When I had The Little Man I had no idea how much a baby costs. Since he was a surprise we had not done any of the financial research on what all we would be paying for. So when we found out I was pregnant, we really started to evaluate our finances and make plans for what would change after the bundle joined the family. We started to stock up on diapers, wipes, clothes, bibs, bedding, plus all the fun stuff you get to buy when expecting. But it wasn’t until he was here and started to eat us out of house and home that I realized we would never be able to afford another child that ate the way he did!
But isn’t it funny how when the time comes {aka, Mommy gets baby hungry} for another baby, all of those worries and memories go out the window. All I could think about was wanting another blessing in our family and all the snuggles and kisses that come with. Needless to say, I COMPLETELY forgot how much it was to feed a baby once they transitioned to solid foods. I have been lucky to still be nursing my now almost 6 month old so she already has saved us more than her brother. But she started on solids at 4 months to help her sleep thru the night, and the money started flowing.
So after analyzing our finances ONCE AGAIN {is it just me or do budgets change bi-weekly?} I realized that baby food was not in the budget. We just couldn’t make it happen. I looked back at the foods I fed The Little Man, and realized I was spending $.78 per jar, and he would eat 2-3 jars a day. And on a really hungry day, sometimes up to 5. Do you realize that is more than $70 a month just for your baby to eat?
I went to the store yesterday to check on prices, oh and more food ideas (I’ll touch on that below), and the cheapest stage 2 food I found at Walmart was $.50. Baby Girl Barker could easily eat 3 jars a day. So that would cost $45 a month.
OUCH…my pocket book doesn’t have that kinda spare change.
We decided to start making our own baby food. How hard could it be? I had no idea, actually, IT IS SO EASY!!
I can make 10 days worth of food (3 servings a day) and freeze it. It only involves about 20 minutes all together including prep time, mashing, and separating into servings.
I used a crock pot to make most of mine. But others I just steamed in the microwave using a Pampered Chef Micro-Cooker.
Whether you are cooking it in the microwave or in the crock pot, you will want to add about 1 inch of water so the food does not dry out and cooks evenly.
So far I have made:
Apples (16 servings for $2)
*Bananas (16 servings for $1.56)
Sweet Potatoes (32 servings for $.98)
Green Beans (16 servings for $1.32)
Peas (16 servings for $.50)
Carrots (16 servings for $.69)
*Blueberries (16 servings for $2)
*Peaches (16 servings for $2)
Cauliflower (16 servings for $.50)
That is 160 servings (53 days; 3 servings a day) for $11.55
*Items not cooked. Just brought to room temp., mashed, then frozen in servings
Every item except the peaches (bought frozen so there was no peal) and the bananas I left the peel/skin on. There are so many nutrients in it, and those little babies sure can use all those vitamins and other nutrients.
To make the Baby Food in Crock pot
Place the food in an even layer inside the crock pot and fill the bottom with approx. 1 inch of water (you could use juice for more flavor if you’d like). Replace lid and cook on low for about 3-4 hours. I did speed up some of the cooking by cooking on high! But make sure you are around to check on it. Every food cooks different, as well as each crock pot can cook differently as well.
Once the food is soft all the way thru (or soft fruits brought to room temp.) place into a bowl or blender, with NO liquids. Using a blender (I use a hand held blender like this one) simply puree the food until there are no chunks. The hardest part about this is to make sure the skin/peel gets completely pureed. Once all the food is pureed, slowly add in liquid, whether water or juice, until you reach the correct consistency for your baby. Make sure to do this slowly as it is hard to thicken it, if you make it too runny.
Once your food is complete, spoon it evenly into ice cube trays. Each cube counts as one serving, so it becomes very easy to thaw just one day’s food at a time. Place the ice cube tray into the freezer for about 2 hours. Once the food is solid you can then transfer it to a freezer bag or other air tight container. Make sure to label it with what it contains as well as the date.
In a standard freezer, you can keep this food for 4-5 months, and 8-9 months in a deep freezer!
This has been such a money saver for us, and Baby Girl Barker totally loves it! I feel great about feeding it to her because I know that it is fresh with no preservatives!
As she grows and starts eating more things, I will be able to take this standard technique and use it with other foods. Say we are having spaghetti for dinner, I will be able to puree our dinner and give it to her instead of buying stage 3+ foods. Just puree it less as they grow and get better at eating!
Tips:
Just a reminder as you are starting your child on new foods. Leave 4 days in between each new food you introduce. This leaves time for any symptoms to show up in case your child as an allergic reaction to one of their new foods.
While you are at the store, stop by the baby food aisle and check out their different combinations. I wouldn’t have thought of doing apples/blueberries, but they had those pre-made. So I came home and tried it, and Baby Girl Barker loved the combination! You never know what combinations you’ll find.
Take a serving out the night before and place into a bowl in the fridge to thaw. Or, place in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 25 seconds to thaw. Always make sure to test the foods temp before feeding your baby.
You are freaking awesome Van! I will be doing this!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 You really left the nana peel on? and it pureed all the way? Ok… I’ll do it too cuz I trust you! Love ya!
Amber, No I didn’t leave it on the Bananas. That and the peaches were the only thing that didn’t have skin. So I left it on everything else (sweet potatos, peas, apples, etc.) Let me know if you have any questions. Etzi will love it!
This is great!! I will pin this so I can come back to this later (when I have kids)!
Thanks for sharing this on the Take it on Tuesday blog hop!
I love the Crock Pot method! The only thing I’d suggest is reserving the cooking liquid. If the foods need thinning use the cooking liquids. A lot of nutrients are released into whatever liquid they are cooked in.