Where do you think is the most economical store to buy baby food? The supermarket usually isn't the best. Most of my friends with babies say Babies 'R Us. I thought Costco sold baby food but they don't. Although I heard BJ's might sell it.
Also is making baby food very time-consuming? Do you need a food processor? Thank you!
Hi A. --
I made all my kids food. It was so simple. Just took whatever we were having and put it into the blender with a little bit of filtered water. I even froze some of it to reheat on days when we went to visit friends and family.
Aside from the money savings (making you own saves big bucks), I loved that I could give my kids foods that had no added sugars, thickeners, etc.
Best of health,
S.
BJ's does sell baby food and it is by far the least expensive place to buy it- unless you have a great store coupon and a sale!
We found Target to be the cheapest for almost all our baby needs, food included. They also just started making their own brand snacks and food. My kids arent eating them at this time but they are probably worth checkingout.
yes, food processor. if you have time for you, then you should have time to also make food for baby
Target & Walmart definitely have the best prices on baby food. Babies R Us is overpriced!!!
I agree--making it yourself is the best option. You can just use a blender to puree lots of cooked veggies etc. You can buy special blenders etc but a regular blender or a foley food mill (hand cranked--I think I saw one at Wal-Mark) will work just fine. I made severl days worth of food at once to save time and it worked well. You can even freeze single portions for busy days.
You only really need purees for a few months (bought or made). I did buy jars of food for the few months (6-8). By around 9 months she started picking up small bits of food and feeding herself. Now at 12 months she has 7 teeth and eats mostly table food in tiny pieces. She loves peas and corn. I just don't give her hard foods like raw veggies.
making it is sooooo easy & cheap......buy a cheap mini food processor about $25 at target, walmart.......buy a bag of frozen veggies, buy 2 ice trays & freezer bags (gallon size).....cook the bag of frozen veggies then pour into the processor, put some water in it, blend & pour water as needed to get a good consistency......pour mixture into ice tray, freeze....after they freeze take them out of ice tray & place in freezer bags & use as needed.....it takes about 5 minutes to make this......a bag of frozen veggies is $1.39 & one cube is a meal depending on how old your baby is.......also for avocado or bananas i used ripe ones & scraped them with a spoon & put in a bowl & mixed formula/breastmilk with it & fed it to my kids........if you need any more ideas send me a message
BJ's definitely sells it - at least, the one I go to in NJ does. However, I made almost all my 1st baby's food, and plan to do the same with my 2nd child, due in 3 weeks. I did not find it all too time-consuming, and WELL WORTH the savings, not to mention the flavor and nutritional value of the food is significantly better when made fresh. I have no doubt that is why my daughter is so good at eating vegetables and fruit. You don't necessary need a food processor, but you do need something that purees - I have a blender with a puree function.
I agree that making food is easy and not only that, it seems impressive to anyone who has never done it (once you've done it you realize it is easier than buying). I used a hand (stick) blender, the tupperware covered ice cube trays, and eventually the little cube trays you can find at buy buy baby or babies r us. These are small 2-4 oz plastic containers that hold a single serving of food. The little cubes are great if you are out, because otherwise carrying and defrosting homemade food is a pain, even if you have a few jars to put it in. If you are traveling, you take the little container out of the freezer, and let it defrost slowly until you are ready to feed baby! applesauce with a little oatmeal sprinkled on top was a quick winner.
A.,
Congratulations? Not sure if you are pregnant or expecting a new adoption, but if you can breastfeed for the first year at least (World Health Organization says a minimum of 2 years believe it or not!) that is the best thing your baby can have.
Long run - add the time to go to the store, pick out what you want, wait in line, pay for it and travel home.
Then purchase a blender that goes to puree if you don't already have one, use fresh vegetables, stay away from grains, and if you are breastfeeding, hold off as long as you can. You can have the food pureed in less than 10 minutes and the blender rinsed for the next food(s) in far less time than it takes to go to the store.
THe first year, you don't really need recipes. Single vegetables introduced one at a time for 3 days each are the best thing for determining allergy (and don't go by whether you or DH have allergies). Meats are a good intro at a year unless you stop breastfeeding. Same with Milk, and Eggs at 2 years, Peanut butter at 3 years.
So much more, email if you have more questions,
Good luck,
M.
Hi A., I made my son almost all the purees he ate without any electric tools. I enjoy cooking so for me it was simple. I steamed veggies like butternut squash and yams and then mashed them up by hand. I also made fruits (banana is easy because you don't have to cook it) but I had no trouble peeling apples and making a quick apple sauce (works with pears too) and if you want you can contact me for recipes.
whole foods sells earth's best in packages for $10. I think it's a case of 12 jars. which is cheaper than buying the jars individually. they come in sets like "fruits", "veggies" & "dinner"
I used to buy the baby food at walmart, definitely a little cheaper than the supermarket!
