Why I choose homemade baby food

The Boo just turned 5 months today and we've been slowly (like, really slowly) feeding her 'solids.' She had her first sample of food outside of breast milk just a few short weeks ago. I wanted to share with you why we chose to make all homemade baby food for our kids. 

The Boo's first sweet potato

The Bird as a sack of potatoes 

On our weekly trips to the grocery store I always glanced at the 'variety' of baby food choices. A baby could have peas, mangos, sweet potatoes, grains, or a 'Real Turkey Dinner.' They had what seemed to be a decent collection of fruits, veggies and meats all pureed to the 10th degree and sitting stagnant on a shelf. They were room temperature... always. And who really knew how long they had been on the shelf? I mean, sure, they had an expiration date on them, but was it weeks out? months? I was sure that not everyone let their kids eat jarred pork chops.*

I knew when our newlywedded selves bought produce it didn't last much longer than a week and a half. So why was this baby food okay to sit on the shelf? I wouldn't eat it. I wouldn't dare crack open a jar of mashed carrots and eat it for a snack... or a meal. 

So then the real question came up... How was I going to feed our kids? It was easy. I was going to make their baby food...all organic... from scratch. 

When the Bird came squawking along in May of 2010 I began my real research of the art of making baby food. Luckily, for me that came as easily as watching the Today Show and seeing Geoff Tracy and Norah O'donnell introduce their new book, Baby Love. They made it look so easy. All I needed was a few materials and produce and I could have the Bird eating homemade baby food in no time! 

The Bird's first solids!

I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the book. It walked me through the entire process and simplified everything for a girl who can't cook. AND... it gets even better. Baby Love even had food for older babies, toddlers and a few family recipes as well. 

You don't need some fancy baby food magician you just a blender. That's all. (Side story: Mr. B+B once had a fancy bullet blinder thing which I burned up and the thing literally caught fire mid-puree. He came home to find the thing covered in char marks and doused in water on our sidewalk. I since switched to the blinder and found it much more cooperative.) 

Here's what you need to successfully store all that wonderful goodness you just made. 

Supplies:
Ice Cube Trays
Quart Size Freezer Bags
Permanent Marker
Plastic Wrap
Plastic Freezer Jars (I love these)

See?! It's not so intimidating after all. 

The process is the fun part. So now that I'm doing this whole homemade baby food thing again the book has really helped me with determining how long to steam and/or cook each food item. I've also made sure that I always chose organic food too. I figured the money we save with making the baby food offsets the costs of organic produce. 

The Process for Freezing and Storing Homemade Baby Food:

1. Follow Baby Love's directions for cooking and/or preparing baby food recipes.   
2. Pour pureed baby food into ice cube trays.
3. Cover with plastic wrap.
4. Use permanent marker to date and label plastic wrap. 
5. After the trays have set overnight, I transfer them the the freezer bags which are pre-labeled with the date and food item. 

Now, your freezer should be completely full of frozen baby food. But how do you thaw them? Easy! I just take out the cubes and either let them defrost in a plastic freezer jar in your refrigerator OR transfer to plastic freezer jar and heat in a bottle warmer. NEVER microwave, but you knew that. 

The book will really help you out with the recipes. AND they are simple. Super simple. Like one or two ingredient simple. You CAN do this. I find it easiest if I head to the super market and pick out a few pieces of produce and then have a marathon cookathon in the kitchen for an hour or two. The food will last in the freezer for up to three months so you can make as much or as little as you need. 

I never ran into problems with transporting baby food. The plastic jars I recommended above worked great for traveling and it's really no different than having a bottle in your diaper bag. Yes, it has a time limit and no you don't want it to spill, but if your baby consumes it and the lid is on so all is fine. 

There you have it. My kids have both really seemed to enjoy homemade baby food. I loved knowing exactly what they were eating and where it came from. I found the process super easy and natural.

It's addictive. I'm warning you. 

*I'm sure you can hear the satire tone in my voice.