Thursday, August 4, 2011

DIY Baby Food (as seen on Patch.com)

Processed foods. They  and have a list of ingredients that you can’t even pronounce half the time. Making your own baby food isn’t a new idea. My Mom had a hand grinder that she used for that purpose and of course technology has come into play now-a-days with fancy contraptions to grind, puree and store what my Mom made by hand and froze in an ice cube tray back in the dark ages for me.

When my son was born I started making his food but not to be healthy or save money. I started making it because I tasted his food and aside from some of the fruits and desserts I couldn’t stomach them.

Over time I realized that making his food did save money and I felt better knowing what he was actually eating. I still remember one of the popular makers of baby food being in the lime light because their apple juice was mostly sugar water. While I still bought juices for him at least I knew that his foods were all healthy and natural. 

During Farmer’s Market season which is typically May through November, you can take advantage of local fruits and vegetables for this purpose. The Macungie Farmer’s Market runs Thursdays, Bethlehem has a Farmer’s Market on Tuesday’s at the Steelstacks, Emmaus’ Market is on Sunday’s and Allentown’s Farmer’s Market is year round and is open Thursdays through Saturdays. These are just a few of the area markets that you can check out for the freshest produce for your family. Of course you can also save time by picking up necessities at the grocery store. Wegmans gets some of their produce from local farms.
Remember to follow the Four Day Wait Rule when introducing anything new just in case there is a reaction. My little guy has an allergy to strawberries that took a few weeks to figure out but thankfully it’s very minor and he can still enjoy them as a healthy treat. The Dr. Sears website also recommends avoiding adding salt and sugar to baby’s food. They recommend trying a bit of lemon juice as both a preservative and a natural flavor enhancer.
When preparing baby’s food wash and cook the vegetables and fruits that need to be softened so that you can easily puree them. Babycenter.com recommends baking, boiling or steaming the produce until it’s soft and if you boil it save some of the leftover liquid to use when mashing to food.
Any grains can be ground in a food mill or food processor. I read on the Duggar’s website how their daughter-in-law Anna makes her own brown rice baby cereal by grinding rice, adding boiling water and cooking it for 10 minutes. Yet again, a healthy and less expensive alternative to what’s labeled as baby food and with as many babies as there are and have been in the Duggar family they not only know how to feed but how to save.
Whether you use a hand-turned food mill, baby food grinder, hand blender, food processor or a fork making your own baby food puts you in control of what your baby eats while saving a little on the wallet.
(This is an edited version of this story. For the full story and all the details on making your own baby food - check out my most recent article for my Frugal Family column: Baby your Savings on SouthWhitehall.Patch.com.)

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