Teacups & Toy Soldiers

Z was keen to start solid food just days after turning 4 months old. After consulting with her pediatrician and getting the green light to begin introducing Z to the wonderful world of food, I came across the first metaphorical fork in the road. Should I prepare her food myself or buy jarred baby food?

I had decided that I wanted to try to have Z eat as organically as possible. I know most of us grew up eating non-organically and we are fine, but with the growing concerns over food treated with pesticides, fertilizers, and growth hormones (no, thanks!), I decided that organic was the way I wanted to go with Z. I started out by comparing the prices of several brands that offer organic baby food. While I found some 2 ounce jars of organic baby food were affordable, some were just extremely expensive ($2.50 for one 2 ounce jar?!) I decided I was going to attempt making Z’s food myself.

We decided to start out with sweet potatoes. I bought a bag of organic sweet potatoes (about 5 medium sized potatoes in a bag) at Trader Joe’s for $3.99. I peeled the sweet potatoes, cut them into chunks, and boiled them on the stove until tender (about 12 minutes). I took the sweet potatoes off the stove and strained them in a colander. I put them back in the pot and poured some cold water over them to stop the cooking process. Next, I took the sweet potatoes and a little bit of water and pureed together in the nutri bullet. I put the sweet potato puree in to 2 ounce BPA free baby containers (the ones I use are available here). The 20 minutes it took me to make Z’s food got me SEVENTEEN 2 ounce jars of organic sweet potatoes. That was more than enough to last her for the week. Assuming I purchased 17 jars of organic baby food at about $1.20 per jar, that 20 minutes and $3.99 bag of sweet potatoes saved me $16!

I completely understand the time crunch, life obligations, and/or the personal decision to buy jarred baby food. It is absolutely the right choice for some people and baby is going to love having food no matter how it comes to them! I just decided that since I have the time to do it and I wanted to save money, making Z’s food myself was the route for us.

Since sweet potatoes, we have tried:

• Organic Frozen Peas (2 bags: $1.99 each, made 12 2 ounce servings – although the peas are currently in the freezer as Z was NOT a fan! Oh, well. We will try again soon)
• Organic Bag of Green Beans (1 bag: $3.99, made 12 2 ounce servings)
• Organic Gala Apples (we used gala for the sweetness) (7 medium sized apples: $9.00, made 18 2 ounce servings)
• Organic Avocados (4 medium sized avocados: $4.99, made 9 2 ounce servings)

Some Reminders:

• Store a few of the containers in the fridge for baby’s next few meals. Place the rest in the freezer (make sure lids are screwed on!). The frozen food is good for approximately 6-8 weeks (this can vary depending on the type of food).
• If you are not using a pressure cooker and are cooking the food in water, use that same water in the Nutri Bullet to retain as many vitamins and minerals as possible (however, do not do this with carrots as they release nitrates into the water).
• Remember to wait at least 3 days before introducing each new food to check for allergies.
• Don’t add sugar or any kind of sweeteners to baby’s food.
• Once baby has had one type of food without an allergic reaction you can pair it with other foods baby has tried. Z’s favorite was apples + green beans, which does not sound appealing to me, but it makes green beans more tolerable for her.
• Have fun during meal times and don’t be afraid to get a little messy!

I hope this post helps if you are deciding what is the right choice for your family. Feel free to drop a comment below with recipes you use for your little ones or any of your thoughts.