Saving Money on Baby food

I am not totally sure that I haven't mentioned this before, so if I have, I apologize. 

Making your own baby food is a GREAT way to save money.  It is as simple as that.  Making your own baby food is a TREMENDOUS way to save money if you are a crazy organic person like I try to be when it comes to baby food.  Because, in case you aren't aware, organic baby food is more expensive than your regular ol' baby food.

I can hear your objections starting now.  "It takes too long."  "It is too hard."  "I don't have everything I need to make my own baby food."  "I don't have babies."

Only one of those is a valid excuse to not make your own baby food and I am sure it is obvious which one it is!

The truth is, making baby food is remarkably simple, requires only a few kitchen tools, and doesn't take that much time.

For starters you will need either a steamer, microwave, oven or stove.  I am pretty sure if you didn't have a steamer you could cook your foods a different way, but I prefer a steamer to preserve as much nutrients as possible.  You will also need a blender, food mill or food processor.  Lastly, some ice cube trays and freezer bags for storage.  It is that simple.  No fancy kitchen utensils required.

I will not go into details on how to make baby food, but I will recommend the book Super Baby Food, which is a great resource on how to make puree's and other baby foods.    I will tell you that with only a little planning, making baby food takes little time.  And it is super cost effective.

Example: one jar of organic sweet potatoes is about $.79.  You can buy a whole sweet potato for $1.  That one sweet potato when steamed and turned into a puree the correct consistency for a baby will get you about 5 jars of sweet potatoes.  Pretty good deal.  The same is true of almost all fruits and vegetables.  The exceptions I have found so far are fruits like peaches, mangoes, and nectarines.  Vegetables are usually where you will get the most savings.

I encourage you to try making your own baby food.  It is healthier, easy, less expensive and in my case, makes me feel like a good mom.  I know that is weird, but something about putting effort into what my kids are eating helps me feel like I am doing a good job.  Happy pureeing!