Homemade Baby Food

Bonjour!  I've had a few questions on Effy's solid food situation, so I thought I'd share our food routine and how simple it can be to make homemade baby food.  Though we do use a Beaba Babycook, you could totally do this without it, just add in a few more steps and dishes.  {Side note: No, I am not getting paid by Beaba to talk about their product.} [Side side note: Beaba -- if you would like to pay me to talk about your product, that'd be great.  You can pay Effy and I in clothes -- me -- Effy. And a'thank you.]

I admittedly haven't done all the math -- I know some foods it's definitely cheaper to make at home, and others it's about the same as buying a jar at the grocery store.  The hubs & I like to know what exactly we're feeding our sweet baby girl.  We're also not a hardcore, organic-only household.  We use this list to help us pick and choose when to spend the extra cash on organic and when to save our money for Effy's college fund.  Okay, here we go!

Our Supplies

• This book helps with: what to feed baby at what age, recipe ideas, & more.  I will say that you can find most of this info online, but the book is still pretty darn cute.
• Babyfood maker [link above], which is not a necessity, but it sure makes this process simpler!
• Apple & potato peeler
• For freezing: Beaba Freezer Trays, OXO Tot Freezer Trays, Ziplock Freezer Bags
• For thawing & serving: Small Green Sprouts glass cubes, Quilted canning jars - these are my favorite!
• Food (duh).  This could range from apples, peaches, green beans, Chalupas, whatever!

Simple Steps

Step 1 - Choose your food

There are many guides out there for what to feed your baby and at what age, and they're each a little different so just do whatever you're comfortable with!  This particular day, I was making pears for baby Effy.

 Step 2 - Prep

For pears, I needed to peel & core them so I used this medieval torture device to do so.  Essentially, you just want to prep the food as if YOU were about to eat it (clean, peel, whatever).

 

Scott likes baby food time because he gets to eat the peels.

Step 3 - Steam

Again, the baby food maker makes this super easy.  You can see the pears below in the steam basket awaiting their time in the food sauna.  Without the baby food maker, you'd just need a stock pot and steamer basket.  Reserve the liquids you steamed the food in and it can be used during the next step.

Steam, baby, steam!

Step 4 - Puree

This is one of my favorite parts about the baby food maker...you steam and puree in the same contraption meaning fewer dishes.  Based on the obscene amount of dishes usually sitting in my sink, I welcome fewer dishes.  You can use the water you reserved from the previous step to make your food the appropriate thickness depending on your baby.

This part makes me feel cute.  Sometimes I narrate like I'm a baby food cooking show host.

The show would obviously be called "Baby Bites".

Flipped the switch from steam to puree - simple!

Step 5 - Admire your baby's food

"Oh my gosh, it's so cute!"  
"Even I would eat this!"  
"What else in this house can I puree? Hand me that leftover pizza!"

"Hi. I'm Effy's pears. I'm cute!"

Step 6: Freeze & Store

When we make a fresh batch of food, we put 3 - 5 servings in the glass jars and store them in the fridge to eat sooner rather than later.  

The remaining food gets frozen in the trays listed under "supplies" and then stored in labeled freezer bags.  This is also a fun step because I really like writing with sharpies (not quite as much as I like writing on dry erase boards [72% of why I became a teacher]).

Step 7: Thaw & Eat

I plan Effy's meals one day early and it's super easy.  First, if there's any fresh food in the fridge, she'll eat that.  Then, for some variety in fruits, veggies, colors, textures, etc, I check the freezer.  The quilted glass jars perfectly fit one of cubes frozen using the Beaba Freezer Trays and are for a larger serving of something. The smaller freezer tray I listed above makes standard size ice cubes.  When we want Effy to have a small amount of something (prunes, for example), we'll put a standard size cube in one of the Green Sprouts glass cubes.  OR two of these ice cubes fit in the quilted glass jars so you can mix together two foods like a real gourmet chef!

Bon appetit, baby!

For other baby food ideas, check out my "bon appetit, baby!" board on Pinterest!

Homemade baby food bonus:
Dad's not afraid to eat the leftovers...