Homemade Baby Food
I know us moms are always super busy and there are always a lot of things to balance. One of those things that can be a struggle for me is making sure my kiddos get healthy meals. Also, I like to know what is actually in the food I am giving them. Now I'm not going to lie, sometimes its just more convenient to pop some frozen nuggets, corn dogs, fries, etc. in the oven and call it lunch or dinner. However, I do try to reserve those times for when I am just extra super tired and even then I "TRY" (doesn't always happen lol) to get the "organic" or the frozen bag with the less ingredients. There is one thing though, that I pretty consistently make, and that is baby food.
Making baby food is VERY easy to do and it doesn't take up too much time. Two very important factors when deciding to do ANYTHING when you are a mom lol. Generally when I make baby food, I try to purchase the organic frozen vegetables or I grab fresh veggies from the store. There are times though, as it was this week, when I needed to make some and I didn't have either. So I just used the regular ole frozen Peas and Carrots from Kroger. The good thing is, rather its organic or not these frozen bags usually only have one or two ingredients, and that is the vegetable itself. And honestly (even though I do try and buy organic), I am not out at the farm picking anything with these people, so really they could put anything in the bag and call it organic. But that's just me : )
First things first, you cook the veggies. I bring some water to a boil on the top of the stove, add my vegetables and cook them until tender. I also add a little seasoning to the water but that is totally up to you if you want to do that. If I have fresh vegetables I usually steam those not boil. After my vegetables are fully cooked I strain them and place the strained liquid to the side. I then put all the vegetables in the blender. I take the liquid that I sat to the side and slowly add that liquid to the blender. Depending on the stage of my little one, dictates how much of this liquid I add. If I want a more chunky mixture I add less of it and if I want it to be more smooth I add more.
As I mentioned before, for this meal I used peas and carrots, but you can really do this with any vegetable or fruit that you would like. The key is, how much extra liquid you add because that will determine the consistency of the end result. I will mention though, when I do fruits, such as strawberries and bananas, depending on the age of the baby I use little to no liquid. Next, after everything is nice and blended I add the baby food mixture to ice cube trays and freeze it. I do this, so that I can have perfect little serving size for baby. That way I can easily know how much food to give my little one with out wasting any extras. I also do this because I tend to do things ahead of time. I like to may make a bunch of baby food at the beginning of the week, so I can have it already ready for meals throughout the week. If I do this with fruit I usually don't freeze those meals, I just make what I will need and place it in the fridge.
When I freeze my baby food I use breast milk bags. Since I am nursing I always have plenty of those bags at my disposal. Using these bags, I can divide the food up into serving sizes. So if my little one is eating 2 cubes of food, I put two cubes into one breast milk bag. When she is ready to eat, I defrost the food just like I would her milk. I place the bag into hot water, making sure the food is properly cooled down before I give it to her to eat. And that's it! See, I told ya! Simple and easy, and you know exactly what is in the food because you made it. And, as an added bonus you also save money. This bag of peas and carrots was only $1 and for my baby its comparable to about 4-5 jars of baby food. Saving $3 - $4 may not sound like a whole bunch of money, but it can start to add up over time. 
Comment below if you have tried this recipe or if you have a different combination of fruits and veggies that you like to do for your little one. Another one of my favorites is baked chicken and rice. Yum! As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to follow us to stay updated on all of our new post and adventures.
0 comments