Can I Buy New Lids for Baby Food Jars?

I used to reuse the glass jars, but now I am IN LOVE with the new containers that off-brand baby food comes in. They're the little applesauce cups, but with lids!
They're much easier to fill because of the wide opening, the lids are much easier to get on and off, and they stack SO MUCH BETTER than the glass. Especially in the freezer. And you don't have to worry about the glass breaking if it falls out of the freezer. Which just happens.

The only tricky thing is that you have to be careful when you're opening them for the first time. If you peel the foil back very carefully and slowly, you can get all the foil off. I have several that still have pieces of foil stuck to the rims. This actually doesn't cause problems in my microwave, but I was visiting my friend and used her microwave, and there's a little black mark next to the foil now. Didn't ruin anything, though.

I also use some containers that I found at Dollar Tree on the baby aisle. They're 6 for $1 and come in blue, green, yellow, and red, i think. I found them when my first was a baby (now he's 6) and they still have them, although as with anything in that store, they are sometimes out of stock for long stretches.

BTW, the rectangular Gerber containers do not seal. I don't know why they even make lids for them, because once you peel the foil off, you can never seal them again. So don't get duped into buying those for the containers!

P.S. I HATE HATE HATE freezing in ice cube trays. Maybe it's because my kids have enormous appetites. They'd eat 10 cubes per meal. It's very cumbersome to get 10 cubes into a serving dish and microwave them. Instead, I just grab a container from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw. When I take it from the fridge to feed the baby, I get another one down from the fridge, etc.

I used the same set of Baby Cubes for both the first and second child. Here is one link I found on google:

http://www.babyplanetboutique.com/index.php?main_page=pro...

They are phthalate and BPA free, cheap, stack easily, and you can get 3 different sizes (don't bother with the 1 oz ones). I got 3 sets of the 2 oz ones and that seemed to be enough for a couple of weeks or more. The ice cube trays are a pain in the a$$ if you ask me (a little too cheap and too small and not a grab-and-go item in any way!), and so were the glass (too fragile and they don't stack at all). These cubes won't last you forever; during the second kid some of them started to break and whatnot, but out of 24 total cubes I think I threw away 5 or 6 by the time he was done with them. Totally worth it.

I made all my own baby food and would suggest checking out www.wholesomebabyfood.com The suggestion on that website that I did and worked wonderfully is to freeze in ice cube trays, then store the idividual cubes in ziplock bags. Very affordable. For taking food on the go I would just put the cubes in little snack bowls with lids that I got at Babies R Us and thaw or heat before I left the house if need be.

You can get really small canning jars from many stores like Walmart and Kroger. They are freezable and you can purchase extra lids for those.

I want to say that I read somewhere when I started making my daughter's baby food that freezing the glass jars wasn't a good idea and I apologize that I can't be more specific for you.

I found the perfect portions using a BPA free ice cube tray to freeze cube size portions and pop them in a freezer bag then double bagged it for extra protection. Worked so well, cheap and easy!

When my boy started out with food, I put everything into ice cube trays after I pureed everything. That way I knew how much food he was eating since each cube was about 1 oz of food. Then placed them into ziplock freezer bags to store. That way I could make large batches every few months. I would then mix different veggies and meats (once he was ready) to create our own concoction of food. He loved it, and it was convenient for me too. If I remembered to pull out his food the night before, there was very little microwaving needed. I also purchased some small ziplock type containers to place the cubes in for transport, or just putting them into the fridge. It kept everything pretty neat and avoided an open bowl spilling over in the fridge.

I also used www.wholesomebabyfood.com for suggestions on things to make and how to prepare the food, and when he should be ready for certain kinds of foods.

One note: cook your green beans like crazy, otherwise they will be too stringy for a newborn. Or just avoid them all together until he's ready for more texture. The straining was just too cumbersome.

You have some great suggestions on here good luck!

I used regular small food storage containers. Depending on the size, you can get one to two cubes of frozen food in each, sometimes more. I cooked up big batches, pureed them, and then froze them in ice cube trays that I then stored in the freezer in big regular food storage containers. I just marked them well with contents and dates. My kids loved it. I don't recall ever having a problem with anything leaking, etc. I think baby products tend to do a lot of the same things that regular products do, just for a much higher price since it's a specialized item. GL!

To save on money I froze my baby food in Ice Cube Trays then put them in the Ziplock vaccume bags with the little hand pump the sucks out all the air. My food stayed nice and fresh for MONTHS and it was inexpensive and easy to do large batches. As for the baby food jars don't throw them a way check with your local pre-school or school art department as they are always looking for paint containers and craft project materials (they also love egg cartons).

I'm not sure if you can buy them anywhere, but you might be able to get them from friends or a local daycare. If you have any friends with babies, you could ask them to save their jars or lids for you. You could also try asking around at local daycares. You could ask the director if you could bring in a bag or bucket and ask the teachers in the baby rooms to toss the lids into there instead of the trash can. If you offer to wash them yourself, they might be more willing so you aren't adding anymore work for them. It's worth a try. I hope this can help just a little!

just use Freezer Ziplock baggies. freeze them on a cookie sheet in your freezer then they're flat and storable! you can just rinse the outside of the bag in hot water to just thaw or nuke it for actual warmth. Much cheaper! Enjoy!

I just use ice cube trays, and for taking food along away from home, I use a few plastic bowls I got with a toddler set. There really is no need for anything fancy.