Get Out The Blender!

 
I don't think the reality of how expensive it would be to have a baby really hit us until the baby was here!  LOL  You know it's coming, but it's still a shock!  One of the things that I did that saved us money (and was so much healthier), was making all of Kyle's baby food.

I am not very good in the kitchen (Josh is the cook in our house), but I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try.  :)  I bought a book called Top 100 Baby Purees By: Annabel Karmel.  There is another book of hers that I have, First Meals Food Diary.  I used both books together.  It is so easy even I was able to do it!  LOL  They are both fantastic books that take you step by step through all the ingredients, preparing, cooking, blending, storing, and freezing guidelines.

I went to Babies R Us and got some little freezer safe cups that I could store the extra food in.  When I made his food, I made sure to make lots at one time, and then I put it in the deep freezer for future meals.  So easy!  I sometimes took a frozen cup and stuck it in his diaper bag when we went out, and by the time we were ready to eat it was thawed out.  I totally get the convenience of the store bought stuff (we did get a few jars simply out of convenience), but using the already prepared serving in frozen cups was just as easy.  I would spend an hour or two a couple times a week, and make enough food for Kyle for the next week or two.  So, it didn't take me too much time to do it.  The very first thing I made for Kyle was pureed carrots, and he LOVED them!

The great thing about making your own baby food is that you know it is fresh, and you know what is in it!  That's why I liked doing it.  :)

Here's what Annabel Karmel had to say about home made baby food vs. jars on her website.

"Why bother with making homemade baby food? What’s wrong with baby food from a jar, anyway? Take one of these jars and look carefully at the expiration date. The substance inside has been designed to last for two years past the date of purchase. That’s not exactly the fresh that you intended to feed your baby. 

The ingredients of most commercial baby foods have been heated to a very high temperature and then cooled, in order to sterilize them. This gives them a very long shelf life but destroys a lot of the flavor and some of the nutrients in the process. Also if you bring up a baby on bland processed purees such as these it can make the transition to family food difficult as they are not used to the natural taste of fruits and veg and they can become quite fussy eaters.

There is nothing wrong with giving babies prepared foods for the sake of convenience, but don’t believe these preparations are a healthier option. The healthiest baby foods are the ones you make yourself– you can be sure of using the best quality ingredients with no thickeners or additives, its cheaper than using jars and homemade purees taste so much better."

I agree, if you can do home made baby food, it is healthier...and cheaper!!  Just a tip for saving some $ on baby food, and it's so easy.  It just takes some extra time.  :)  Of course Kyle is now eating solid foods...pretty much everything we eat, as long as he can gum it.  I just wanted to share something that has worked well for our family.  :)