Make my OWN baby food?!?

Hmm, really? As my girlie approached 6 months (in what seemed more like 6 weeks) I was dreading having to put thought and planning into feeding her something other than the stuff that comes out of me for free. I started casually scanning the grocery shelves to check out my options... not impressed. While trolling the internets for all things baby (pretty much my only hobby at the moment), I stumbled upon chatter about making your own baby food. For some reason this hadn’t occurred to me. How do I know if it’s safe to feed my baby if it’s not excessively processed, what or how much should I give her when it’s not neatly packaged into teeny servings? Is it legal? - I guess I always assumed that Gerber had a patent on it or something. ;-) Turns out it’s super easy to make your own fresh baby food! Who knew? Not to mention it’s much easier on your wallet. And there are all kinds of nifty gadgets out there to help you “cut your teeth” along with baby. :)

One of my faves are Baby Cubes. Once you steam/boil/roast and puree/mash/chop your food, just fill these little cubes (available in 1 or 2 ounce sizes) and store in the fridge or freezer - a perfect serving at the ready, just reheat! And the lids are attached so they never get lost or fall to the bottom of the dishwasher. Brilliant, and SO much better than ice cube trays. Also great for storing breast milk, and you can use them as snack containers once baby has graduated to finger foods.

Another awesome gizmo for you baby-feeding adventures is the Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder. These funny-looking contraptions are so handy for giving your little one pretty much any fruit or veggie you can find, without any worry about choking. My little cherub likes to munch on chunks of frozen mango through the mesh while I get the rest of her meal ready (and while I’m making my coffee in the morning!). Initially I started out putting crushed ice inside to get her used to the taste of water. She loved slurping up the melting ice, and now chugs cold water from her sippy like there’s no tomorrow!

I still keep a stash of store-bought baby food in the pantry for on-the-go feedings or for those days when I’m in a rush or just plain-old feeling lazy. Every now and again when my bambina decides to go on a hunger strike, I will crack open a nice jar of green bean mush and shovel it in her mouth while she plays with a spoon. Green beans are my go-to when I just need to get some nutrition into her - she loves them, and that’s the one food I just can’t seem to break down in a blender - they get all shredded and weird.

Here’s a picture to prove that my little one loves her mesh feeder. She’s pretty cute, huh?!

And of course, once you get past the puree stage, the sky’s the limit. Here are a few really great blogs for baby food recipes and ideas. Have fun!! Don’t be intimidated….it’s easy and kind of fun!

Here’s a fancy idea: Get together with one or two friends and have a puree day! Then you can all split up what you’ve made and have a large variety of foods for your little one.