Disclaimer!!!! By writing this blog I am in no way saying I am super mom or that my baby is eating better, or I have it all together. This is not to make other moms feel less of a mother because they may or may not do this.
Before we started feeding Audrey solid foods I did a lot of research about what kinds of foods to start her on and what she should eat. I ran across this website www.wholesomebabyfood.com and it made me think that I could make her own food too.
I looked at many different websites and tried to figure out how much time this would take me and if it was even worth all the extra work. I am a stay at home mom, so anything to save money is GREAT!!! But, I wanted to make sure that I would be saving enough to go through the work.
After reading blogs, and looking at websites, I found that it is actually easier than people think to make your own food. Plus, you know that it doesn't have all the preservatives, and it is fresh food.
Well the first batch I did was so easy. It really didn't take me that long to do. After several times doing it I realized that its better to do a lot at once just so you only mess your kitchen up maybe once a week instead of several times.
Okay I'm going to start from the beginning...
The picture below is everything that I started out with. The book Homemade Baby Food
is something that I bought. It is not required to do this, there are plenty of recipes online, but i really enjoy this book. Also, the diet coke in the pic is also not a requirement, but it is on my list of must haves when making food. :) There are also peaches, apples, pears, green beans, broccoli, peas, and I did do carrots with are not in the picture.
In this picture I have all of the utensils needed. (Notice Audrey in the background enjoying her food!!)
Cutting board, knives, large pot, steamer basket, apple core, potato peeler, small processor, and a large processor. I got the small processor for Christmas this past year. It is great for small batches. The larger one came from my parents. This was actually given to them for a wedding gift, and they never used it, so I took it home. If you are really wanting to do this, then I would recommend getting one. It is not a must, but it does make it easier when you are making larger batches of food.
This next picture shows the peas in my large pot. I use the steamer basket and cover until the peas are soft.
I peel all of the fruit. For the pears I found that it is easier to cut the ends off and then use the potato peeler to get the remaining skin off. I then slice around the core and cut into pieces. The smaller you make the pieces the faster they cook.
The apples on the other hand, don't work well for the potato peeler. I cut them in half, or use the apple core, and then peel and cut them in bite size pieces as well.
You can either place these in a steamer basket or boil them until they are soft. I don't boil them on a very high because I don't want the nutrients to cook out of them. I add a small amount of Lemon juice to the apples and pears, this keeps them from turning brown.
Using almost all of my burners!!
Below are the carrotts that i forgot to place in the picture. (Actually at first I didn't want to do them. I had enough going on, but as you can see below my husband jumped in and did it himself. I was grateful later!!!)
After your vegis are steamed I place them in my processor and blend them to the consistency that Audrey likes them.
To make a smoother puree, just add water.
Then you divided them into ice cube trays. And Freeze. I use ice cube trays because each cube is about 1oz. After they have frozen I pop them out and store them in freezer bags. Then when Audrey needs to eat i grab a few and put them in the microwave on defrost.
I didn't have enough I cube trays so I had to store them in something else until the others froze.
I timed this entire process. From taking the very fist picture to the last picture it took me about 2 1/2 hours. I also kept my receipts from the grocery store and I saved a little more than half, by doing it myself.
There are several more fruits and vegis that Audrey enjoys that are just as easy to do.
