Posts from the ‘General’ Category

extra credit: make your own baby food.

Ok, so before we get started I’d like to say something:  this is a guilt-free zone.

That’s right.

For some of us, making our own baby food fits right in to our schedule (and in my case I’m just too cheap to buy pre-made food).  But I realize that for a lot of us it’s just flat out easier to go let the fine folks at Gerber or Earths Best do the work.  Whatever works for you.  I just happen to be a tightwad.

Anyway, let’s begin.

I’m nearing the end of the baby food phase but typically I’ll chose one night a week and spend 30 minutes or so making everything for the week.  Usually I’ll do whatever is in season or on sale – green beans, carrots, zucchini, squash, sweet potatoes, peas, apples, pears, peaches, mangos, etc.  I’ll include a step by step guide to making your own food below, and I’ll list out a little handy-dandy guide for steaming/cooking your veggies too.

Make Your Own Baby Food

1.  Wash/peel/cut or cube your veggies (or fruit).

2.  Steam or cook your veggies/fruit of choice using filtered water until they are soft enough to puree.

3.  Using a slotted spoon, toss them into a blender or food processor or fancy-schmancy baby food maker, and add a little of the water you cooked them in.  Puree.  Add more of the leftover water if necessary and continue pureeing until they reach your desired consistency.

4.  Grab a tablespoon and spoon out the cooked veggies/fruit into ice cube trays.  Each cube will be approx. 1 oz.

5.  Cover the trays in plastic wrap, freeze them, then pop the pureed food out and keep them frozen in a zip lock bag with the date on it.

Cooking Guidelines (based on 1 pound of food)

*If microwaving, please use glass!

Asparagus – 8-10 minutes steamed, 4-6 minutes microwaved

Green Beans – 5-10 minutes steamed, 6-12 minutes microwaved

Carrots – 4-5 minutes steamed, 4-7 minutes microwaved

Peas – 3-5 minutes steamed, 5-7 minutes microwaved

Sweet or Regular Potatoes – 10-12 minutes steamed, 8-10 minutes microwaved

Spinach – 5-6 minutes steamed, 3-4 minutes microwaved

Squash – 5-10 minutes steamed, 3-6 minutes microwaved

Zucchini – 5-1o minutes steamed, 3-6 minutes microwaved

Apples or pears – 10-15 minutes steamed, 5-10 minutes microwaved

For more recipes visit Smitten Kitchen’s Baby food blog.

Bottom Line:

For a little perspective I’ve seen jars of baby food go for $.39-$.99 per jar (1 serving).

Last week I did a pound of peas and a pound of carrots ($.99 and $.79 for organic at TJ’s) that will last about 7-10 days.

Total:  $1.78.

Class dismissed!