Step 1: Kitchen
The primary attribute of baby-food is its consistency, so the main thing that you need is something that will reduce the food to its most liquid and smoothest point.
There are mechanisms that will allow you to cook, blend, etc. all in one container and they will espouse the virtues of being able to do it together, but there is nothing to stop you from doing the same thing with what you likely already have in your kitchen, such as a small handy chopper or even your blender, and it can save you hundreds of dollars.
Making your baby's food will require some planning ahead to limit stress at meal time. I recommend cooking in large batches, as that meals prep is merely defrosting and mixing. Cooking in batches also allows food to be prepared in the oven, which gives certain foods a much richer taste and makes other foods much easier to liquefy.
Some great items to bake in batches are green beans, butternut squash, and sweet potato (see our recipes). Once they have baked, you need to puree and freeze them immediately, so after baking, simply place the food in a food processor or blender with water or, better yet, the liquid in which they were cooked, if applicable, and blend to the desired consistency. By using the stock, no nutrients lost in cooking are actually lost, making the meal that much healthier and tastier.
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Chef Buddy Ice Cube Trays This polypropylene ice cube tray set comes with lids to make freezing easier. |
Freezing is as simple as pouring the puree into ice cube trays. I covered the trays with wax paper but other things would work, too. If you are concerned about ice cubes trays containing BPA, stainless steel or BPA-free trays are available.
Once frozen, I put the cubes into baggies labeled with the date and name of the food, as pureed foods start to look alike. Those bags would go into larger bags; one was for green vegetables and the other orange/yellow vegetables. Fruits, which I tended to use more at breakfast were stored in another bag. This system allowed me to quickly reference my inventory of a given color of vegetable so that I never ran out. It also was a good reminder to pull from both bags to ensure that my son got a variety of colors in his diet.
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Black & Decker 1-1/2-Cup One-Touch Electric Chopper |
For daily meal prep, I used a one cup "handy chopper" that retails for as little as $15. The small chopper was great because it could reduce most anything to the desired consistency and then with a twist, serve as a bowl. It was also dishwasher safe, which is a must for any baby item.
that retails for as little as $15. The small chopper was great because it could reduce most anything to the desired consistency and then with a twist, serve as a bowl. It was also dishwasher safe, which is a must for any baby item.
Step 2: Food
To state the obvious, organic food is expensive, and some deem unnecessary. You have to choose what works for you ad your pocketbook.
One great way to help prioritize is the Environmental Working Groups “Dirty Dozen” and "Clean Fifteen;" the lists are produced annually and available as an app for shopping convenience. These lists rank the foods that contain the highest level of pesticide residue on the part of the fruit or vegetable that is actually consumed.
The “Dirty Dozen” does not factor in antibiotics or hormones, which is the reason that I created a "Must Buy Organic" list for an infant or toddler’s diet. It is estimated by opting organic on just the “Dirty
Dozen” that a person consuming the recommended daily servings of five fruits and vegetables per day could reduce their pesticide intake by up to 80%.
The “Dirty Dozen” does not factor in antibiotics or hormones, which is the reason that I created a "Must Buy Organic" list for an infant or toddler’s diet. It is estimated by opting organic on just the “Dirty
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| Though low-tech, it is a great reference for what you need and how to buy it. |
Farmers markets are a tremendous option for both organic and locally grown foods, but Costco works well also. To make organic more affordable, try the store's brand. Perhaps the best savings tip is to know what does not need to be organic, such as asparagus, avocado, corn (though most corn is genetically modified), kiwi, mangoes, onions, pineapples, sweet peas, oranges, grapefruit, and watermelons.
Bananas, a staple for many children, appear on both clean and dirty lists, depending upon who you ask, due to bananas being contained in an inedible peel that is porous. As my son eats a banana daily, I treat the banana like other foods he consumes daily (e.g. milk, yogurt, grains): I buy organic whenever I can but do not lose sleep when organic is not an option.
What can make organic food even more expensive is that it has a shorter life-span than the same food treated with chemicals. So as not to waste money, buy only what you plan to cook and freeze or can consume during the safe-life span of the food. To extend the horizon on the food going bad, consider fruits that have not yet completely ripened.
In reality, you will not buy fresh food exclusively, if for no other reason than peanut butter is too convenient, yogurt is easier bought than made, and sometimes, we all just need to indulge. In the case of yogurt and peanut butter, which can be healthy staples of a child’s diet, you need to know how to read a label and ingredient information to make an informed choice about what your child is consuming, as there are differences between products. As for the indulgence, it tastes better if you are uninformed so just enjoy the treat!
Step 3: Prep
Nutrients in foods are lost when food is exposed to heat, air, light, and water. Thus, finely chopping a vegetable and then cooking it until soft destroys nutrients, but the consumer of your food is going to need it cooked until there are no hard spots and pureed until it is unrecognizable, so applaud yourself for feeding your child healthy fresh foods and be done.
There are ways that you can minimize and reclaim the loss of nutrients, and some methods even help with taste, so if you can employee one of these methods, all the better:
-so that nothing has to cook for longer than necessary, chop your foods into uniform pieces.
-Steam vegetables in a tightly closed container so as to trap nutrient-containing steam and minimize cook time.
-if you cannot steam and choose to boil, use as little water as possible and if making a puree, try to reclaim the nutrients by using your cooking water to thin the puree.
-Microwaving requires little water and time to prepare the food, thus making it a quick and nutrient friendly way to cook. Cooking with a covered dish further reduces cook time. The most economical, BPA-free method of cooking, and dishwasher-space-saving way to cook is in a small cereal bowl with a salad or other small plate covering it.
-Baking ads flavor and requires little water, but a great deal of time, so it is a great way to prep large batches.
-Food safety dictates that you not leave food at room temperature for extended periods so, bake, puree, and freeze quickly.
-If you cook frozen vegetables, they should not be re-frozen, so determine serving size based upon what can be consumed during the food’s safe refrigerator life.
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