making food?

what are the pro/cons to it?
time? storage?
money save?

if you do make ... what do you use to do it?

Re: making food?

Pros- you have full control over what your child is consuming
Cons- it can be a lot of work

time- it takes awhile but you can do other things while its steaming and then its quick from there

I used the baby cuisinart and the baby beaba


i compared the two in a thread earlier this week

making food?

I'm assuming you mean baby food

I made it using things we already had. Steamed the veggies in a pot with a metal colander inside it or baked them, then put them in the blender to mush up. I then put them in BPA free ice cube trays and defrosted in the fridge the night before serving.

It was actually pretty easy and not that difficult at all (and I hate cooking). I was happy to know for sure what was in the baby food (no preservatives or other unknowns) and it saved a ton of money.

Figure a jar of baby food costs about a dollar or more ... well, a weeks worth of food is about $10. I could buy a lot of veggies for $10 ... much much more than a weeks' worth of food.

My only cons is that unless you make a lot of different things at once, you don't have as much variety.

Re: making food?

Mine:

Pros- Ain't nobody got time for that
Cons- Ain't nobody got time for that

making food?

the pro is that you do save money
but it takes a lot of time
i hoped to do it for dd (actually i hoped DH would do it for dd )
but there are so many fruits and veggies to try, we gave her each one for 4 days - thats a lot of time making it and finding space to store it.
she probably would not have tried everything if i made it myself

Message edited 11/19/2013 1:10:04 PM.

Re: making food?

The pro is that you have 100% control on what your child is eating.

I know the PP mentioned that its time consuming but I didn't think so. And this is coming from a FTWM who it almost never home. I cheated a little bit - I bought the organic mini peeled carrots and anything else I could find pre-chopped or pre-peeled. But like the sweet potatoes or the butternut squash - I would just throw them in the oven for an hour and then mash them when they cooled. I usually did it late night while I watched a TV show and then I would let it cool while I watched the news and then mashed afterwards.

I used the ninja or the magic bullet. I'm not sure I actually saved any money. Organic produce is not cheap. I stored the food in these little containers my mother found at the dollar store. They are 2 sizes - 1 is like 2 tbsp and the other is probably close to a 1/4 cup. I freeze them and take them out as needed.

Message edited 11/19/2013 1:43:58 PM.

making food?

I made and bought earths bests. I actually liked makin it although it was time consuming and pricey for the organic produce. Lo definitely liked the homemade better.

Re: making food?

Posted by NervousNell

Mine:

Pros- Ain't nobody got time for that
Cons- Ain't nobody got time for that

Re: making food?

Going to the store was just so much easier! DS is now on table foods. But I still keep jars b/c if we're eating something I don't want DS to have (spicy, for example) then he still gets a jar.

making food?

Making baby food is SO easy. I am a FTWM, I work in the city and am gone for 12 hours a day, and I can do it! I use a hand mixer to puree and make enough for 3 days. Takes like 10 minutes total between boiling the water and making the puree. I like to do it so that I know DD is getting fresh, nutritious food. I buy the jars and pouches for when we are out of the house, but when at home I only feed homemade. Also, it is a lot less expensive generally. Each jar/pouch is $1+ (I buy organic), and you can get a bag of carrots or peas for around $2-3 and have more than 2-3 servings.

Re: making food?

I used a baby bullet

Re: making food?

We didn't necessarily save money on it. But it was a good way to use our leftovers. I would throw them in the bullet and good for my baby.

making food?

I thought it was really easy but I did a mix so that DD could get plenty of variety and I could make the things that were easy for me to find and do on my own. Some things are way cheaper and other things are comparable or maybe even cheaper to buy. Like MrsRapz posted, I used what I had. Steamed on the stove or baked in the oven and then blended in the food processor or blender and froze in ice cube trays. The easiest for me was sweet potatoes and butternut squash (bake both at the same time and then puree and I had enough of each for over a month). Peas and green beans were even easier bc you can just buy the microwave steam bags (I always stocked up for $1 or less) and then blend. Applesauce I just bought the all natural adult jars and bananas and avocados you can just mash with a fork and thin out and you're done. I thought it was fun to do and there's no stress when you do a mix of made and bought, not to mention they're only on purees for a short period of time.

Re: making food?

I also want to add that it's not really cheaper to make your own. I always buy jars when they are on sale, and I always bought organic - either EB or Gerber organic. When you hit a good sale, just stock up. I'm a FTWM and I'd rather spend my free time playing with DS rather than making his food.

Re: making food?

We made food because for us it was just easier. I cook for DH and I all the time, so it just seemed natural that I would do it for my kids. And like everyone else said, it allowed me to know what my kids were eating, not just in terms of preservatives or stuff like that, but also in terms of introducing then to different foods/flavors/spices etc. I didn't think it was any significant amount of work (roast a billion sweet potatos, puree, freeze, done) and we just used our regular food processer, ice cube trays etc.

Re: making food?

Re: making food?

Re: making food?

Posted by cateyemm

Posted by statusquoscreenname

We made food because for us it was just easier. I cook for DH and I all the time, so it just seemed natural that I would do it for my kids. And like everyone else said, it allowed me to know what my kids were eating, not just in terms of preservatives or stuff like that, but also in terms of introducing then to different foods/flavors/spices etc. I didn't think it was any significant amount of work (roast a billion sweet potatos, puree, freeze, done) and we just used our regular food processer, ice cube trays etc.

and i still get to spend plenty of time with my kids!