Have you noticed that our society is all about health these days? Never before have we been so focused on improving both our physical and financial health, simultaneously!
Unfortunately eating well can leave our wallets hurting. Foods bearing buzz words such as “whole grain”, “all-natural”, and “organic” also flash inflated prices and less quantity per package. But you don’t have to go broke feeding your baby fresh and healthy first foods. Making your own baby food at home is easy and costs a fraction of the price of commercial brands.
I recently bought prepackaged organic baby food, and used the same amount of money to purchase organic produce (in this case, sweet potatoes), which I brought home and processed. The homemade version yielded 15 times as much food for the price!
Tempted to give it a try? Here is what you do:
1.Purchase ripe, unblemished produce of your choice- sweet potatoes are great to start with (regular or organic). At home, wash, pierce, and bake/ microwave the potato until tender, just as if you were going to eat it.
2.Cut the baked potato in half and scoop out the insides into a blender or food processor. Discard skins
3.Puree vegetables gradually adding filtered water until smooth and the consistency of yogurt.
4.Force puree through a fine mesh strainer to eliminate any remaining chunks or pieces of skin
5.Fill ice cube trays with puree and freeze. Each cube is ½ serving (depending on your babies appetite)
Once vegetable cubes are solid you can transfer them into a large freezer bag and keep frozen until needed. Grab one or two cubes when needed and microwave for 20 seconds on high. Stir and check to make sure food is cool before serving . Use the same process on squash, carrots, green beans, peas, you name it.
Your baby and your wallet will thank you!
A great resource for further information on homemade baby food, feeding your growing child, and healthy recipes for toddlers is, Super Baby Food, by Ruth Yaron; F. J. Roberts Publishing Company; 2nd edition (June 1998)
This a a wonderful guest post from Liz who writes “Thoughts from the Sidelines” Thanks Liz!!