The Basics of Making Your Own Baby Food and Purees: What You Need to Get Started

The Basics: What You Need to Get Started

• A pot for cooking and steaming
• A spoon for stirring
• A fork for mashing
• A can-opener
• A knife for chopping
• A bowl for mixing
• A blender or food processor for pureeing
• Ice-cube trays for freezing

{I told you it was easy-peezy!} Of course you can get fancy with your supplies and invest in a specialized baby-food steamer and puree maker, custom food storage trays, etc. but I’ve found it’s not necessary. It complicates things. You have enough on your plate - don’t make things harder than they need to be!

Be sure to click here - http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/p/easy-peezy-homemade-baby-food-and.html - to read all the posts on making your own baby food and purees! It will be an easy way to keep track and look for new updates!

Why I Puree: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/02/easy-peezy-guide-for-making-homemade.html

An Easy-Peezy Guide for Making Homemade Baby Foods and Purees

Nothing about me screams organic or green.  I have the smallest recycling bin on the block. We don’t drive hybrid vehicles.  And I prefer a good bottle of water vs. anything out of the tap. These aren’t things to brag about – but it’s my reality. I barely have time to brush my teeth each morning, let alone worry about saving the planet (I’ll get to that tomorrow…). I take an average of half a shower each day, sweatpants are my uniform, my makeup routine consists of slapping on some cherry Chapstick and my hair can almost put itself up in a messy bun.  Sound familiar? Being a mom is a 24-hour job.  And let’s be honest - we’re all just trying to keep our kids out of therapy and off the next episode of Dr. Phil.

Which brings me back to homemade baby food and purees. By far the most "organic" thing I do. With all the things every mama has on her plate each and every day, is making homemade baby food necessary? No. It’s not a must-have. But it’s definitely a nice-to-have. And it’s easy - I promise. If it weren’t super simple, I most likely wouldn’t be doing it. 

I started my journey into making homemade purees and baby food out of the most instinctual, primal feeling every mother has: guilt. I wasn’t able to breastfeed my babies, and I felt terrible about it. I tried and tried, but when my nipples literally fell off, I figured it was time to throw in the towel and stir up some formula. My children didn’t grow horns or wither away from lack of mother-child bonding, but I still felt guilty for not being able to breastfeed.

So when it came time for them to begin eating solids, I knew I had to step up my game. It was redemption time, people! I felt good about giving my babies homemade food right from the start – free of preservatives, hormones and other unnecessary additives. Organic, pure foods.

Not to mention, the enormous cost savings. The cost of pre-made baby foods really add up – especially if your babies are hungry, hungry hippos like mine. At an average of $1.00 per serving of the leading baby food brand, you could be spending up to $45 each week – nearly $200 a month!  By making your own purees, you’ll spend a fraction of that – a mere $0.10 or less per serving.  That’s less than $5.00 per week! Makes ‘cents’ to me.

For the next few days I plan to post information about making your own baby food and purees - from the Basics, to FAQs, to Recipes I've developed over the last few years. All the links can be found on this one page: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/p/easy-peezy-homemade-baby-food-and.html

Enjoy your puree journey!!

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Be sure to click here - http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/p/easy-peezy-homemade-baby-food-and.html - to read all the posts on making your own baby food and purees! It will be an easy way to keep track and look for new updates!

Or follow the links below to all my other posts on making homemade baby food and purees:
Easy-Peezy Purees - What You Need to Get Started:
http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/basics-of-making-your-own-baby-food-and.html

The Basics of Making Homemade Baby Food - How to Puree: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/basics-of-making-your-own-baby-food-and_02.html

Easy-Peezy Purees - The Essential 17 Fruits and Veggies Every Mama Needs to Know: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-peezy-purees-essential-17-fruits.html

Easy-Peezy Homemade Baby Food and Purees - Foods to Avoid: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-peezy-homemade-baby-food-and-puree.html

The Whys and Hows of Transitioning Your Little One to Solids: http://sweetleighmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-peezy-purees-whys-and-hows-of.html

Creative Minds Are Rarely Tidy

Creativity runs in my family. My mom always had a sewing room filled to the brim with crafts, fabrics, buttons, thread - you name it, you could find it in this room. My grandma was the same way. My mind is always racing with ideas for projects, crafts, artwork - it's hard to shut off the creativity switch sometimes (and Pinterest doesn't help the situation - "just one more 'Find More Pins' and then I'll go to sleep....").

http://www.etsy.com/listing/82364131/creative-minds-are-rarely-tidy-5x7-print

So when it comes to Miss Paige and her artistic flair, I can't help but support and encourage it - I love to see her little mind working as she creates a new piece of art for the fridge. But no one ever said creativity is a clean sport - just take a look at my kids' playroom.

There is a big possibility that I may have let the freedom of creative expression go a wee bit too far yesterday. I will not confirm nor deny the fact that I may have let Miss Paige run wild with a set of Crayola markers yesterday while I took some time to sketch. And she may or may not have taken her passion for coloring beyond the paper, past the easle... and onto every inch of her body that wasn't covered with clothing. I know I should have stopped her, scolded her for the billionth time for not staying on the paper. But sometimes creativity just has to flow - it can't be stopped. Sometimes you have to throw caution (and cleanliness in my case) to the wind. I understand the need to create - it's like an itch you just have to scratch - and so I plead the 5th on whether or not I pretended I didn't see what she was doing back in that playroom. I saw her keep peering over, seeing if I was going to stop her or scold her (like I usually do for such offenses). She would take a marker and run it up and down her arm, creating stripes. Polka dots on her bare legs. Each finger was a different color. The joy in her eyes was electric! When she was done with her "creation" she ran into the kitchen to show me - the biggest smile I have ever seen plastered on her face. She stood with her arms and legs spread wide. When I told her how fantastic and beautiful it was, she began jumping up and down, squealing with happiness. She was so proud of herself! I should have taken a picture, but before I could grab the camera she was back in the playroom, engrossed in her Elmo matching cards. So I took a few wet wipes and cleaned up the evidence of 'Paigey Gone Wild' before Daniel got home from work.

I probably shouldn't have let her do that. It wasn't the 'responsible mommy' thing to do. But I just couldn't help myself! Heck - sometimes I want to paint and draw all over my body too!

Besides - I'm pretty certain that's why they invented washable markers anyway : )