I am thinking of starting to make the veggies a few days at a time and buy the fruit purees, but I'm not sure which veggies to mix...the flavors at the store are more creative than I had planned to do. However, to save money and to (hopefully) get some fresher veggies in our girl's diet I want to make some... Just not totally sure where to start!
Anybody else? Am I making too big a deal out of this? Is it worth the fuss? Recipes anyone?
coconut / 8430 posts
I like this site: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
We have been doing single flavor purées so far. I'll be moving to multiple flavors soon once we have a repertoire of flavors we know my LO isn't allergic to.
squash / 13764 posts
@sunny: also love that site! I've been making purées because it easy and I have the time, but I don't necessarily think they're better than earths best purées, for example.
persimmon / 1408 posts
I was all over making my own. It should be sooo easy! Then I realized that I work 40-50 hours a week, am going to school, trying to exercise & keep my house kind of clean. Oh yeah, & spend time with my hubby & baby. There just aren't enough hours in the day for me. I've done a few fresh - avocado, butternut squash, etc. I think you can find a happy medium!!
clementine / 828 posts
I mostly made my own purées and supplemented with store bought when I didn't have time. LO definitely preferred the home made stuff. The consistency of the jarred food was too watery for LO. I liked making my own purées because it just seemed so much more fresh. For example, the purées peas that I made were such a vibrant green colour while the jarred peas were always a muddy green colour.
I didn't follow any recipes. I just cubed up the food, steamed until soft and used either a food processor or a hand blender to purée.
grapefruit / 4545 posts
hoping to make puree's myself - posting to be able to find the link above! thanks @sunny: and @hilsy85: !
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
I made all of los purees. I usually just did one flavor because. I would do a big batch and freeze them in an ice cube tray. I bought a cookbook but every recipe was the same so its not necessary. Steam, puree, and if they're teeny tiny use a strainer until they can handle thicker foods.
pineapple / 12566 posts
I made practically all of my son's purees. He started solids around 5 months but didn't ever eat more than a few spoonfuls until about 9 months. It would have been a HUGE waste to buy jarred food because I was already throwing out so much of the homemade. If you have the time to do it, is is definitely worth it to make your own.
A great tip I learned was to freeze babyfood in ice cube trays and then you can just pop them all out into a big tupperware or plastic ziplock bag and then defrost as needed. As time went by, I would mix the combinations, say 1 cube of peas with 1 cube of carrots or 1 cube green beans with 1 cube sweet potatoes and so on.
papaya / 10570 posts
I wonder... can you do the same trick (the ice cube trick) with jarred foods to prevent waste?
pineapple / 12566 posts
@cherrybee, I don't see why you couldn't if you froze it right away.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I made everything and I made it fresh. I had the Beaba, but that's because we didn't have a ton of freezer space and my son was kind of picky. I made a huge batch of carrots, and my son didn't like them, so I had to make them into soup.
pomelo / 5720 posts
I make almost all of ours, with the exception of using the organic pouches when we are traveling and/or just in case our food doesn't come fast enough when we are out to eat. LO really wasn't into the purées though, so it was an easy transition to having him eat what we eat. It's a lot easier for all of us now.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
I made all of DD's purees and am making all of DS' (except prunes). I would make a big batch and freeze in ice cube trays. If I wanted to mix then I'd just put 1 cube of a couple different things together when I went to feed. I just made some chicken and veggies last night by pureeing the filling from the chicken pot pie I made for dinner last night (DS loved it).
I've found it to be MUCH cheaper as well. I can get a bag of frozen peas for $1.00 and that ends up being about 20 cubes (10 meals) whereas a package of two prepared containers is $1.08 (on sale) where I live.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I thought I would be all about it but I ended up buying Earth's Organics instead!
coconut / 8299 posts
I make all of ours and it's so totally worth it! I mainly do it because it saves us so much money because I buy everything in bulk and freeze them in trays. Super easy and convenient. Especially things like apple sauce. I buy huge bags of apples and make tons of apple sauce for cheap!
coconut / 8498 posts
I found that it was easier to buy the veggies and make the fruits. But it didn't last long because LO prefers to feed herself and has since about 8 months.
GOLD / squash / 13576 posts
I make all my LOs foods. DH is very proud and is always telling me how impressed he is that I do it. 
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
@sunny: Thanks for the site, I'll definitely check that out!
@hilsy85: I don't think logically they're much better than some of the store bought ones, but after trying out earth's best's bananas that were pink..Idk.. lol
@NerdBee: I noticed that about the color difference too! Not the end of the world but I'm currently a SAHM so I have the time..
@purrpletulips: Mmmm pot pie, must have been delicious!
