I've been feeling very domestic this week. Have you ever seen "Baby Boom," an 80s movie where Diane Keaton plays this hard core NYC businesswoman who inherits a baby and moves to Vermont to make gourmet baby food? I'm not exactly gourmet, but I have entered the realm of making baby food. Now don't get me wrong, I still love Gerber and the fact that I can throw a container of food and a spoon (and a bib!) into the diaper bag and go these days, but I thought I'd give making my own a try. It hasn't been too bad. Just a little cooking, pureeing, and freezing in ice cube trays. So far I've done mashed bananas, apples, pears, and peaches. In less than an hour (a little more if you talk on the phone while you're doing it and get distracted), I have a month's supply of each of those fruits for Emma. So far she seems to like it. Next week: vegetables!
I've found the following 2 books very helpful in this endeavor:
"Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron:
Okay, first a disclaimer: This woman is a *little* crazy. She makes her own everything, including her own diaper wipes and puts dessicated liver and sea kelp into her children's food. Ew. That said, this book is an extensive reference. She has charts of what foods to introduce at each month, how much your baby should be eating, nutrient tables, and a LOT of recipes. Some of which are a little involved, but nonetheless helpful ones are in there too. The index also contains a great section on individual fruits and vegetables, spelling out exactly how old your baby should be, preparation methods, peak seasons, and whether or not they may be frozen.
"First Meals" by Annabel Karmel:
This one is my favorite. The basic information is much more streamlined than in "Super Baby Food," but the recipes are fabulous (though I'm not sure Emma will be eating "fish with carrots and orange juice" puree anytime soon). But most of them are great, and it's published by DK, so there are lots of pictures too. The thing I like most about this book is that the recipes go up to age 7, with lots of fun ideas for feeding toddlers and preschoolers and making food healthy AND fun. (PS: Maren, I think you will really like this one). I highly recommend it.
5 comments:
Making baby food is so much easier than it sounds, huh! I have saved so much money making Bri's food. I bought a steamer at a garage sale that was brand new before I was married. I never used it until I started making baby food and it was fabulous! I hope you enjoy it. It's so nice to just pop a few ice cubes worth of food into the microwave and "wah lah" lunch is served!
I should have saved our table top baby food maker. It was great and so easy. I never bought any GERBER. Way to go mom!
I'm definitely going to try "First Meals." Thanks for all of the good recommendations!
Go Jess!
I loved Super Baby Food too, and I think I'll check out "First Meals" from the library to see if I like it. Doesn't Ruth Yaron make you laugh? I can just see myself brewing a super porridge concoction on a morning when I'm feeling especially witchy. The real grain cereals (I started grinding brown rice in a coffee grinder), though a little more difficult to make then just adding water like the cereal in the box, are so delicious with a little milk and cream. I'm also obsessed with making my own yogurt. (I make a gallon of yogurt every 10 days or so.)
This is awesome! I never did anything quite like this. I do like whole foods for Roo, but never went so far to make them into baby foods when she was begining solids. kudos!
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