Monday, May 24, 2010

I would do anything for this girl!

I mean anything....even COOK!

Homemade food vs. Store bought food is another one of those topics that every Mom is different on. Making Zoe’s food works best for me and here is why:

• Even though I hate cooking (well unless we are entertaining), I love doing things for Zoe. Whether it be taking Zoe for a walk, soothing her in the middle of the night, reading her a book, giving her a bath, or feeding her….I love it all! So making her food was just one more thing that I was so excited to do for her.

• It is so Cost Effective….and I am always looking for ways to save money. 1 bag of frozen vegetables is $.88 and makes about 6 servings. 1 sweet potato is less than $1 and makes about 7 servings. One Banana ($.39 for a whole 1lb of bananas) is 2 feedings. A little bit of money can go a really long way.

• It is SO EASY! All you need is a blender or food processor, hand mixer or chopper, which we all have in the kitchen already. For veggies, I steam them in the microwave or on the stove top or cook in the oven first and then chop or blend. For fruits, I use a fork to smash or a knife to cut the fruit up and blend, add water to make it the consistency you want it….and that is it! Freeze any leftovers and you can make a whole week worth of feedings in only minutes!

• It allows us to have a greater variety of food. I love that I can go grocery shopping and don’t even have to have a different list for Zoe…things we already eat and are within our budget…we feed her. I always have veggies, bananas, apples, pears, and so on. There is no difference. And there are so many more options when you make things yourself, which will help Zoe be able to taste so many more foods early on. I can’t wait to feed her parsnips or mangoes or pineapple, maybe some asparagus or grapes! The possibilities are endless. And I have tasted some of those baby foods….blah…so if I think they are disgusting then why would I want Zoe eating it!

• It lets Zoe get used to different textures. One thing I read is that some Moms don’t do purees at all and go straight to table foods. I am in between purees and table food. I still chop or blend the food, but I don’t worry about the food being perfectly smooth, like jar foods. This way Zoe can get used to the actual texture of the food and learn what to do with clumps. Right now it is so funny. She makes this awkward face, chews on the clump a little while and then spits it out. I believe this will make the transition to actual table foods a little bit easier for us.

• It lets me know EXACTLY what Zoe is eating….all the nutrients and no added preservatives! And she LOVES IT!

6 comments:

Kyler, Jennifer, Olivia and Lucy said...

I've been reading your blog for a little bit, sorry I haven't commented sooner :)

I absolutely love making baby food. I made Olivia's food and enjoyed it so much. You are definetely right that it was alot of great advantages. It is cost effective, I loved feeding her fresh foods, and the variety of foods are endless. Also it was a great reason to visit the local farmers market :) Avocados and zucchini were a big hit at our house. And once she gets familiar with a variety of foods you can start mixing them to create some yummy treats.

Cherry Berry said...

I told myself that I was going to make Grace's food when she was old enough to start eating it. But I was just being lazy and never did. I totally regret it now. Jars of baby food are so expensive and it doesn't taste anything like REAL veggies and fruit. So, I have been having the hardest time for MONTHS now trying to get her on real food (she will eat some things). I'm convinced that it is the different flavors (and texture).
I just bought some trays today so I can make her food and hopefully she will adapt to the new tastes and I will be able to stop buying baby food very soon!
She is 13 months now... I will definately make baby food for our future children!

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Breezer said...

I love this post! We've been making a lot of baby food for our daughter too, so I agree with you 100%.

Love the blog! My little girl is 10 months already. They get big too fast! Everyone always tells you that, but you don't know it until you have your own baby. :-)

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