Baby Food

Did you know it is much cheaper to just make your own baby food? When we got our Blentec blender it came with a recipe book and one of the sections was on Pureed Foods... a.k.a baby food. Who'da thunk? I've just always paid the 50 cents or so for the little baby food containers at the grocery store. So I tried it. And you know what? It was ridiculously easy! And gobs cheaper... I could even afford to buy organic foods (pre-made version costs about $1 per container at the store) and it would still be cheaper!

For example: I cooked and pureed 1/4 of a butternut squash that I bought for less than $2 (on sale for about 50 cents/lb.) and got about 3 containers worth of baby food out of that, making it roughly 17 cents per container. This, of course is dependent upon the size of the squash and the price you buy it at, but I was pretty proud about that!

So let me tell you the secret. Most pureed foods need only two ingredients: a fruit or vegetable, and water. Yep, it's that easy. If it's a vegetable it needs to be steamed first though. And then you toss it in your blender with a little bit of water and puree it. I start with a little less water than I think I'll need and add to the desired consistency.

And then whatever the baby isn't going to eat in the next few days, you can stick in the freezer (did you wonder how this was a freezer meal?). It's helpful to freeze it in smaller portions for ease in thawing when needed. (I have also reused either the plastic containers or glass jars from purchased baby food.)
Some ideas for pureeing are: butternut squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, corn, carrots, peas, pears, peaches, bananas, cooked chicken, and cooked beef. Also, you can use a water/baby formula mixture instead of just the water if desired.