New Moms Save Money: Tips on Making Your Own Baby Food
March 17, 2014
Raising a child is not cheap. Even if you are very frugal and shop second-hand, the cost from birth to eighteen years of age can be astronomical. When my kids were babies, I did everything that I could to keep the cost down. I used coupons on disposable or used cloth diapers. I used hand me down clothes and baby furniture. We limited the number of toys, games and expensive outings. And we even made our own baby food!
How to Make Your Own Baby Food
One of the easiest ways to save money is to learn how to make your own baby food. It’s not only a frugal choice, it is an eco-friendly choice. You have no worries about what’s in your baby’s food when you begin with organic fruits and vegetables. Despite what you may think, it really takes less than an hour a week to make your own baby food.
Make sure that you speak to your pediatrician before starting any new food for your baby. Different foods are recommended at different ages. To ensure there are no allergies, wait four days after introducing a new food to your baby to see if there are any allergies. Never introduce more than one new food at a time.
Make sure that your hands and all cooking utensils are clean for safety reasons. I choose organic to ensure the highest quality food for my baby. Remember that each baby is different and what one baby may like, another baby may not enjoy. Try different foods to see which ones your baby most prefers.
Bananas are a wonderful first food for your baby. They are gentle on your baby’s stomach and help with digestion. Bananas are often sweet and will probably be accepted easier than something like peas or spinach. They also require no cooking.
The process is very simple:
- Peel a ripe banana.
- Put the banana in a food processor and puree until smooth.
- If you do not have a food processor, you can try mashing it with a fork however please be certain any lumps are completely gone when serving to a young baby.
- You can add a bit of water to the pureed banana to thin it out.
- If your baby will not be eating all of the baby food in one day, you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and cover it with plastic wrap. Each cube holds about one ounce of baby food.
- Make note of the date you freeze it and use within one month.
- When you want to use the baby food, take out, thaw and heat slightly to room temperature.
To introduce other fruits and vegetables, it’s as easy as washing the produce, cooking it (if the produce needs to be softened – you can bake, boil, or steam the food) and following the directions above.
Have you ever tried making your own baby food? Which did your baby like best?
