost your puree cubes, and throw your freezer completely out of whack. Instead, I suggest putting your puree in the fridge for a few hours (I usually leave them overnight), and THEN transferring to ice cube trays.
After some time in the freezer, you can package your cubes up in freezer bags and you're done!
We have a chest freezer in our garage, so I store the large bags outside and keep smaller baggies of 10-12 cubes of each "flavor" in the inside freezer for easy grabbing.
In a regular freezer, the cubes will last 3-4 months.
In a deep freeze or a freezer that's rarely opened, they'll last 6-7 months.
Thanks to some great produce deals, I did this huge batch for a very low price - I spent about $35 and made 525 ounces of food (FYI - 1 cube is approx. equivalent to 1 ounce).
10 lbs of green beans @ $1/lb
10 lbs of sweet peas @ $1/lb
4 lbs of carrots @ $1.25/lb
6 lbs of apples @ $1/lb
That breaks down to about $0.07/ounce. Gerber products tend to retail for $0.18-0.25/ounce. Multiply that if you want to buy the organic or all-natural brands. It may not seem like a lot, but my 525 ounces cost me $35... if I bought that much of plain ol' Gerber, I'd spend upwards of $95. I'll take the extra $60(+), the saved shopping trips, and the comfort of knowing what's in my baby's food, thanks! When I see some deals on peaches & apricots, those will join the arsenal, but 500-600 ounces will likely get us to 9-10 months when finger foods start to take over.
For more ideas & recipes, I recommend visiting Wholesome Baby Food.
As always - have questions? Leave a comment!
