[Staceyhsmom1]

I just started. I rec'd a baby food processor(any would do or a food grinder or mill) as a shower gift. My first attempt was with canned peaches, easy, dd loved them. But I finally made it to the store and pureed fresh soft peaches, what a difference!!! So much more yummier. I kept the skins on. I also picked up cheap candy molds to freeze the extra, they were a dollar for a tray of 12 tbls size squares.

Today I also toasted some short grain brown rice and stored it. (Directions I found in nov/dec '98 mothering issue) I plan on grinding some in a coffee bean grinder tomorrow and trying this first cereal.

I do have a question about pureeing/mashing fresh fruits...if I plan to use them in a day or two and kept them in the fridge, so I need to add anything or just don't worry about the color change, like apples turning brown. (I hate to waste food, so I am not taking a new apple to do this, for ex. my son will eat half an apple so I take the rest and puree for dd but it's too much for her for one sitting)

 

[remynyc]

i didn't vote because i haven't gone back to work yet, but when i do, i plan to still make my baby's food. we'll see . . .

 

[Evergreen]

I use a blender. I only work p/t, though, and its at night. I've gotten good at preparing it while holding baby girl, today I even snapped peas with her on my hip!

 

[Alenushka]

I just blende wahtever it is we were eating ourselve. Gerber tatstes horriable. For travel we used Earth Best.
Blneding takes 2 minutes, and, because baby ate what we ate, he is a verya dventours eater now

 

[Ivanhoe]

We started solids late (9 months) so I just gave him a piece of our food and he enjoyed himself! I believe it's because of that that he eats so well at 27 months.
I wouldn't eat pureed *food* from a can or jar, why should my babe eat that? If you don't find time to make baby food, just skip that stage and keep breastfeeding exclusively until he's ready to eat table food. In the meantime, fruits, bread, avocado are foods that don't involve cooking and you can offer to him.

 

[Mere]

I made baby food exactly twice, and in the end I had to throw tons away! It's amazing how many ice cubes of baby food one zucchini will make..I got a little carried away! Anyhow, it was so easy to make, and even easier to send to daycare. Just pop an ice cube of baby food into one of those little tupperware containers (a perfect fit) and you're off.

I also did a lot of avocados and other mashable foods. For the next 'stage' I cubed up things like beets and sweet potatoes, froze them, and stored them in a big ziploc bag. Once again, it was very easy to send that stuff to daycare.

 

[Leslie]

I'm making foods for my 8 month old, with the exception of cereal. It's actually very easy, takes little time, and tastes so much better. Bananas are an obvious choice, mashed avocado is a great baby food (try a tiny bit of lemon or lime juice for taste and to keep it green--my DD likes the taste!). Butternut squash and sweet potatoes are really easy to bake or microwave, same with white potato (minus the skin--add a little breast milk and called it mashed! They don't keep well, though). Right now we're into steamed broccoli and sweet corn. Everything goes into the baby food grinder if it won't mash with a fork. Applesauce is easy and keeps well. The organic baby food is ok and I've used it when we're traveling, but any jarred food is expensive. When I do buy it I read the labels carefully--buy only the "all fruit" or "all veggie" kinds--no wheat products added, no fillers, sugar, fruit juice, etc.

If you're feeding dairy you can also try unsweetened organic yogurt then add your own fruit.

We just cut that first tooth 2 days ago and she's anxious to use it on whatever we're eating. It's saving me a ton of money, I know it tastes better and we don't have to worry about having nothing for dinner!

 

[MissMisha]

Tell your MIL she is all wet. Like others, I went out and got a mini-Cuisinart and it works like a charm for nightly meals. I use the big Cuisinart once a week to make big batches of fruit to freeze.

Unlike others, I use the small "disposable" containers for freezing. They hold four ounces perfectly. That is about 2-3 ice cubes and baby eats that at one sitting.

BTW, does anyone have any good ideas to keep bananas from turning brown? Don't want to use citrus as baby is 6.5 months and want to hold off on that until he is at least one year.

 

[Luca24]

I guess I'm the sole person who voted "no." When I was pregnant, I thought I would make my own baby food at least some of the time, but in reality I only tried once. It took a long time and dd refused to eat any of it. Actually, she hated pured food. I bought her organic baby food without added sugar and preservatives, so I felt good about what I was offering her, but she just didn't like the texture I guess. I think I bought a grand total of 15 jars of baby food, many of which are still in my cupboard. She ate EBM for a long time until she could start chewing and then basically just has what we have. It would have been a huge waste of time for us to make our own baby food.

Which brands did you buy? Which are the best?