Today’s post is from my daughter, Anne. She’s following in her mother’s footsteps with a living with less mindset. I always made my own baby food and Anne has also found it much less expensive to do the same. I asked her permission to share this post from her blog a couple of weeks ago. Every Friday she posts the directions for a different food to make.

Here is her first post:

I’ve had several people ask me about how I make my own baby food, so I thought I would share the basics and why I make my own.  I’m now featuring a different food each week over on my blog.

A great resource that I have used is WholesomeBabyFood.com. Now that I have a few months experience, I have started doing things my own way and have learned some easy tips I’ll share.

Why Do I Make My Own?
  • Saves me a lot of money!
  • I know exactly what Rilyn is eating (no added preservatives unless I use canned — but even then I’m choosey).
What Do You Need?
  • Ice cube trays (my favorite is the white Rubbermaid from Walmart — yes it makes a difference! I tried more of a round, deeper mold but the food cubes wouldn’t come out.)
  • Blender or Food Processor (I prefer the blender)
  • Freezer Ziplock Bags
Yes, making my own baby food is time consuming but it is SO WORTH IT. I’ve learned to just do one food at a time; otherwise I’ll be using all of my freezer space and trays for the first food.
A Few Other Tips I’ve Learned
  • If I introduce store-bought baby food first, that tends to be what she prefers, and then she won’t eat the food I made. So resist the urge to have them “try” the store-bought baby food first.
  • How much you’ll get out of the food will change as you move into more solid food. In the beginning, I watered down Rilyn’s food a lot so I got more out of it. Now, I use just enough liquid to mix up the food so it doesn’t go as far.

Advantages to Ice Cube Method
  • Each cube is approximately 1+ ounces, allowing you to have an idea of the amount of food your baby is consuming.
  • There is minimal waste as you use only 1 cube at a time and will not have to toss away much food like I sometimes toss away when using commercial foods.
  • Another advantage is that you may ice cube trays on hand and will not need to go out and buy them.
Freezing and Storing
  • Pureeing homemade baby food is very simple. Cook the food, let it cool a bit, toss it into a blender or food processor and puree away.
  • Once blended, put into ice cube trays.
  • Freeze (at first I thought there was freezer burn on my food cubes, but it isn’t…its just the water coming to the top and freezing).
  • Label a freezer bag and pop all your ice cubes into the bag. Its that easy!

What about you?  Have you made your own baby food?  What tips could you add to our discussion?

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