Baby Food

I am sure that I have blogged about this somewhere before.  Maybe not.  But this week I am all over making Miss A's baby food.  Well, at least her vegetables.  I may get to the fruit that she has in the mornings another day.  Recently, the price of baby food increased by ten cents.  I was not thrilled to have that added to my grocery budget.  I remembered that I had stocked up on quite a few bag of frozen vegetables (with no added salt or anything) that were about the price of one can of baby food... maybe less?  I also remembered one of the reasons that I told Husband as to why I "needed" to have a BlendTec was to make baby food.  Here's where the rubber met the road.

I remember having a bit of difficulty getting the vegetables just right in our old blender.  Same story for our food processor.  Boy Howdy! (Miss L's newest phrase) The BlendTec made light work of the baby food making.  Fast.  Super easy clean up.  Plus, I had just made seven meals worth of food in less than 10 minutes.  I scooped the food into ice cube trays and put them in the freezer for a few hours.  Then I popped them all out and put them in a freezer bag (with the help of my two year old).  It was actually great fun!  I made peas, broccoli (which you generally cannot get in the jars) and green beans.  I have some fresh yellow squash and zucchini that are waiting to be steamed and then blended.

How easy is it?  Steam vegetables.  Toss in blender.  Add a little water if needed.  Puree to desired consistency.  Put in ice cube tray.  Freeze.  Ta-da!

We may still buy a couple of jars to have on hand for convenience.  However, I just threw a couple of ice cubes into an airtight container and took it too a friends house.  I think the trick is to know that it will be melted by the time you need it or have access to a microwave to warm it up a bit.  Or, I guess you can go the hot water bath if you have some time and your baby is not screaming at you for food.

I love the way the food looks, too.  Not grey-ish green, but fresh!  Novel idea, right?  I love that I am paying about .62-cents for seven meals rather than for one or two meals.  There are so many ways to make your own baby food.  I just happen to really love my BlendTec.  You also need to do what is best for you -- it's not a crime to buy jarred baby food.  Please don't hear me saying that -- we'll probably have some around for times at church or other places.  We'll see.

Do hear me say that this is the most frugal way to feed a baby... unless you are managing to get jar food for free.  I am not that person.  ha ha ha!!

Husband thinks I have gone crazy green natural.  I just told him I am just stretching our food budget even farther.  That's always a good thing.