Baby Food

I started this post about 4 months ago when Anabelle started solids, and I never posted it. 

I love hearing things that "work" nicely for other families and mom's. So I'll share something that I am so happy that I am doing. I decided to make all (well, most) of Anabelle's baby food. I am so happy that I did. To be honest is has saved us a lot of money, not to mention the fresh food health benefits that Anabelle gets with it. So, if you are thinking about doing it, do it. It's really quite simple. Here is what I do.

For veggies, steam them just enough to get them semi soft, not mushy. I like to make sure they still have the bright color that they started with. I don't want to loose all of those precious nutrients. Then, all I do is whip them up in the blender with a little water. When Anabelle was first starting solids I pureed them, now I leave them bumpy and mashed-like.

 Then, I spoon the food into my trays and freeze it. ( I am happy I bought the trays with lids)

 After it is frozen I take them out and put the baby food cubes into bags and label them with what it is and the date. Then you can do it all over again with another food. The yellow puree is spaghetti squash. I love having a variety of food cubes in the freezer so the baby can have a variety of foods in her diet each day. I really like the size of the cubes too because I don't waste the food. I can take as many out at a time as Anabelle will eat. It seems like whenever I feed her the store bought jars, half of the food is wasted. Each morning I take out a few cubes and put them in a bowl for the baby and then they defrost. Then the food is not reheated and nuked in the microwave loosing the vitamins and nutrients. Although, sometimes I forget to take it out in the morning, so I end up having to heat it a little.

 Making baby food on my own has made me more aware of what is in the foods we give our little ones. Now that Anabelle is older and mostly interested in feeding herself I always put out chopped up fruits and veggies on her tray and then try and spoon feed her as well.

I've done lots of different foods, some being... brown rice, quinoa, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, broccoli, berry blends.

All in all, I am happy that making our baby food from fresh fruits and veggies and whole grains. It has made me more aware of what I am feeding Shane and myself too. As I said before, it saves money too. Rather than buying a 4 oz jar or bananas for $.60, I'll buy regular bananas for $.50 a pound and mash them up. And instead of buying a box of baby rice cereal for $5, I buy the big bag of brown rice from Costco for $13 and cook the rice, then blend it up and cube it. Think about how many little baby servings come in that big bag. Also, then it is more affordable to feed the baby organic. The little organic baby food jars are at least $1.00 each. A huge bag of organic carrots are about $2.00.

I took a few pictures on my phone at the store, and I guess a little research fully convinced me.

Okay I am OBVIOUSLY not an expert at this, but it is something I am learning, and trying to become better at. This could be the thing that is saving our grocery budget!!! 

One more thing... 

It seems to be getting harder to feed good foods especially on the go because there are so many easy things to give her. I try to stay away from the baby junk foods, cause most are loaded with sugar and other additives and preservatives. Don't get me wrong, I do have a jar of peach puffs in my purse. Some days I have to break them out. They seem to be an instant cure-all for screaming babies, like in sacrament. With only two babies in our ward it is pretty noticeable when Anabelle is going crazy.

I love these baby foods for on the go, because Anabelle can eat it all by herself.

However... they are pretty spendy. So when I can, I take this spoon and fill it with our homemade pureed goods and feed her with this. It works pretty well too :)