I made baby food and I didn't find it to be that time consuming. I used a blender.
One early food I gave my kids is sweet potato and you just put it in the oven for an hour. Then it is so soft that it easily separates from its skin and you toss it in the blender to purée. Then freeze the extra sweet potato in an ice cube tray - when its frozen, pop the cubes out and wrap each one in a little bit of plastic wrap and put all of them in a freezer bag labeled "sweet potato" with the date. Once you make and freeze enough vegetable and fruit purees, then babies' meal is as simple as pulling out a cube from the freezer and thawing it (I usually did use the microwave, I was just careful about checking for hot spots before feeding). I did buy baby food occasionally and certainly for traveling, but I loved giving my little one whole foods the majority of the time.
Making baby food is very easy and economical. You don't really need a food processor, you can use a hand mixer, or potato masher, or a blender or the back of a spoon to mash to steamed or boiled vegetables and/or fruit to get it to a smooth and creamy consistency. The internet has a load of easy recipes. I like it because you know exactly what is in the food, monitor portions and store and save it too while knowing there is no preservatives and additives in your baby's food.
my baby is 8 months old and I have been mostly making his food. Its very easy. First off a ripe banana or avocado is a great meal. I buy all organic for him and when I do need baby food in a jar when I am in a rush I use Earths best. I also use their cereal or Happy Bellies otamel or mixed grain. It may not be the most econmical but its better for your little babies system to have food without fertilizers & chemilcals prossesed in it.
You can get sweet pototoe and make that. Bake or steam. My blender is too big so I bought an electric food mill blender for about $30 on diapers . com ...if you order over $50 its free shipping. You can also make your own (organic) otameal or barley and once cooked blend that cereal up...it has good fiber for them. We are on a budget in my house but organic food is a must for my baby. Also -- try organic frozen peas and steam & blend or get the jar. There are many different flavors in the jars if you are short on time.
I made my own food too, but had jarred food on hand for emergencies. If you buy, I think Target has the best prices for Earth's Best. I just used the food processor from our wedding and steamed in a steamer basket I bought for about $10 at Bed bath and beyond. Stick it in a pot, add a little water, put the veggies in, close and let it simmer until the veggies are soft. Avocado is the favorite of ours, and don't worry if the top gets a little brown when you store it in the fridge. It's still okay. And yes! Banana! When my daughter got 8 teeth, I started dicing or mincing and mixing them with scrambled eggs and cheese. She loves it!
We did baby led introduction to solids: http://www.tribalbaby.org/babyLedEating.html
which worked great for us. Usually we didn't bother with purees (except for things that are supposed to be pureed ;) or mashing up any foods or anything like that, but if my daughter found something difficult to chew, we would mash it with a fork or cut it up into smaller pieces.
Depending on how you cook your food, you may be able to get away with a fork/spoon/potato masher or mortar and pestle. Stick blenders are good for making small amounts of pureed food; blenders or food processors for larger amounts. If you have a normally healthy menu for yourself though, you can just mash up whatever is on your plate to give to your baby to save tons of extra prep :D When cooking spicy or heavily flavored food, pull a bit out before you put all the seasoning in. (For example, even though my daughter has ALWAYS loved spicy Indian Curry, I will pull a selection of veggies after they are cooked and before I add the spices, so that she has the option of choosing between the spicy and bland veggies.)
making your own is easy, cheap, and healthy, you cant beat it. frozen veggies are healthy and cheap, most supermarkets even have their own generic brand of organic, so does bj's. just steam them and puree them, a little pulser for $30 from kitchen aid is all you need, leave it on the counter and you will find yourself using it for everything. most fruits you dont even need to steam, just chop and throw it in, skin and all. add some water if you need to. banana, natures perfect food, all you need is a fork to mash it. avocado too. sweet potato, squash, all so healthy and so easy, just bake and mash, you can even nuke them in a pinch, and soooo healthy. make big batches and freeze, or throw in a handful of whatever you are making for the rest of the family. use ice cube trays or little tupperware/rubbermaid containers (just dont nuke in the plastic). its the way to go, and you will be more likely to always have it on hand. not to mention the tons of plastic you will avoid. i have 3 kids, i have never bought one jar of baby food. its not the big deal people make it out to be. going out, grab a banana and a fork. with a little practice, all you need is a banana and a spoon, i used to feed them right from the banana with the spoon, just mush it up inside the skin a little at a time, then spoon out, its nicely packaged and you dont even need a dish.
