I saw Hallie's post on Facebook about how she made her own baby food and I wanted to know more! I have never been a huge baby food fan and think most of them tasted nasty and then one blew up in my face once and burnt me! Thank heavens for an amazing neighbor that brought me some burn cream fast! (yes I need to work on my medicine cabinet!) Needless to say I stopped buying baby food after that and stuck with pouches (which are super expensive as well). When I saw her photos I instantly wanted to know more! I asked her to share all her steps and secrets and she makes it sound so simple and so EASY! She is super cute; we went to the same High School and has a such a super cute little family! This is a must read for sure and I am definitely going to do this for my next baby (check back in a couple of years on that one)!!!
My name is Hallie Stokes.
I was born and raised in the Burley, Idaho area. I graduated from Raft River High School in
2006 and then went on to graduate from the College of Southern Idaho in 2010 with
my associate degree in Nursing. I
married Brandon Stokes in March of 2010 and we have been blessed with 2
beautiful children (Graham age 2 and Paetyn age 5 months). I enjoy crafting and being a mom! I also work
at the St. Luke’s Magic Valley 2 nights a week.
I was honored when asked if I would write about my
experience in making my own baby food. I
wanted to make my own baby food for a couple of reasons:
1.
I know exactly what I am feeding my baby
2.
It is healthier for them
3.
There is more variety than feeding from store
bought baby food
4.
In hopes that she won’t be a picky eater like my
son (lol)
5.
It is very inexpensive to make
I did a lot of research before I started making my baby
food. The website that I found most helpful was: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/. This websites has many recipes, gives you a
guideline on when you should introduce certain foods and tells you how to make
baby food.
The first thing I did was I bought some OXO Tot Baby Food
Freezer Trays. I bought mine on Amazon for $2.99 each. I chose this kind
because it has a lid (but the lid does not seal completely, which is
okay). The OXO Tot trays are made only
to freeze baby food and then to transfer the baby food to something else. I also freeze my breast milk in the trays and
then transfer to a zip lock bag. The next thing I did was go to the store and
buy fruits and veggies that could be made into baby food. The great thing about
making your own baby food is you can use just about any fruit or veggie for
homemade baby food.
There are a couple of different ways to prepare your baby
food. You can steam them, bake them and
sometimes microwave them. I chose to
bake most of my food. (There are a
couple of things that you don’t need to do anything to except puree them like: Avocados,
Bananas and Kiwis). If you choose to
bake your baby food, you cut them in half and place in a glass dish with water
on the bottom of the pan and bake until it is soft. Once your baby food is done cooking then you
let it cool so it is not hot to the touch and then spoon out the meat into a
blender/food processor (I use a food processor). You puree your food until it is the texture
you like. If it is thick then you can add water to help it thin out (I use
breast milk to thin out things that are too thick for my liking). I have learned that most things don’t need to
be thinned out. After you have pureed
your food you put it in your Freezer tray and freeze it over night and take it
out in the morning and place in a zip lock bag.
If you leave your baby food in the trays they will start to get freezer
burn in about 5 days.
I have made baby food for my daughter to last her at least
5-6 months and I have spent less than $25. I have made Avocado, Peaches,
Bananas, Pears, Plums, Sweet potatoes, Squash, Apples, Carrots, Peas, and Kiwi.
My daughter has tried Avocados, Squash
and Bananas and she has loved them all so far! Remember when feeding you baby
food to introduce one at a time so in case they develop a reaction you can pin
point which food they are allergic to.
Making baby food is very easy and very inexpensive. It
doesn’t take very long and it is super healthy for you little ones. If you have any questions about making your
own baby food I would refer to: http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
Thanks for listening to my story, and Happy baby food
making! J
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