Homemade Baby Food

I just got done making a huge batch of homemade baby food!! I love doing this. I received the Baby Bullet and Baby Bullet Turbo Steamer as a baby shower gift and they both work so well. Today I made new foods for the boys; squash, peas, and broccoli, as well as their all-time favorite, sweet potatoes. I also made a tray of carrot (which I made in my first batch last month but they haven't tried it yet).I am not a "judger" of anyone who chooses to use jarred baby food (I actually bought 60 Plum Organic pouches when they were on sale last week to use when we are on vacation or on-the-go) but have you ever tried jarred baby food? It is NASTY! I try everything first, before my children eat/drink it and I had a few jars that a friend gave me so I decided to use those up before they expired. Needless to say, they went in the trash. They have absolutely NO flavor and the squash tastes like green beans that taste like carrots. Yuck! Homemade baby food has such robust flavors and I am hoping that it will give the boys a bigger introduction to different tastes and smells. Something else that I love about making my own, is that I can control the texture and thickness. Currently, their food is pureed quite well but once they get older, I can blend it less and make it chunkier.Making your own food is also much cheaper. For instance, I bought two sweet potatoes for $2 and it yielded 16 servings!!

Now I do realize that I am a stay-at-home mom and have the "luxury" of time (such as naps during the day, and after bed) to be able to do this and it may be a bit harder for a working momma but just set an hour or two aside each Sunday and do a big batch that will last a couple of weeks! I divide everything into ice cube trays, freeze it, and then pop them into their designated bags. I just take a couple out when it's time for a meal! This also allows for easy mixing of flavors too, such as a cube of carrot and a cube of broccoli!

This was from the first batch I ever made. Carrots, avocado, sweet potatoes, and green beans (not pictured)

28 servings of food for $6.72! 

Also, I would like to add that I like the idea of Baby Led Weaning.If you don't know what this is, basically (in a nutshell), you never give your baby pureed food, just start right from the beginning with small cut up pieces of food that you would have pureed (sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, etc). In another month or so, once the boys really grasp the concept of picking food up off their tray, we will slowly add this technique into their daily routine as well. As it stands now, I let them try whatever food I may be eating. They love to watch me eat so I just break small pieces off for them. This keeps them busy and preoccupied so I can eat my food and also introduces them to different textures and flavors! Regardless of how, or what, any of us feed our babies, we do what works best for our family and we are all awesome Mommas!! :-) Have a great day!