Baby Food Friday: Avocados

Yes! Avocados! It has become a good "first" food for babies. Avocados are super easy to prepare as well!

When selecting an Avocado, you want a dark green color with bumpy texture. The fruit should be firm yet yielding when gently pushed.

When an avocado is sliced in half, the flesh color should be a green that gently transforms into a buttery yellow around the pit.

I have not found Avocados to freeze well once pureed, so I freeze them in slices.

Avocados - NO NEED TO COOK

• Cut Avocado in half, remove pit.
• I cut the halves in half again (so I have four pieces total)
• Remove the peel (no need to use a spoon unless you want to)
• Place on a baking sheet and into the freezer.
• Once frozen, place into a freezer bag.
• When you need to use one, pull out of the bag, heat up (I start with 30 seconds) and mash up.

Cost: $.45/avocado

Amount: 4 slices

When she was younger, I used 1 slice, now I use 2. So I'm paying $.22 for a meal!

Savings: Not comparable (doesn't come in a jar)

Baby Food Friday: Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes were Rilyn's first food and it has become my favorite and one of the easiest foods to prepare!

Sweet Potato Puree (I use two - four large sweet potatoes which lasts me 2-4 weeks depending upon how thin my puree is)
I know other people prepare it differently but I have found this to be the EASIEST because the peel comes right off!

• Wash sweet potatoes.
• Use a fork to poke holes all over the sweet potato.
• Run the potato under water again and IMMEDIATELY cover with foil.
• Put in a 425 degree preheated oven.
• I leave it in for 45-60 minutes.
• Pull it out when you can squeeze it and its mushy.
• The peel will come right off!
• Put chunks into a blender.  Add however much liquid you need (I start with 1/2 cup water) to get the consistency you desire. 
• OR I don't even use the blender anymore now that Rilyn is eating more "real" food.  It just takes longer to freeze.

My Cost: $.98/potato = $2.94

Amount: 48 oz

Baby Food Cost: $.98 / 4oz jar

Savings: $8.82!

Baby Food Friday

Welcome to Baby Food Friday! I've had several people ask me about how I make my own baby food, so I thought I would start talking about it here. Todays post is just about the basics and why I make my own, next Friday I'll start featuring a different food each week. A great resource is WholesomeBabyFood.com. Now that I have a few months experience, I have started doing things my own way or have learned easy tips.

Why Do I Make My Own?

• Saves me a lot of money!
• I know exactly what Rilyn is eating (no added preservatives unless I use canned -- but even then I'm choosey).

What Do You Need?

• Ice cube trays (my favorite is the white Rubbermaid from Walmart -- yes it makes a difference! I tried more of a round, deeper mold but the ice cubes wouldn't come out.)
• Blender or Food Processor (I prefer the blender)
• Freezer Ziplock Bags

Yes, making my own baby food is time consuming but it is SO WORTH IT. I've learned to just do one food at a time; otherwise I'll be using all of my freezer space and trays for the first food.

A Few Other Tips I've Learned

• If I introduce canned food first, that tends to be what she prefers, then she won't eat the food I made. So resist the urge to have them "try" the canned food first.
• How much you'll get out of the food will change as you move into more solid food. In the beginning, I watered down Rilyn's food a lot so I got more out of it. Now, I use just enough liquid to mix up the food so it doesn't go as far.

Advantages to Ice Cube Method

• Each cube is approximately 1+ ounces, allowing you to have an idea of the amount of food your baby is consuming.
• There is minimal waste as you use only 1 cube at a time and will not have to toss away much food; such as you toss away when using commercial foods.
• Another advantage is that you probably have ice cube trays on hand and will not need to go out and buy them.
  

Freezing and Storing

• Pureeing homemade baby food is very simple. Cook the food, let it cool a bit, toss it into a blender or food processor and puree away.
  
• Once blended, put into ice cube trays.
• Freeze (at first I thought there was freezer burn on my ice cubes, but it isn't...its just the water coming to the top and freezing).
• Label a freezer bag and pop all your ice cubes into the bag. Its that easy!