Homemade Baby Food

I have been accused more than once of being a hippie. I can't deny that I like a lot of hippish things. I love to do yoga, I eat plain yogurt every day and sometimes will make it myself, I make my own laundry soap, I've been known to take "herbal remedies," and while I probably shouldn't admit this in public, I have been known to do some unconventional things with breastmilk (best mosquito bite cure ever!). 

People have also called me a hippie for making my own baby food from scratch. While I do really enjoy knowing exactly what is going into my baby's belly, I have to admit that the #1 motivation for me to make my own baby food is cold, hard cash. Those little plastic tubs of baby food are so convenient, but for the cost of just one serving of peas, I can buy a gigantic bag of frozen peas and make 10+ servings of peas. I want to make it perfectly clear that I have nothing against store-bought baby food, it's great nutrition and certainly more convenient than making it yourself, but for the health of our bank account, this is the way I do it. And I've had enough people ask me how to do it, too, that I figured it was about time for a blog post. 

Making homemade baby food is so super easy. The basic recipe is this: 

1. Decide what kind of baby food you are going to make. I simply buy what is cheapest at the grocery store. Cheapest not only makes my frugal side happy, but it is usually what is in season, which means it has more nutrients than when it is out of season. It also usually was grown somewhere more locally instead of it being shipped half way across the world. Right now is a great time to stock up and make a ton of baby food because so much is in season, especially the really good baby food things like sweet potatoes and squash.

2. Remove the skins/peels/pits/seeds, etc. For a lot of fruit like plums, peaches, etc, a 30-second dunk in some boiling water followed by tossing it in some ice water will take the skins right off super fast. 

3.Cook it if it needs cooking. Most veggies do need cooking, most fruit does not. The basic rule is, if it crunches, cook it. Steaming is best because it retains more of the nutrients than any other cooking method.

4. Puree it. You can do this in a food processor or a blender, whatever you have. You can add water or the cooking juices to thin it out and make it whatever consistency your baby needs/likes.

5. Freeze it. I have some silicone ice cube trays that are perfect for baby food because they make it super easy to pop the food out when it is frozen, but any ice cube trays will work. Simply fill the ice cube trays with the puree, put plastic wrap over the top and freeze. Once it is frozen, pop them out and put them in a labeled zip-top bag. 

All done! When it is time to feed the baby, just grab a few cubes and microwave them enough to defrost, super easy!

For more specific recipes and tons more info, I found an amazing site, check it out here!