Quick and easy homemade foods for baby

After buying at least a hundred jars and plastic brand food, I decided it’s time to make homemade baby food for by 8-month old. It wasn’t a difficult transition but it’s a little more work than buying from the store. Still the pros of homemade baby food outweigh the convenience of jarred food.

VARIETY. There are only so much variety that the jarred food can offer a baby. Jarred fruits are more varied, but the vegetables are limited to those that most babies can/will eat. With homemade, I was able to tailor-cook and give zucchini, yellow squash, butternut and acorn squash, broccoli, cauliflower, even asparagus and some Oriental vegetables that we love.

ALLERGENS and PRESERVATIVES. Some stage 2, and most stage 3/”graduate/toddler” have dairy in the ingredients. The older-stage food also have preservatives unless I opt for organic. I don’t have to worry about hidden allergens and chemicals with homemade baby food.

PRICE. No doubt about it, homemade foods are cheaper! Most jarred varieties now range from $0.50 (4 oz.)to $1.25 each (6 oz. stage 3) per jar. Meals three times a day could translate to $90- $100 per month expense just for baby food, excluding cereals.

CONVENIENCE. Ok, so jarred food may be more convenient because there is no preparation needed. So I’ll share a few tips to lessen the prep time for making homemade food.

1. Buy in bulk. Buy the vegetables and fruits in bulk (2-3 pounds per kind), at wholesale stores so they’re cheaper. If you can’t cook them all in one evening, freeze uncooked vegetables, like carrots, broccoli, cauliflowers, peas and beans.
2. It takes 30 minutes to peel and cut carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and a variety of fruits.  Make enough for two weeks worth of balanced meals. Bake fruits, cut in half and cored in a shallow pan with 1 inch water. Steam or boil the vegetables in large pots. Don’t cook each vegetable in separate pots, but do cook hard veggies separate from soft ones (like zucchini, broccoli and cauliflowers).
3. Cooking takes an hour and then just let them cool.
4. Puree vegetables and fruits in blender. Combine some vegetables or fruits together to make a “mixed meal”. Do the same with fruits, or combine a fruit with vegetables or meat. Add cereals, milk, cheese, yogurt or juice (from the leftover baking/boiling).
5. Dispense into ice cube trays or the plastic 2-4 oz. containers from Gerber for serving portions, and freeze. Don’t use the glass jars because you can’t freeze these.
6. Once frozen, pop the cubes into zippered gallon plastic bags and refreeze until use (within two months).
7. If you have to go somewhere, use an insulated bag to keep the food cold or frozen until use.

It takes about 2 hours each weekend night to prepare two week’s worth of baby food. That’s not too bad, right? That’s less than 10 minutes a day to cook delicious, homemade food that your child will love.

I get my recipes and inspiration for quick and easy homemade baby meals from this website. There are also books you can check out – Blender Baby Food and  Top 100 Baby Purees. So, let me know how making homemade baby food work for you.

image: sxc