Make Your Own Baby Food
Making your own food from scratch is not only healthier but also cheaper in the long run so it should stand to reason that making your baby's food would be the same way. And it is SO much easier than whipping up a marinara sauce, which isn't even that hard!
You basically pick your fruit or veggie, cook it then blend it with some expressed breastmilk or water until it is the consistency you want. And some food squish so well you don't even have to blend them or they work as great play with foods on the high chair tray. It is also easy to adjust the consistency for older babies since you do it yourself.
When making your own food, use clean utensils area and hands!
For recipes/directions I used this site. There are several out there but I like this one. I am feeding my son veggies first mixed with breastmilk for added sweetness and doing fruits after the first few veggies.
Remember when starting foods to give small amount early in the day to monitor for allergic reactions. Give only one food for a whole week to be sure if there is any reaction you know where it came from. After 2 foods are successfully introduced with no reaction you may try mixing them. Babies do not always need cereal and you should breastfeed for at least 6 full months before introducing solids.
The first food I made my son was squash. I picked a winter squash because they are sweeter, I went with acorn. It cost about a dollar. Here is how I did it.
First, cut in half and scoop out the seeds.
Place cut side down in less than an inch of water in a baking dish. Bake on 350 for about 45 minutes. I checked mine after 40 but it wasn't ready yet. You want it super soft.
When it is soft let it cool a bit so you can handle it then scoop out all the meat. I put mine off to the side on another plate to let it cool even longer before blending.
I suppose a food processor would work also, but I have never used one so I am not sure. If you do please let us know! I used a blender, it's actually the same blender my mm used to make my baby food! I had pumped out about 3 ounces of breast milk which I blended with it and still added a bit more water to get the consistency I wanted. Since it was his first I wanted it very thin. You can make it however you want it for your baby!
Because the squash is so soft and fun top play with I only blended a little over half and reserved the rest whole to put on his tray. He had great fun squishing it in his fingers and rubbing it in his hair and eyes!
When it was all done, I bagged up individual servings in freezer bags. I put about a tablespoon maybe a little more into a bag and then also the same amount of the unblended squash. I got about 6 servings out of it. If I had blended the whole thing I imagine I would have had twice as many. Adding more water or breastmilk should also garner some more mass to the final product which equals even more servings.
You're talking about a weeks worth (or more) of meals for $1! And a little elbow grease, which is what being frugal is all about. Do the extra work to save the extra cash!!
Just a little side note, my son did not seem to like the squash much. It was his first food so that may have been why. I found it sweet - I of course tasted it, I don't feed my baby something I haven't tested. But it did have a bit of a bite to it that may have stood out for him. Even after a whole week of eating it he still seemed to react with a grimace. Though he'd open for another bite!!
This week we are doing carrots. I peeled them, cut them into small discs and microwaved them for a total of about 8 minutes (checked doneness after 5) in a small amount of water (I don't have a steamer) then blended with breastmilk. There are no leftovers for squishing on his tray. 2 large carrots made about 5 servings. One pound of carrots cost me less than $1 at the Walmart. I did this while cooking dinner last night so there was no extra time in the kitchen. Just some extra running around!
