Whew this past few weeks has been an emotional and physical whirlwind for me. <--- More on that later. But I have been DRAIIINNNEDDDD, the long over exaggeration is completely necessary to let you know exactly how much! And so I really wanted to make sure I stayed on track with Penelope's homemade foods since I haven't felt like being chef boyardee in the kitchen 24/7.
After getting a little creative I realized I was putting WAY too much thought and time into making foods specifically for her. Now before you write me off as sounding like a horrible parent for saying that let me explain.
She still gets the quality and the nutrients but I've just found easier ways to incorporate that. So now I feel confident in saying that making your own baby food is obviously cheaper but much easier then I'm sure you would think. Here's a couple really quick ways to make food for the muncho if your out of time, out of food, or just feeling lazy that day. And if you feel like being chef boyardee some days for your peanut more power to you! Personally I've found after preparing a whole pot of some fancy six ingredient, two hour long homemade recipe...of course she doesn't like it. So take note.
1. MAKE THEM AN EDIBLE VERSION OF YOUR FOOD:
This obviously works better for some foods then others. What I love to do this with is soup. I tend to cook something brothy once a week. It serves a lot of people, it tastes better the longer you have it, and it's super easy and affordable. So I like to do this with homemade stews with tons of veggies and some meat. I'll add in some brown rice (we always have rice here, I'm asian lol) and blend a bit. Also chili would be great. Now when you get into more solids like spaghetti, enchiladas etc. I still feel like this is doable but just process it up with a little bit of water to make it more of a mash. Still haven't tried that yet though. I'm actually trying it tonight with some pesto pasta. To all, I'll add a cube of pure vegetable that I've already frozen like peas, green beans, kale.
2. FINGER FOODS
I started Penelope on purees at 5 months but then started adding in finger foods at 7 months. I got a little freaked out at first since she didn't know how to swallow yet she gagged the first few days. But after talking to other moms that's a normal reaction as they are learning. Big chunks of watermelon, sweet potatoes, tofu, strawberry...anything soft she's eaten. She loves the independence of it and I love that I can just hand her a chunk of something.
3. QUICK ONE INGREDIENT PUREE
So if you don't have a steamer or if you have a massive tri-level clean up nightmare steamer like moi, this is a great go to as well. Buy bags of organic frozen veggies - the biggest range I've seen has been Whole Foods but Safeway is great too. They are more expensive then regular bags but you pay for quality....and no pesticides in your little ones body. Pop them in the microwave for two minutes, add some water into your blender and magically you have a mass amount of veggies to serve. Canned organic vegetables are cheaper but there is salt added so be careful there.
4. EASY MASH
As for Penelope's fruits I do a ton of manual mashing that takes like a minute. Her favorite right now is strawberry and bananas which I just mash with a fork. Mangos, grapes, pluots, cherries, blueberries. Pretty much anything. If there is a skin I do remove that so she can't choke on it.
This is all food we have on hand and use ourselves. With the frozen bags there is leftovers a lot which I'll throw into a recipe for the night. So keeping the cost down is really great but also, I love knowing EXACTLY what is going into her belly. Do you make homemade food? Tell me some tips or recipes your little one loves.
A satisfied customer after a food expedition. <3
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