I love making my daughter’s baby food homemade. I like that I can control what goes into her body. It’s not that store bought baby food is bad for babies but, if given the choice, I would rather fill LC’s tummy with fresh fruits, veggies, and breast milk, rather than preservatives. The shelf life of store bought food can be multiple years, which means that by the time it reaches your child it can be older than they are. Now I am going to be honest, the store bought food is sometimes yummier than the homemade food. I puree my food with breast milk. Store bought food is often pureed with apple juice. Breast milk is by far healthier than apple juice but I am going to guess it is not as tasty. For my family, the benefits of homemade baby food are worth the extra effort, but we do keep a value pack of store bought food in the pantry for convenience’s sake.

LC eats about 12oz of baby food per day. We know it is also important for Leighton to feed herself so we give her finger food to play with and eat in her high chair while we eat dinner together as a family. This is usually cut up versions of whatever we are eating or, if we are not having something that she can easily eat herself, we either heat up a can of veggies for her to nom on (corn is her favorite!) or I quickly whip up some small shell pasta. We feel this is a good variation of pureed baby food and baby led eating.

Prep
The freezer storage containers I use are the Skip Hop Easy-Fill Freezer Trays. I have 3 of them and I like to fill them all at once and have them freeze overnight. I blend my baby food using a Ninja Bullet blender. The freezer storage containers hold 12oz of food and the Ninja Bullet blending cup is clearly labelled and hold up to 16oz. Since I am making multiple types of food in one sitting I like to make recipes that have similar ingredients.

Process
I start with the breast milk. My milk storage containers are 5oz so that is what I use for each batch.

I put the frozen milk in first and add the baby food ingredients on top. I sometimes add more breast milk to the mix to get the consistency just right. There are some baby foods that I do not add breast milk to, at least not as much; oatmeal for example. This is because of the consistency. I don’t want it to be too watery or too thick.

Once everything is blended together, I simply pour the baby food into the storage containers and insert the dividers – this separates the 12oz container into six 2oz pods.

The container on my Ninja Bullet makes 16oz so usually I have some baby food left over after I fill the freezer trays.

I pour the remaining baby food straight into my Baby Brezza Food Storage Pouch and stick them in the refrigerator for LC’s next meal. These pouches are perfect for at home or on the go. When she was first starting out I would hold the pouch and measure out each bite on a spoon to feed her. Eventually she wanted to slurp it straight from the straw and now she is able to hold the pouch herself!

Storage
I put the containers in the freezer overnight and take them out in the morning. I run it under some hot water and pop out the frozen pods. I put this pods in a zip-lock bag that I label with the type of food and the date it was made. The baby food is good in the freezer for 3 months.

Every night I take out 2 pods from the freezer and put them into 3 storage pouches – 2 pods for breakfast, 2 for lunch, and 2 for dinner. The pod will defrost in the fridge and I find the food pouches the most convenient for home and to grab on the go. In the morning I take out the remaining pods that I will need for the rest of the day.

I try to make sure I am making baby food with a wide variety of ingredients so that she is exposed to as many different foods as possible. I usually do an oatmeal for breakfast in the morning – her favorite is blueberry oatmeal! – and a fruit / veggie combo for lunch. I try to make sure dinner is something green and healthy! Texture is a big thing for LC so she tends to prefer food without rice or quinoa mixed in but we are still working up her exposure.

This might sound like a lot of work but it really isn’t! One container is enough food for one day of feeding my child. I have three containers. If I make food every day for one week I can make enough baby food for 3 weeks before I start again. This is totally worth it to me knowing that I am in control of what goes into Leighton’s body and that she is getting the best possible food for her growth and development!

If you want any ideas on puree recipes for your little one you can hop over to my Baby Food Page for some of Leighton’s favorites!