My baby food making adventure!

When I got pregnant there were a few things that I knew I wanted to do once the baby arrived. I knew I would be using cloth diapers (I'll try and write a post about that adventure one of these days) and I knew I wanted to make my own baby food. I have friends who have played around with making their own baby food and I nannied for a family who made all their own baby food and I just knew it was something that I wanted to do. Now some people do it so that their child can eat all organic and while maybe I'll get to that point right now that is not why I do it nor do I buy all organic. I'm still researching on the things that should be bought organic versus those things that don't really matter either way but I am just not on the organic train yet, maybe one day. But instead I wanted to do it because a) I wanted to know exactly what my child was eating and b) it save a TON of money! This goes for the cloth diapering and breast feeding as well! And if you know me at all you know that I am all about saving money! Blaine and I knew when we decided to have a baby that there were a few sacrifices and concessions we would have to make in order to afford to keep the same lifestyle that we had before and I can gladly say that all of these things have been super easy and really are better for all of us anyway!
So thats just a little about why I decided to make my own baby food now I'll share with you my method! Now I know that for alot of families especially those who both parents work outside the home it seems entirely to daunting and time consumng to make your own baby food but honestly its not difficult at all! It does require some time but if you could set aside one afternoon a month then you have all the time you need!

Here is my stash of produce for this month! I make baby food once a month and store it in the freezer. It stays fresh and is easy and quick to defrost and serve. I like doing it once a month because that way I can make a variety of fruits and vegetables and the thought of having to make stuff once a week or so is too daunting for me... once a month totally doable! This month I made Sweet potatoes, butternut squash, carrots, peas, apples, pears, and peaches. Peyton also eat bananas and avocado but those I mash up fresh since there is no need to cook them. I buy baby carrots because they are easy to just put in the steamer and walk away to let them cook. No need to peel and chop! Whatever makes things a little easier and saves some time I'm all about. Peas I use frozen and this is because there is just no way I'm going to cook and shuck a bunch of fresh peas. You shouldn't used can peas for this but frozen vegetables are frozen at peak freshness and they are just as fresh when you thaw them so essentially I'm getting the same quality with half the work! I used frozen peaches this time around for the same reason and also because peaches aren't really in season yet so the price for fresh peaches isn't very nice! this summer when peaches are in season and are on sale I will happily make them from fresh until then frozen is quick easy and just as good!

Now some things I boil, some things I steam, and some I bake. It all just depends on the veggie or fruit. For the most part though I steam all the fruits since they tend to get real soft I don't want then to break up in the water and then I would loose half my fruit. Steaming them gets them good and soft while still staying in tact. Carrots I also steam. I don't really have a particular reason for this except that its just easy! Carrots tend to take about 20 mins to steam nice and soft while most of the fruits only take about 10 to 15 minutes.

The squash I bake. 400 degree Oven for about an hour. I always start my squash first thing because I knew it takes the longest and I can just put it in and forget about it while I get other things going.

The sweet potatoes and the peas I boil. Some people will say to steam it all because it allows the veggies to retain more of the nutrients but I use some of the cooking water when I puree it so I figure I keep as much nutrients as possible. Plus I don't cook them to death so I they maintain plenty of nutrients!

Because I don't have a ton of big pots and only one steamer pot I have to do things in batches. Plus I only have so many ice cube trays so I have to freeze things in batches as well. Today I start the sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots all at once. While they were going I put Peyton for nap and began cleaning. When the carrots and potatoes were cooked through I turned them off and let the sit to cool down a bit before moving on to the next step. The squash stayed in the oven until I was done with my cleaning and ready to start pureeing things then it was done too and I was good to go! 

So before now I was using this little itty bitty mini food processor to make her food which took me forever but I did it and I made it work. But now thanks to my wonder Mother in law I have a full size food processor to use which made things soooo much easier! I just load up one veggie or fruit at a time add a little of the cooking water and puree it up. Veggies seem to need a bit more water than the fruit. the fruits are just naturally juicy so they take much less water so keep that in mind otherwise your fruit with be super thin. I usually mix all the baby food with cereal when I'm getting ready to serve it so if it ends up a little thin I dont mind. I'm still learning as I go at this point. 

Once I got it all puree and have made sure its all smooth I spoon it out into ice cube trays. Since my little one is just starting to eat food I still make it all completely smooth. But the great thing about making your own baby food is as your baby grows you can play with the texture of things and make it more or less chunky depending on how they like it! 

Once the ice cube tray is all loaded I tap it gently on the counter to get all the air out and just to even it all out and place it in the freezer. I only have 7 ice cube trays so I have to make things in batches which works out cause I usually only get a few things done before little miss wakes up and wants to nurse or needs a diaper or just doesn't want to be playing alone anymore so I just let what I have finished get good in frozen while I tend to her and then come back to it.

Once the ice cube trays are completely frozen I transfer them into labeled freezer bags for storage! And there you have it! This pictures is missing apples and pears because they were still freezing when I took this picture but this is enough to last my little one an entire month! She eats two cube twice a day mixed with a little formula and cereal. Each cube is about an ounce of food! So far she has like all the food I've made for her! The peaches and peas are new this month so we shall see what she thinks of them when its time to try them out! 

I hope some of you find this informative and perhaps even inspirational. I tend to lay everything out on the counter and just get to work. Between each fruit or veggie I rinse everything real good and then get it ready for the next round at the end I give it all a good wash or run it through the dishwasher and poof I'm done! I love only doing one set of dishes! It takes some time and a little prep work but the peace of mind the money you save is so worth it!! This month I spent approx. 15 dollars on the stuff to make her food for this month. Gerber step 1 costs approx 1.25 for two containers which is about 2.5 ounces so my child would eat two of those a day. Which would add up to over 30 dollars a month! That is a 50% savings!! Now I realize that some stores may have a special on the gerber or what have you but really it would have be a really good sale to make it not be a savings! And if you buy organic those jars run like 99 cents a piece! But not only am I saving money but I am also able to give her a variety of food and I know exactly what I am giving her and that makes it worth that extra bit of time it takes!!