Little Cubes of Joy

            My kid is an eater.

           

            No, really.  He is a serious pork chop.

            From day one, I wasn't able to produce enough milk to keep this little tubbo happy.  We tried exclusively breast feeding for a few weeks but we were both pretty miserable.  Even with supplementing with formula.  He wouldn't latch on well and he just wasn't getting enough off the boob to be happy.  It was great for comfort, but pretty rough for actual sustenance.

            At six weeks, we started putting a little bit of rice cereal in his bottle.  At that point, he was eating 4 to 6 ounces every 2 hours.  The cereal did the trick!  He would still eat about 6 ounces, but it was every 3 to 4 hours.  And shortly after that, he started sleeping through the night.

            At just over three months old, it was pretty obvious that he was ready to try something more.  If you were holding him and eating food, you would get the Jedi Mind Trick stare.  It didn't work, but that's only because he's still young.

            First, we started him on cereal mixed with a bit of formula.  He wasn't really a big fan of it.  Most of it ended up on his bib.  There was a bit of gagging on his end, so we scrapped that idea pretty quickly.

            We tried it again after a week, this time with the per-packaged Gerber applesauce.

            It was like the sun had broken through the clouds after a rainy day.  He attacked that applesauce like there was no tomorrow.  This time, there was hardly anything left on the bib.  And he made all kinds of happy giggles and noises.  He downed 2 ounces of it in no time flat.  After realizing that he could have eaten more, and that a 2-pack of Gerber runs anywhere from $0.90 to $1.15, I came to the conclusion that my hearty eater needed to try something different.

            For Christmas last year, my brother bought me a Baby Bullet.  It's just like the regular Magic Bullet (the food blender, not the adult toy, you perv!) except it has cutesy little faces on it and handy dandy 2 ounce serving cups.  I looked at it and told him how awesome it was...all the while dreading having to try it out.  While I loved the idea of making my own baby food, I just wasn't sure if the work involved would be worth it.  After seeing how much food my kid was putting away, I figured it was worth giving it a shot.

            I absolutely love it.

            No really.  It's a lot easier than you'd think!  I started out easy—bananas.  After the first batch was finished, I was hooked.  The food just looks and smells so much better than anything you buy in the store.  It's fresh, and you know exactly how fresh it is!  Since then, I've been a baby-food making fool.  So far we've had bananas, avocado, mango, peas, green beans, cauliflower, apricots and pears.  In my fridge, waiting to be blended, I have sweet potatoes, peaches and carrots.  And best of all?  He's eaten every single thing I've put in front of him!

Getting Started

            While it surely isn't required, I definitely recommend using a blender system of one breed or another.  There are many different ones out there—do some shopping and find the one that best suits your needs!  I have the Baby Bullet (http://www.babybullet.com/) and I really enjoy it...however, if I were to buy another system, I would likely invest in something like the Beaba BabyCook System (http://www.babycookstore.com.)  The Beaba will steam your food and then let you blend it up, all in the same cup!  It is a little more convenient for the super busy mom.

            Once you have your system, make sure you have plenty of storage for the food.     My Baby Bullet came with six 2 ounce cups with lids as well as a flexible freezer safe container that will freeze an additional 12 ounces.  On top of that, I bought four ice-cube trays.  Each cube in a tray is roughly an ounce, so it's a handy way to keep track of how much food you have for your little foodie.

            Oh, and don't forget a spatula!  The Baby Bullet comes with one (in a lovely matching puke-green color) and it's great for getting all of the puree out of the blender.  Of course, a spoon works just as well.

Picking the Food

            This is probably the most important part of the entire process.  If you choose fruits and vegetables that are too ripe, they won't be as good (and may have even started to go rotten.)  If you choose ones that aren't ripe enough, you'll have difficulties getting a nice smooth puree.  Use your best judgment!  If it is something that you wouldn't eat, then it probably isn't suitable for your little one.

            This website—http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm – has been an amazing resource throughout this journey!  You'll find some great tips on what to feed your baby and when, how to prepare it, and how to pick the best food for baby. 

            If you are going to make your own baby food, I would suggest starting out with something nice and easy.  Bananas are about as easy as you are going to get!  You want bananas that are ripe, preferably ones that are just starting to develop a few black spots.  These bananas will be nice and soft and mushy, and make your job a lot easier!  Don't go for green bananas—they're difficult to blend and don't taste quite right.

            Peel the bananas and plop them into your blending device of choice.  You can just use a fork and go to town, but it is much easier on you and baby to blend them.  Add water (or juice, if you prefer) to the puree until it reaches the desired consistency.  I usually do 2 banana and ¼ cup water.  Sometimes I use pear juice, which I pop out if the little man is having some butt problems.

            There are people who don't add any liquid to their purees and prefer to add it when the thaw the food.  Mine doesn't stay in the freezer long enough!

Storing your baby food

            Homemade baby food will stay good in the refrigerator for three days and up to three months in the freezer.  However, it's best to try to use your frozen food within a month for the best flavor.  Every time I feed our little one a container of the Gerber food, I keep it.  When it comes time for a massive food making extravaganza, I fill up my 6 refrigerator cups, all of my plastic Gerber cups, and then I move onto the freezer trays.  After the food is fully frozen, I pop it out of the trays and it goes into gallon Ziploc bags with a note indicating what it is and when it was made.

            You should not ever freeze anything that isn't made for freezing.  For example, regular baby food jars aren't freezer safe. 

            Frozen cubes of food can be taken out and thawed in the fridge overnight.  You can microwave the food, but be sure to test it before feeding it to your baby!  It will cook unevenly.  I have these awesome spoons that turn white if the food is too hot for little man—definitely worth the investment!

            When I make my baby food, I tend to do two of three different foods at a time.  I will blend up whatever we have in the house and freeze it for when he is ready to move on to trying something new.  It is recommended that you wait at least four days between introducing new foods to your baby.  That gives you time to make sure he isn't allergic or bothered by what you are giving him!  Things such as cauliflower can sometimes give babies terrible gas.

            I've discovered that with just an hour a week, I can make more than enough food to keep my little guy rolling in the puree.  And it isn't nearly as difficult or frustrating as I thought it would be!  I love having the opportunity to make my own baby food.  It gives me complete control over what I put in my child’s body—and it gives me the chance to experiment on him!  How many times have you seen avocado baby food in the baby food aisle?  But it's a great first baby food!  And my kid absolutely loved it!  Now, I keep an eye on the sales at the grocery store.  When produce that he likes goes on sale, I snatch some up.  We also participate in the Bountiful Baskets program (http://bountifulbaskets.org/) which gives us plenty of produce to choose from.

            Our son has shown us that he is a foodie in training.  Everything that we have given him has been promptly devoured.  When he sees his brightly colored bowl with those little cubes of joy, he squeals...and tries to rip it out of your hands.  The satisfied 'nom' noises make me think he really enjoys eating anything and everything.  Hopefully this means he won't be a picky eater like his momma...