Homemade Baby Food – Is It Worth It?

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This go around, I decided to try my hand at making my own baby food. Now I know what you’re thinking, “Oh no, she’s one of those moms..” 

But really, I’m not, I promise!

Aside from the obvious health benefits of knowing exactly what’s in your little one’s food, it is also very economical. 

Reasons I Chose to Make Homemade Purees for My Baby

1. More Nutrients and Better Taste

According to WebMD, prepackaged baby food “is cooked at extremely high temperatures to kill bacteria for longer storage, at the same time taking out many of the food’s vitamins and nutrients and taste.” Making your baby’s food gives you the opportunity to use fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies that will broaden your baby’s palate while maintaining the level of nutrients that your baby needs. Homemade baby food doesn’t contain all the preservatives and additives as jarred baby food. I like to bulk cook all of my baby’s food, freeze and store in single serving containers until I am ready to use them. Once you get comfortable with cooking and storing your homemade baby food, get creative! Combine your baby’s favorite foods for new, exciting flavors.

2. Less Expensive

Right now, my baby is eating 2-3 times a day in addition to her bottles. A jar of baby food is around $1.50, which would bring me to an average of about $25/week just on baby food. The other day, I spent about $5.00 on sweet potatoes, $2.00 on avocados and $3.00 on bananas for a grand total of $10.00 that provided me with baby food for close to three weeks!! I don’t know about you, but for me I’d much rather spend about $10/month on baby food than $100!

3. Both Children Love It

My 6 month old AND 2 year old love my homemade purees. I have even purchased reusable squeeze pouches for our on the go snacks.

How to Prepare Baby Food

As I mentioned earlier, I bulk cook, freeze and use when I am ready. 

1. Clean your workstation.
2. Wash all ingredients to remove any germs or pesticides. 
3. Cook down fruits and veggies in a pot by boiling or steaming them. You can also use a slow cooker.
4.  Let cooked ingredients cool. 
5. Use a food processor or blender to create a good consistency. You can also use a fork or food grinder. 
6. Add a little formula, water or breast milk to thin out any puree that is too thick. 
7. Transfer purees that you plan to use in the next couples of days to a sealed glass jar and place in the refrigerator.
8. All purees that you plan to freeze for later need to be transferred to freezer safe containers, labelled and dated and stored in the freezer until you are ready to use them. 

Safety Tips:

You can freeze your purees for up to 2 months. Items that are stored in the refrigerator need to be used within 2-3 days. If you ever question the freshness of your homemade baby food, throw it out. Never freeze your baby food in glass jars because there is a risk of the glass shattering, making the puree unusable.

Foods That Don’t Require Cooking:

Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Kiwis, Pineapples, Peaches and Peanutbutter

On The Go Foods:

Bananas and avocados don’t need to be cooked or blended which makes them easy to prepare on the go. Make sure they are very ripe, mash with a fork and serve. 

Now you try it and let me know how it goes!