Baby Food

My friends who know me at all, know how cheap (I prefer the word "frugal") I am. Jack started eating baby food about a month ago. I was very lax about it, since he was a preemie and behind developmentally. I didn't want to push it on him if he wasn't ready, but at the same time, I would like my breasts back eventually. He likes it, but I don't know how much he actually ingests and digests.

So, I am cheap. Super cheapo. I have the disease "If it wasn't free, I paid too much." I am always looking for a deal. Hence, all the furniture in my house is cheap crap. Maybe that has to do more with having kids, but I hate spending money. So I make baby food.

This started out of necessity when Grace was born and not having any money. I would buy a bag of frozen veggies on sale for $1, mash them in my baby food grinder, and freeze the food for future use. So now veggies are about $1.75 a bag. With one bag I can get about 8 jars of food. At the grocery store, 8 jars is about $4.50 if you are lucky. And this adds up. Right now he eats 1/3 jar a day, but that will go up and up to about 3 jars a day. That is a $1.70 savings each and every day.

So all you do is cook whatever food you want to make, so it is over-cooked, nice and mushy. If you have a babyfood grinder like I do, you grind away. If not, a food processor or blender works well, but are big containers so there is a lot of scraping. Then you use old baby food jars (from things you can't make at home like bananas, prunes, peas) and fill them about 2/3 full. Label them, with tape or marker, then freeze. Viola! You have home-made, healthy, cheap babyfood.

OK - don't try peas. I have tried it and it's very hard because you have to practially skin each pea to get the mushy stuff inside. It takes time, and is frustrating. It will clog your baby food grinder. Also, bananas don't save well. Use fresh or buy it. The best things to make are: carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, apples, pears). Do NOT try: peas, broccoli, bananas, strawberries.

I still don't have any money, but if I did, I think I would still make my own food. You know what is in it, it's very easy and the babies like it. Viola!