Baby Food Haul

Mommylicious

Making baby food is the second most rewarding job as a mother - and it comes second only to breastfeeding. For all the six months I exclusively breastfed my son, I thought how easy feeding a baby was and how difficukt it would get once he starts solids. But when the time came to wean him to solid food I wanted to make my own baby food at home. I have already established in my other post that I am not a fan of jarred baby food. Handpicking fresh organic produce from the local supermarket and making my own baby food at home gives me a different high. It is inexpensive and saves you a ton on money in the long run. But that was not the motivating factor for me. Just wanting to take full control of what goes into my son's food made me go this route. 

I usually shop at Trader Joe's or Sprouts or Whole Foods for my baby food. All these 3 stores are pretty equidistant from my house. When my son first started solids and was having just a couple of types of veggies and fruits I would prefer Trader Joe's. It was convinient because I shop there for our food anyway. But as my son started exploring the world of fruits and veggies and started having a variety daily, I switched to Whole Foods. I do go to Sprouts now and then but Whole Foods is where I end up going the most. I was never such a frequent shopper at Whole Foods Market up untill now. And that is solely because of the variety of food available. I am impressed by their stock.

Typically I shop for my son's food twice a month. I pick out a variety of fruits and vegetables along with meats and dairy. I try to buy a mix of greens, orange or yellow vegetables. For the fruits I just get whatever is in season and looks fresh to me. 

Vegetables:

• Broccoli
• Green Beans
• Carrots
• Butternut Squash
• Summer Squash

 

Fruits:

• Peaches
• Apricots
• Apples
• Pears
• Blueberries

Dairy:

• Yobaby Plain Whole Milk Yogurt

My son is 8 months old now and he is having yogurt, eggs and chicken. I do not prefer getting flavored yogurts as I don't want unnecessary added sugar. I just get plain whole milk yogurt and add my choice of fruit puree to it. 

I get the organic brown cage free eggs and organic chicken breasts. I already got them last week and did not need to stock up anymore.

I also picked up some strawberries and mango from Trader Joe's while I was there.

My son is naturally inclined towards fruits and is not too fond of the veggies. But I give him two types of fruits and one green and one orange/yellow veggie everyday with cereals. 

I use the Baby Bullet for making all the food and it is a life saver. Food gets ready in no time at all and saves a ton of money in the long run. Each fruit or vegetable makes about 5 to 6 days worth of baby food. 

               Peach Puree                      Strawberry Puree

                   




          Blueberry Puree                         Summer Squash Puree


I spent a total of $37.67 on all these foods. My freezer is packed with food cubes and from what I have calculated I have about 16 days worth of baby food or 64 meals. And just to give you some perspective my son is currently on a 3 meal + a snack routine now. So, it boils down to 58 cents per meal (only!!), even when I have all organic produce. Really, can it get cheaper (and healthier) than that? 

If you know more about starting solids for your little one, check this out.