Monday, September 28, 2009

Home Made Baby Food Advice

I have had many moms ask me about making their baby’s food, so instead of typing it over and over, I decided to blog about it here!  If you have any further questions or would like more information feel free to email me (jordan.lyons@mac.com)



My initial desire to make Charlotte’s food was strictly a monetary thing.  I was talking to the mom of one of the babies I watch during the day and she said she spends upwards of 100 dollars a month on baby food alone - not including formula!  I was amazed at the cost and was a little worried we hadn’t budgeted enough money to cover it.  So I started researching home made baby food and saw that other than the start up cost, which for me was minimal since I already had the majority of things needed, I could spend less than 20 dollars on produce!  After making it all up, I calculated that it would last me about 2 months!  Sure enough I just hit the 2 month mark and am just about out.  I did learn that this food can stay frozen for 8 weeks so the timing worked out perfectly. After I started doing my research I became aware of all the health benefits that come from making your baby’s food.  There are no preservatives like the jar food, you can choose the quality of the produce you use or if you want to go organic, you make your own combinations, and you know for sure what your baby is eating - no recalls to worry about.  Between the money saved and the health benefits, it is something I am committed to for Charlotte until she moves on to “big people food.”





Some of the resources I used to learn is mostly the website wholesomebabyfood.com and the book I got at Border’s “The Healthy Baby Meal Planner” by Annabel Karmel.  It has great recipes that include directions on how to cook and puree each food, plus menu planners and tips from first tastes all the way to toddler.  Some of the recipes and how quickly they get you to feed your baby things like fish are a little much for me, but overall it has been very helpful!



The first time that I did this I had to purchase a couple things, but overall they were things I would need regardless for the future and getting them at a discount store like Ross and the Dollar Tree helped keep the total cost under 30 bucks.  Here is a list of things I use that I either had or purchased:





Collapsable steamer basket


Large steamer pot


Good peeler (you’ll use it a lot so keep it comfy)


apple corer/slicer (not a must have but makes the apples and pears easier)


knives and cutting board


ice treys (the more the better)


Freezer storage (ziplock bags, tupperware, or baby food jars)


blender or food processor



You can go about making your food either for smaller time periods like days or weeks, or enough to go one or two months.  I have opted for the 2 months at a time route.  It takes up a whole weekend and is a lot of work during that time, but then I am home free for 8 solid weeks!  If you don’t have the time or freezer space to handle that much, go with the shorter time span, just be aware you will be steaming and blending (and cleaning!) more often.



When I settle in for a marathon weekend, I try to have somewhat of an idea of what each food will take to get ready to blend and try to plan accordingly.  For example, I use frozen foods for corn, peas, mixed veggies, green beans, and a broccoli cauliflower carrot mix.  These are still fresh foods as they are frozen within hours of being harvested and are frozen as they naturally are (after being washed) with no preservatives.  These you just have to cook like normal in a pot of water, or for the broccoli mix I steamed.  Since there is no cutting or major cooking involved I get these going right away and let them cook while I am peeling and cutting the things like squash and apples.  It sets up pretty easy to rotate after that.  The cooked veggies are ready to come out and be blended and the freshly cut items are ready to go into those same pots and steamers.  And so the cycle continues!



I have learned that when steaming, don’t worry about timing.  The only thing you have to watch out for is your water levels so you don’t run out and burn a pot.  The only food that needs specific timing in peaches and plums, but that’s a whole other story! The longer these foods steam, the easier they are to blend.   You really can’t get foods too soft when it comes to baby food.



I have a good blender - or so I thought - but it does struggle at times, especially with the big veggies. Don’t worry about the different blender settings - I have used them all at one point or another.  Reserve your steamed liquid and add in little by little to get the blender going and to get the right consistency with your puree.  I have been overzealous at times though and dumped in way too much liquid and the puree gets way too runny and I have to add in some rice cereal to thicken them up either prior to freezing or when serving.  Even now I have peaches that I will use for her cereal that I will need to add no water or formula too because the peaches themselves are liquid enough!  On the other end, I have veggies that ended up too thick and I have to add water to for her to be able to eat. There is not a hard and fast rule to how much liquid is needed - I had to add a ton to the potatoes and squash to get them runny enough but barely any to the pears.  As your baby gets used to eating these fruits and veggies you can make them thicker and more chunky - just like the different stages of food you would buy in the store.  I haven’t yet added in meat or pasta or rice to mine, we’ll see how that goes!



After you are done blending your foods, it is time to freeze.  If you have individual containers, just spoon it it, label it if needed and place it in the freezer.  I have done this for some, but for the majority I spoon into plastic ice treys and let freeze.  After a couple hours (timing depends on food) I pop them out and put them in long term storage.  This makes it easy to increase or decrease amounts given, or mix together different foods for baby.  Right now at 8 months, Charlotte uses 2-3 cubes in her am cereal, 2 cubes of veggie and 2 of fruit for lunch, and then another 2-3 with cereal in the evening.  I have a list that I will include below of the different combinations that I can try - it is so much easier to do when you have these small servings and can just use 1 cube of carrot and 1 cube of green beans and have a mixed veggie! One thing I will mention, the only major problem I found with doing this much food at the same time is that I ran out of ice treys! I had to keep on top of pulling them out as soon as they were frozen and refilling them, in the mean time keep the purees in the fridge in covered bowls.



