Making Baby Food - the real scoop

I have been thinking for awhile now that I really should at least try to make some baby food for Hadley. My greenie friends boast it is the way to go, and the claims are that it can be nearly as convenient & far cheaper than buying the stuff in the jar. If you know me, I'm so not the mother earth type. It's not that I don't want to be able to sport the "green is the new black" t-shirt, it's just usually the better for the environment choices are not usually better for Gwen choices. (products are sometimes not as good, not as easy, and are more expensive.) I do try to balance things out, I recycle, we try not to be wasteful, but I'm not going to be the one heading up the let's live exclusively off the land camp. I'm up for trying something new as long as it really is considerably cheaper & convenient & in no way interferes with my crafting time.

I tried several different approaches last night as I was testing things out. I did buy some 4 oz. disposable gladware plastic containers that said they could be frozen. (8 pack for under $3.) The containers are ready to go and it makes it as convenient as buying Gerber. Plus, you can reuse them.

You can use a chopper/food processor/smoothie machine/blender to make baby food. Use what you have. I found the best luck with my larger chopper/food processor.

Unless noted, I pretty much baked everything in a 400 degree oven for an hour.

Sweet Potato: Pierce skin of sweet potatoes with a fork. Wrap in foil and bake about 1 hour in 400 degree oven. Several small potatoes cook more evenly than larger ones. When potatoes feel soft to the touch, remove foil, and remove skin. Skin should come off easily with a spoon. You should be able to easily slice through the sweet potato with a spoon. If not, rewrap in foil and bake for increments of 15 minutes. (Really, it should be super soft, if it's not it will leave chunks in your puree) Place peeled large sweet potato chunks into a chopper, or smaller chunks in smaller amounts in a blender. Add a little water. Blend away until it is a smooth consistency. Add a little more water & blend longer for thinner consistency.

The verdict: These were awesome! Even I ate some. These definitely tasted better than store bought. Hadley loved it, and it was really easy. It took an hour for baking time, but I wasn't having to be a slave to the kitchen.

The Cost: I spent $1.71 on sweet potatoes and got six 4 oz containers, so they were about .29 a container. Since the store bought jars run around .50, it is a savings, but not a great savings. However, sweet potatoes were not on sale, and I know I can find them cheaper so I would be likely to do this one again.

Peas - Steam Fresh Bag

I got these for free using coupons. No one else in my family likes them, so I thought what's the harm in experimenting. Place bag in microwave for 5 minutes. Remove bag, and throw contents into chopper. Add a little water, and chop away.

The verdict: These were really bright green compared to what I usually get in the baby food section. I could never get the peas to get completely smooth, which is probably my fault in that the suggested microwave time was 5-6 minutes, and I chose 5. Hadley liked them, but they were a little thicker than what she was used to. In fact she got mad when I took them away.

The cost: These run about $1 a bag normally, you can always find them on sale. If you coupon you can almost always get them for free. I got 3 containers out of 1 bag. So they would average between free - .30 a container.

Applesauce:

Pierce large apple with fork, wrap in foil. Place in 400 degree oven for an hour, or until soft. Remove skin, and cut chunks to go into the food processor/mixer/blender. Add water as needed.

The verdict: This was good, Hadley liked it, I liked it. Honestly though, for the mess & cost I can find cheaper applesauce store bought. If you had some apples lying around that were already getting a little soft, and you can't bribe your 5 year old to eat them, they are perfect for baby food. Other than that I don't know if I would run out and make applesauce.

The cost: 1 medium apple made about 6 oz. of food. I can't remember the exact cost of the apple, but I think it cost the same as buying store bought.

Carrots:

My debacle of the evening. I threw some baby carrots into a ramekin. I did not wrap them in foil, I did not add water or cover them. They burned to a crisp and were unusable. Why did I deviate from my original system of wrapping in foil, I don't know.

Cost: I'm estimating that carrots will run about .25 a 4 oz container. We always have carrots on hand, so I might try this again.

For freezing & serving: Don't put the baby food to the very top of the container so that it can expand a little in the freezer. Pull out the next day's food from the freezer and place in the refrigerator overnight. You can pull out a frozen one in the morning and set on the counter. By lunchtime it will be perfect.

Gwen's Verdict:

I'm not giving up on the store bought baby food altogether. I think there are some foods that I will make at home because it was really easy and convenient, especially if I find a great sale. I'm just not sure the cost really is that cost effective. I spent half as much on product, but once you throw in the foil, the cost of water to keep cleaning the chopper & the empty containers, the cost to heat the oven for at least an hour, and the oven cleaner I'll be using to clean up the spills I'm not sure I'm in the black. If I were to do it again, I'd prepare everything in the same oven batch, and not try to cook everything separately. I do like that you can control the consistency for your kid. I also might use these techniques more when she is a toddler to make into soft bite sized food that is harder to find in the store, and is more expensive than baby food.