Thanks for all the advice ladies... I'm excited to get started. I'll be doing this Thursday.
pomegranate / 3414 posts
@googly-eyes: it was DS' first experience with anything other than fruit or veggies and he loved it.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
I did for a while and I'm glad I did. I fed her the purees I made plus ones I would feel comfortable with from the store (like basic fruits). I didn't feed her anything I wouldn't eat or taste.
squash / 13764 posts
@googly-eyes: ha weird! Pink?! I've only tried EB peas (which were yucky) and carrots (which LO loved). Maybe try some of the pouches if you're pressed for time? Ella's Kitchen and Plum organics are really good.
squash / 13199 posts
@googly-eyes: Yes it is totally worth it to have freshly made food. I have been making my own baby food for the last 5 months and it is so worth it. Some of the jar baby food from the store doesnt even smell or taste like it should. Even though I work full time and I am busy it doesnt take long to cook up a batch of fruit or veggie and then put it through the blender and freeze in cubes. Do it you wont regret it!!
kiwi / 538 posts
I'm a full-time working mom so honestly it was too much effort for me. I think if you have the time it's great- my son definitely loved the homemade stuff I did make (especially squash). The advantage to the jars/pouches IMO is the flavor variety. My son never liked anything green (peas, green beans, spinach) unless it was mixed with a fruit so those were helpful in getting him to eat more veggies.
honeydew / 7091 posts
I totally think it's worth it. My SIL made a bunch of purees, froze them in ice cube trays, them popped them out into a ziplock bag. She would then combine two of the fruit/veggie cubes when she would heat them up. No work ahead of time to combine, just chose two frozen cubes based on what you have.
I think when I get ready to do it, I'll just double or triple whatever veggies I'm making for me and DH for dinner, and then puree the leftovers - hardly any extra work!
grapefruit / 4442 posts
we make our own veggie and meat purees, i find that its more cost effective. For Fruits I usually buy pouches or jarred apple sauces since fruit is very expensive where i live.
coconut / 8430 posts
I would think it is more nutritious to make your own because the commercial ones need to be heat treated to kill bacteria so that they have a longer shelf life? Or maybe I'm just making wrong assumptions here...
GOLD / pomelo / 5737 posts
@Mrsbells: I definitely have the time & would have started sooner if not for travel. I agree that some of the store stuff doesn't seem quite right..@swurlygurl: ok I wasn't sure if that would suffice for combo flavors but ill give that a shot!
cherry / 142 posts
I've made all of my son's purees and I love knowing exactly what he's eatting. So many store-bought baby foods have salt added (I've heard). I do big batches every few weekends and then freeze them in 4 oz plastic Glad containers and it works out so well. So much cheaper than the Baby bullet accessories. Ice cube trays worked well at first too but the containers were easier once he started eatting more. You can get them at any Wal-Mart/Target etc.
grapefruit / 4278 posts
I made pretty much all of E's food. I used pouches when we traveled and rarely if I just didn't have time but when I tasted them, they all had a strange aftertaste. E never minded, but I'd just prefer to give him something that tasted good to me too. I would make big batches on the weekends and freeze in the ice cube trays too. Or if I was running low during the week it was no big deal to steam a veggie while I was making our dinner and it would only take minutes to puree. Once he moved on past basic, single food purees I would puree some of whatever we were eating, beef stew, or chicken with rice and veggies. If we weren't eating something he'd like I could puree a chicken breast and mix it with frozen veggie purees I had on hand.
pomelo / 5321 posts
I made a lot of purées for DS but we used store bought if we were on the go or traveling. It doesn't have to be all or nothing! I didn't make any mixes combos. I froze everything separately and mixed after thawing or just fed them without mixing.
blogger / honeydew / 7081 posts
These responses are so good to hear! I plan to make my own baby food - and its good to know that its a manageable task once baby is here!
pomegranate / 3314 posts
I think it is, but then again I'm a SAHM and I have the time. I often think that if I were a working mom it might be something I would sacrifice to have more time with LO/keep my sanity!
That being said, I find that it doesn't take a lot of time. I tend to make a large batch in my KitchenAid food processor, plop it in ice cube trays and then throw those into freezer bags. I think at the moment I have the following items going:
butternut squash
chicken-potato-carrot
pineapple and banana
raspberry
peach
I think it's really fun. In fact, I'm surprised at how much I enjoy it. My favorite site for inspiration is weelicious.com - lots of creative ideas for babies, toddlers and older children, even.
coconut / 8475 posts
@autumnlove: same.
I thought is make my own & prepped for that but then ended up buying Earth's Best Organics. Same price & 10x the convenience & more variety with foods & taste.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
We made everything and it saves so much money. Plus it tastes infinity better than the jarred stuff IMO. I hope I can find the time to do it again for #2!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
i made all of charlie's purees (with olive we did blw). it is so easy! i also followed the wholesome baby foods site.
grapefruit / 4671 posts
I actually find fruit purées much easier to make than veggies. There is so little cooking with fruit. My kiddo's fave is avocado and banana puréed smooth. Takes 30 seconds to make and se would eat it very day if I let her. As a working mum, I really appreciate the simplicity.
apricot / 343 posts
I made both kids purées, fruit and veggies. I just mix whatever flavours together, depending on what I have available. It's so much easier than buying! DD does get mash avocado and banana too DD likes her food chunky and always has, she also loves quinoa in her veggies. I hope to start her on meat or chicken soon, I never puréed meat for DS and at 2 he still won't eat it. I'm hoping to avoid that this time!
Store bought baby food grosses me out majorly! And making it yourself is so much cheaper and healthier.
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