Homemade Babyfood? - Sacramento,CA

I used ice cube trays and, once it was frozen, moved the cubes into freezer bags. Ice cube trays are not expensive so I bought about 10 of them and just made huge amounts of baby food all at once. It kept just fine in my deep freeze. This saved me a lot of money. I plan to do it again with my next child!

I usually just gave kiddo whatever we were eating, so made on demand, took about 30 seconds per food assuming it needed grinding and liquid (for example, potatoes need no help! Toast just needed soaking, etc. :) . But we also didn't start until 1yo. So we went more for finger food... but if I've just boiled 10 carrots cut in slices in chicken stock... I durn well froze the majority of them for later.

The few times I made purees ahead of time I did the same thing I do with sauces and curries (that I freeze all the time). Ice cube trays and then a ziplock freezer bag and sharpie. For larger things I'd freeze it the way I froze soup: in muffin tins and then a ziplock bag and sharpie. If you have a "nibbler" / small portion child (aka ice cube too big)... whip out a cookie sheet, line it with parchement paper, spatula the puree/chunkilicious-schtuff into a ziplock (aka a homemade disposable pastry bag), cut off the tip, and squirt out little dollops onto the parchment paper and freeze. Then, once frozen, just strip off and put in a ziplock. You can go from quarter size medalions on up. The freeze fast, and for tiny tummies means you can have a couple of different types.

Fresh and Freeze Reusable Baby Food Containers - LOVE them!

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

I got the ice cube trays that came with a lid, that was my fav. Then saran wrapped them and put them into freezer baggies.

I used ice cube trays and then once they were frozen stuck them into freezer bags. I only had 3 trays and this way I could store and make more without having to buy more trays! I think it's super easy this way! You can also leave the puree in the fridge for a day if necessary while you're waiting to unload the cubes.

I made all my sons baby food and couldn't believe how very easy it was. Every Sunday I would steam organic vegetables and fruits and process them in a blender with a little of the cooking water. Then I would spoon it into really awesome ice cube trays with lids that I got at Target for about $3-4 each. I loved the lids because I could stack them. By setting myself a schedule I was able to always have a months supply of food on hand for him. I also boiled meats and chicken and did the same with them. I like to think that it was better quality for him and much, much cheaper for us! I would transfer the frozen cubes to labeled zip freezer storage bags. To get him ready for daycare I had found shallow lidded bowls and would put the cubes in there. At daycare the cubes would slowly thaw in the fridge and a few seconds in the micro and he was grubbing away! Good for you for making your own food. I really believe that my son benefitted from this. He won't eat vegetable now but I know that he did at one time and will come around eventually.

My daughter also used the ice cube trays..... they held a nice amount, and you didn't have to worry about finishing a jar at a meal. She could use 2 or 3 different cubes to give a variety. She could put them in a small plastic container and they would thaw nicely if she had to take babyfood along somewhere.

I never did baby food. I just mashed up whatever we were having with a fork. Avocados were very popular. I always figured that if a kid needed the ultra-smooth texture of "baby food", they probably weren't ready for solids.

I bought the baby food containers fron One Step Ahead, but it sounds like ice cube trays would work just as well. To make the food I'd mash what I could with a fork, like bananas and avocado, and simmer other foods, like pears, apples, carrots and squash, and then use an immersion mixer or blender or small food chopper. Congrats on planning this healthy way to feed your child. It's really very little effort and well worth it.

Ask your friends/neighbors if they can give you their store-bought baby food jars when empty -- that's what I used, and it worked great:)

I used ice cube trays and ziplock bags, never had a problem. I like the size of the cubes and the small size made it good for transport.

ice cube trays and ziplocks. I'd be concerned about freezing things in glass b/c of possible breakage/splintering.
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a great reference

I also found that one of those little hand-operated baby food mills was handy for giving my LO's a little sample of whatever we were eating - mine was a hand-me-down but it looked like this one http://www.amazon.com/KidCo-F700-Food-Mill/dp/B000067Q6J

I bought some silicone mini-muffin "trays" at Target and used those for freezing the food. Once frozen, I would pop out the "pucks" and put them in a ziplock freezer bag. It was really a super easy and cheap solution.
It allowed me to cook relatively large portions of food and freeze it right away in useable portions. And now that my children are past the baby food stage I use the muffin trays to make-- muffins!
Best of luck. It's really not that hard and your children will be eating much more nutritious, delicious food.

Like everyone else, I used ice cube trays but I also saved the jars for baby food I bought. Both my boys had big appetites so I would go thru a lot of little cubes & using the jars gave them bigger portions. I always left a bit of room at the top of the jar & kept them in our extra freezer. Never had any problems w/them breaking. Defrosted them in the fridge or some warm water.

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodontheGo/fo...

We used all 3 of then except the largest one shown in the photo. The smallest is 4 oz and is perfect for a baby meal. As they grew, we use them for snacks and lunches.

S.