I didn't make our baby food with Blakely Anne, so this was an ALL new experience for us! We never really decided "ahead of time" that we would make our own food, but when Miles was about one month old something came up in my News Feed about commercial baby food. Since the whole Infant Tylenol & Similac Formula ordeals over the past couple of years --- I'm always watching for things being recalled. ANYwho, It was just some information on baby food, how it is made, what it contains, and how it is distributed. The one thing that caught my attention... Baby Food has a shelf life of about 3 years. I don't know WHY, but I instantly imagined myself putting a banana in a jar and checking on it 3 years later. Disgusting.
It was THERE that I decided we would offer Miles the freshest food possible. Aside from the bug parts & other grossness involved in commercial foods, some of the nutrients are lost in the extreme heating process needed for canning. I want to give him all the nutrients that I can. Okay --- so where do you start?
If you are like me... you google EVERYTHING. Literally, Blake & I will be in the grocery googling how to prepare certain fruits & veggies that we have never heard of.
Here are the things that you NEED to know to be super successful:
1: START HERE: I came across a GREAT site that I refer to quite often, Wholesome Baby Food . It has menus by ages, how to prepare foods, what NOT to feed them, etc. I have it bookmarked. LOVE it.
2: We bought a Baby Bullet, though I'm sure that any food processor would be fine.
3: If you want to make a supply of up to 3 months at a time... you need A LOT of storage options. I have tried everything from super expensive plastics to dg ice cube trays...I first purchased extra kits that went along with the baby bullet. (These are okay) I think got silicone ice cube trays (also good, but only make like 12 ounces at a time). I then purchased the Munchkin Food Storage trays (sold at Walmart) hoping for more storage options. WRONG --- COMPLETE waste of plastic. NEVER ever ever buy these... they are the devil. If you hear me banging on the counters for an hour in the kitchen, It is probably because I am trying to get a single cube out. ANYWAY ---- the BEST, Easiest, and CHEAPEST way --- Regular old ice cube trays. Let them freeze, then pop them out easily into labeled freezer bags. Boom.
4: We also keep some foods fresh, or on hand. Microwaving a sweet potato or peeling a banana is super simple and wholesome! Bananas are easy to carry with you too! The only thing that we buy pre-packaged is Apple Sauce... it has to be the kind that says "Natural" and "UnSweetened". Those are easy to take too!
5: ALWAYS keep the water that you use in steaming the fruits/veggies. Any nutrients that seep out, you can restore back into the puree. We are NOT big fans of juices, and do not use any in our foods. ( & Our Doctor completely agrees with us!)
6. Puree Small Amounts at a time and ensure that you have NO clumps. (I have found that the longer you cook things, the less likely you will have clumps) But the clumps are a choking hazard. (After pureeing, I put them into a bowl to look for clumps and then into the ice trays.
7. Messiest/Grossest: Avocado is semi messy, but doesn't HAVE to be cooked. Pomegranate is super messy and requires lots of boiling. Plums are SO hard to remove skin/cook/cut, but one of Miles faves, so I suck it up.
8. Browning: Banana, Pear, & Avocado all brown. They say use a tad of lemon/lime juice to help prevent it. (By help --- they mean, it's still going to brown a tad. It's okay, the food is still just as good.) The freezing process browns it a little.
9. We did our own meats recently-- Ham, Chicken and Turkey. It is completely possible & I KNOW the ham is delicious. We couldn't stop eating it! It was SO good.
10: Squash: Bake the butternut or acorn squash whole in the oven instead of cutting it and steaming it! With that being said, we steam most everything!
Miles Faves:
Avocado
Banana
Pear
Plum
Carrot
Green Beans
Peas
Sweet Potato
Apples
Ham
We have paid less than $100 on Miles Homemade Baby Food for A WHOLE YEAR! Of course, we have bought commercial foods every now and then (Trips out of town, some at the grandparents houses, etc) But we have pretty much stuck with the homemade foods.
If I can think of anything, I will update more! I just wanted to put all of this info in one place :))
Xo,
Kayla
