Baby Food Making

Not to be confused with baby makin' - that's not happening for a long while! I wanted to share a bit about the foods that I feed G. When I was pregnant I received a Beaba Babycook from my aunt, and there were quite a few snickers at my shower. They just didn't believe that I would have the diligence, or time, or what have you to make my own baby food. Honestly, doubt me and you make me that much more determined. That aside, I knew I wanted to make my own baby food for a host of reasons - 1) It's the freshest, healthiest food that I can provide my baby, 2) It saves a ton of money, and 3) I thought it would be fun.

Yep, fun. I haven't always had the healthiest relationship with food (my idea of healthy is pizza with veggies on it) and I knew that if I got in the habit now of putting time and thought into making G's food I would have an opportunity to learn and explore foods that I ordinarily wouldn't. I really want to be able to prepare healthy meals for my family, and homemade baby food is as good a place to begin as any.

My experience so far has only solidified (ha!) my belief that I'm doing the right thing for me and my baby. At the expense of sounding like I'm preaching, I think many people put off the idea of making their own baby food because of misconception of a few things. It's not as time consuming as one would imagine - you can prepare a few batches of food in about an hour that will last you weeks. And it's not complicated at all - all you really need is a pot with a steamer and a blender/food processor (ok and a knife, vegetable peeler and ice cube trays if we're really going to be specific). I really like that the Beaba does everything all in one but it is a small chunk of change, so it's not really necessary. In fact, it can be a little limiting in the capacity size, so I may just give it a go with the old-school method eventually.

Here are a few pictures of the process. I've made carrots here:

I'd really like to recommend the book Baby Love by Norah O'Donnell and Chef Geoff Tracy. It's really straightforward and comes packed with some great advice and recipes. I also have another book by Annabel Karmel that's pretty decent (she has tons of books on the subject). Honestly, you probably don't even need a book, you can look up recipes online, or just use some common sense re: veggies and fruits to feed baby. See, it's easy!