Baby Food

Question: Did you make your own baby food?

(Posted by: mama_in_april on 2008-12-11 13:37:29)

I'm going to be making my son's babyfood, including cereal. How many moms have been down this road, and what was your experience like, would you recommend it? Thanks

Posted by: wiXet on 2008-12-11, 13:44:05

Yes, i made all of my kids food. It was super simple. I'd usually make up a bit extra to throw in the freezer for a few nights worth of meals. I knw i don't eat my food out of a jar/ tin/ packet every day, so i wouldn't exoect my baby to either. And the thought of giving my little ones any of thoses tins with meat products in them....ewwww, how the hell do they keep good shelf life with those. I also like the fact that i knew EXACTLY what was going into their mouths. Fresh food is the way to go.

Posted by: Landon's Momma on 2008-12-11, 13:41:46

I do, i dont see much of a difference in price, i maybe save 10-20 bucks a month, not much, but it is fun to make!

Posted by: gmdee on 2008-12-11, 13:48:35

I love my kids dearly but making baby food was not worth my time and trouble. I have always been a full time working mom. Today's products are great and there are some wonderful organic baby foods out there as well. Good luck

Posted by: Lauren R on 2008-12-11, 13:51:30

I make my own food for my son. The biggest challenge has been getting the right consistency. I don't know what they use in the jars to get it to that consistency. Start with the simplest foods first, like fruit. Boil some peeled and core apples. Puree them and add water as needed. Freeze them in a plastic bag. I will say that it is a time consuming process, and I don't think it saved that much money. You can even make chicken or turkey. Boil some chicken breast and puree it with water. Mix a little with some fresh veggies. My son loves that. I didn't make my own cereal. I'm not sure how to do that. When we go out, I bring the jarred food because it's too difficult to bring cold food and warm it up. It's not always possible. When buying jarred food, read the ingredients. Some foods have a lot of ingredients. I only buy the food that have simple ingredients like "pea, carrots, water ", etc. If you need to sweeten your homemade foods a little, add a drop of apple juice. It works wonders! Make sure you have a good food processor and a food mill. Some foods (like bananas) are much easier using the food mill. Most importantly, have fun!

Posted by: Lola's Mommy on 2008-12-11, 13:54:52

Yes I would recommend it...it really is so easy and I did save a lot of money. I would just set aside a day every couple weeks and make a few big batches of stuff and then freeze it. I just baked or steamed the fruit and veggies and then pureed it in a food processor. When my girl was older, I made up combos like carrots, lentils and rice so she would get protein, grain and veggies all together. Now that she's older and only wants to eat what she can feed to herself, I just take all the extra purees I had frozen and add them to yogurt smoothies...she loves them and I'm not wasting anything. Never tried cereal, although we quickly switched to regular oatmeal and other grains.

Posted by: jcox on 2008-12-11, 16:31:25

I did this with my first daughter. The only thing I would buy was her cereals. I would not want to make them. I did make all her fruits, veges, meats, etc. though. If you have extra time on your hands then it is always a good idea to make the baby food. It is cheaper and sometimes more healthy if you use organic foods. I used to have a big garden with lots of fruits and veges in it. I did not use any pesticides so I knew these were all natural. This was my first choice of what I used. If not then I would buy fresh organic fruits and veges from the supermarket. My last choice was frozen veges and fruits. I would not use canned ones with her. I would boil all her foods except bananas until tender. I invested in a baby food blender. This was pretty cheap, about ten dollars at WalMart. I would puree her food, then put it in ice cube trays and stick them in the freezer. When they were frozen I would pop the cubes out, put them in zip lock freezer bags, and label the bags with contents, and the date. I would take whatever I planned on her eating the night before and put it in the fridge to thaw.