Making Baby Food - first foods

Don't be scared of making your own baby food. It is so simple. You can also start with baby steps. The first food your baby usually eats is rice cereal. Go ahead and buy a box of that. I'm not hard core enough to make it myself, although making your own oatmeal is easy when it is time (just put quick cook oatmeal in a blender and blend until it's a fine powder).

With our first child I made batches of food with blender and an ice cube tray. For my second two children I only used the freezer/ice cube method if I had a bunch of overripe bananas or avocado that I couldn't use in time. If you don't want to commit to making bulk batches just pick up a Baby food mill and have baby eat what you eat (or simple fruits and veggies if they are younger).

For beginning eaters rice cereal, bananas, avocado, and sweet potatoes are recommended. All easy to do for each meal with no commitment.

Banana: when ripe - cut the banana (peel still attached) into about 1 inch sections and store them in a container in the refrigerator. These are perfect for little meals. Put a peeled section in the food mill for perfectly mushed meal that costs barely anything.

Bananas won't get any riper once they are refrigerated so one they are at the perfect ripeness throw them in the fridge. The peels will get brown but the fruit will be unaffected.

Avocado: Cut the top off. Scoop the flesh of the top into the food mill. Store the rest still with skin and seed intact. Each time you need some scoop a little out. The avocado won't brown much this way and it's easy to scoop out small portions.

Sweet potato: cook it (I usually bake it or microwave with the skin on. When cool cut a slice off, discard peel, and puree in food mill.

When baby gets older you get to be a little more creative and baby can usually eat what you are eating (pureed or small bits). Tonight I steamed cauliflower for us (1/2 cauli, 1/2 potatoes for my mashed potatoes) and will feed little chunks to baby. You must make sure that the food is soft enough and small enough - but I think you can handle that!

Cheap. Easy. Really.

I love the book Super Baby Food - it gives you step by step and lots of advice. See more about it HERE.

Visit Tonya at Small Town Louisiana Girl for more frugal tips at Penny Pinching Tuesday. Or Check out more Works For Me Wednesday ideas at We Are That Family.