For storage in the freezer I have done a few different things.  I have saved many jars and plastic baby food containers from the babies that I keep at home and have utilized those for some food.  The first time I did this, I stored everything by type in separate tupperware containers.  I learned a couple things there.  One, they take up a lot of space.  Two, it is hard to reshuffle the freezer anytime you want to get out one cube of food from a couple different containers. This go round I am using the ziplock freezer bags.  So far it takes up much less freezer space and I think it will be easier to get in and out of a few times a day.  They are also easy to label with a sharpie - just marking the type and date so I don’t go past the 8 week mark.



There are two different ways you can get the frozen food ready to eat.  One is by planning babies meals the night before and pulling out the needed cubes and putting them in bowls in the fridge for them to begin thawing.  This sounds great, but I am never this planned out!  For me, it works best to just use the microwave.  Just be careful of hotspots in the food so stir plenty.  Yes, opening a jar of gerber and being done is easier, but not so much so that it outweighs the pros of making your own!



On to travel!  It is possible to travel with home made baby food, but I have to say this is where I cheat a little.  When Charlotte was 4 months and started on cereal mixed with applesauce I used the Gerber brand (had not even thought yet about making it.) and I still use them at times when I am rushed or for easy feeding at like a restaurant or grandmas.  However, this is the only processed food she will eat!  When we were on our way back from vacation at Gulf Shores last month, we had to stop at Wal Mart to pick up some food as I had run out of home made. (I was amazed at how expensive 2 little jars were!) I got foods she already eats at home, but she was not a fan!  Girl has already been spoiled on homemade - excepting of course the applesauce.  All this to say, it is totally possible to travel short or long term with home made food.  For our trip to Gulf Shores, and other short over nighters, I just pack up a the right amount of cubes in tupperware and put it in a cooler with some ice packs.  Once we got to our destination, I moved them to the fridge or freezer as they won’t keep in the cooler for too long without thawing.  For quick outings to grandmas or out to eat, just think about your timing and decide if a frozen or slightly thawed or ready to eat option is best. I have take n’ toss bowls that I use at home for Charlotte and they come with lids anyway, so it is easy to put in her diaper bag.  No, it isn’t as easy as using prepared foods like Gerber, that is why I do sometimes cheat with the applesauce :)



Well, I think that is about it! I hope this helps answer some questions you may have and encourages you to give it a try for your little one! It may sound complicated but let me assure you, it is easier than it reads.  I am not a cook (as my husband can attest to) and not especially handy in the kitchen, but I found this pretty simple (I do keep my baby cookbook by my side) and fun too! I do have a mom of a baby here that does half and half, so that is always an option too.  It seems the babies will like going to homemade after store bought, just tough going the opposite.




Again, let me know if you have questions, advice, or thoughts to share!  I have lots of tips on certain types of fruits or veggies as well - but this post is long enough already!  If you want to give it a try with a few to start, I can pass on do’s and don’s for that particular one if you would like.



Below is a list of the foods that I am currently doing and bulleted are the combination options (I made the list so I won’t forget a food I have in the depths of the freezer and so my husband can easily fix Charlotte’s food too.) I did purchase a lot of the foods from Sam’s which greatly cut down on the cost and allowed me to easily purchase large quantities.



Sweet Potato




  • corn

  • apple

  • green bean

  • pea

  • zucchini

  • BCC



Potato




  • corn

  • zucchini

  • pea

  • BCC



Zucchini




  • rice cereal

  • potato

  • sweet potato

  • pea

  • carrot

  • BCC



Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots




  • Zucchini

  • sweet potato

  • potato

  • corn



Carrots




  • zucchini

  • pea

  • green beans



Mixed Vegetables



Green Beans




  • sweet potato

  • carrot



Peas




  • potato

  • sweet potato

  • carrots

  • zucchini



Corn




  • squash

  • BCC

  • potato

  • sweet potato



Butternut Squash




  • apple

  • corn

  • pear



Pear




  • apple

  • peaches

  • prune

  • squash



Peaches




  • Bananas

  • pear

  • prune



Apple




  • Squash

  • pear



Prunes




  • Apples

  • peaches



Apple Blueberry



Pear Pineapple





And no blog post is complete without photos! Here are some shots of the baby food making in progress, in freezer, and in Charlotte!




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2 comments:

  1. My dear daughter, you are amazing! I am so impressed that you do all this. Not just taking care of Charlottes food, but sharing your info with others. You are organized, dedicated, seamingly tireless and enjoying the whole process! Can I say, without embarrasing you, that I am proud to be your Mom?!

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  2. Thanks Jordan! This is great, I cant wait to try this on Kaylee and this was very helpful. She is almost 12 weeks so I got a lil while longer before she is ready but by then, from all your info, I will be a pro :)

    Thanks again!

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