Homemade Baby Food

So I wasn't exactly planning on being one of "those moms" who do everything 100% homemade. Making your baby food every day just seems like a lot of extra dishes. But at some point in my pregnancy I became a HUGE freezer-meal-making-machine. I think it was my 9+ hour days of being a nurse coupled with my 6:00 pm bedtime, but slaving over the stove was not happening at 8 months pregnant. I have since continued making over 50% of our meals freezer meals! So it seemed natural to make C's food and freeze it so I don't have to make it every day. 

For this batch, I made 1 bag of frozen peas, 1 bag of frozen broccoli, 2 sweet potatoes and 3 pears. It took about an hour combined. I had to do it in 2 batches because I ran out of ice cube trays to freeze them! This all cost under $10, which is buying organic fruits and veggies. This would be cheaper if you lived in an area with whole foods, but I do not so we have to buy from either Hy Vee or a local food coop which is generally higher priced. 

This method is actually REALLY inexepensive, which is a huge bonus in my book. We try to buy as much organic as possible, especially those things on the dirty dozen list {which is basically all of baby's first foods}   and buying the organic babyfood is pretty spendy. Not only that, but the amount in them is a lot for a baby just starting solids and they say to throw them away within 2 days of opening, so if your baby isn't a big eater you can waste a lot. {Although I give the leftovers to the dog... ha!} So one afternoon I spent about an hour cooking C some purees & we are having a blast trying them all. 

It's pretty simple. I washed all of my veggies & used a rice cooker to steam them until soft {about 10-15 minutes} For the green beans, make sure not to steam them too much or they will get really dark & mushy. I then pureed them using a food processor, but I have also used my regular bullet for smaller batches. I used pumped breast milk to thin it out, but you could just use water or formula. Once done, I filled ice cube trays {which are NOT easy to find- but they are in the plastic food storage section}, covered with plastic wrap and froze them for a couple of hours. I then transferred them into freezer bags. 

Also, if you are making a big batch for your baby's first foods, make sure to clean all of your parts in between foods in case of allergies.

These little ice cube trays were in the $1 section at Target & I love them because the bottoms are silicone so they easily pop out. But really any of them worked just fine! One tip to get the frozen food cubes out - fill a cake pan with 2+ inches of hot water & set the ice cube tray in the hot water for a minute or two. They will pop right out! 

Another tip when making peas - if you dunk them into ice cold water immediately after steaming they will blend easier and not be quite so chunky! 

 Here is what I made, minus the pears. Colson only eats one or two times a day and usually just 1-2 cubes of food so all of this will last him at least a month! He really isn't a big eater at this point and I'm not pushing it at all... especially considering the nerves I get whenever he tries a new food. {mostly due to the awful allergic reaction he had to Earths Best oatmeal cereal and my psycho-mom-ness}

 {no, the labels did not stay on!} 

 To thaw them out, I have a couple of baby food jars that I've saved. I just pop one in the morning & by the time we eat lunch it is thawed out. 

Here is C trying his food for the first time! He had butternut squash for his first food. After that we tried pears, prunes, then sweet potatoes. We haven't moved on to the veggies yet. So far his favorite is by far sweet potatoes, but he's also a pretty big fan of prunes!

oh and fyi- solid food diapers are a whole different ball game. just sayin.