As a family of 6 budgeting and cost cutting is a necessity. Now that my daughter is 6 months old I’ve started introducing stage 1 baby foods to her. Initially I bought them to try them with her. I couldn’t believe how much the prices have gone up on baby food even since having my son 4 years ago. 69 cents for a small 2 oz stage one baby food jar that’s good for one serving. Sure I use coupons when I have them but still, it seemed like a rip off. I had heard about people making homemade baby food but honestly the idea scared me a little. “What if I don’t make it right?” “Will I have time to make it with 4 kids, a job outside of my home, a blog to run, and kids’ games and practices?” “Will I have to busy special equipment?” I quickly found the answers were yes, yes, and no respectively.
There are plenty of places to find recipes for homemade baby food and it’s quite simple. I found it’s actually not too bad time wise. I can make up multiple containers of baby food at a time and it’s good to go for a week or 2 depending on how much I want to make at one time. As far as equipment, if you have a knife to cut, a pot to cook, and either a food processor, blender, or stick mixer, you’re good to go.
I’m starting with applesauce. It’s a good first good to try and apples are available pretty much everywhere. I bought a bag of golden delicious apples at Walmart for about $5. That bag can makes weeks worth of stage 1 baby applesauce. Huge money saver considering the 69 cents for 2 oz good for one serving I mentioned earlier.
Start by washing your apples then peeling, coring, and chopping the apple. Make sure you get out any seeds and the hard area around the seeds. Of course baby can’t chew those things. I happened to have one of the apple corer/slicer things but a plain old knife works just fine too.
Put your apple pieces into a small saucepan on the stovetop and cover with just enough water to cover the apples. (The apple slices float a bit). Alternatively you can also steam your apples if you prefer. I like to boil them then I use the water they were cooked in to think the applesauce to the right consistency.
Boil (or steam) the apples until soft enough to mash like potatoes.
Once their cooked to a mashing consistency you can put them in your blender, processor, or stick mixer cup (whatever you are using). I have my handy dandy stick mixer I like to use for this because it’s less mess and easier clean up. I start by just blending the apple slices by themselves. Once they blended well you can add a little of the water from the pot you cooked them in. (Or add water to your steamed apples)
For a first food you want it to be fairly smooth. Not too thick or chunky. If you’re making for older babies a little thicker consistency or small chunks is fine.
The picture above is a good consistency for a 1st food. You can then store your applesauce. I saved some of the store bought containers I had and used some little storage containers I had in my cupboards;
The applesauce will stay good in the fridge for about 3-4 days. If you make up more than a couple days worth at a time, be sure to only put about 3 days worth in the fridge and freeze the rest until you’re ready for it. I only used 4 small apples and was able to get 10 oz of baby food from it (equal to 5 jars of number 1 baby food at the store) at an average of 69 cents per jar that’s equal to $3.45 worth of store bought applesauce but there is still plenty of apples left in the bag for more.
Making homemade baby food is not only cost saving but it’s also good for your baby. Be sure to label your baby food so you know how long it’s been in the fridge. You can label with something as simple as a piece of masking tape or I have these super handy Date it! labels from LovableLabels.ca http://www.lovablelabels.ca/product/date-it-labels/
They’re reusable, washable, microwave, and dishwasher safe. If you want some too you can use my coupon code: AngieBLB3 to save yourself 10% off.
