The Mitches: baby food.

oh man. long time. and watch out... this is a long post.

okay. so i was at lunch with some ladies who are new (or up and comers) to the "mommy" scene and we were talking about the big baby food debate. do you slave over a hot stove all day to make delicious, nutritious, food for your baby a la crunchy granola? OR do you spend a fortune buying the organic baby food that comes in a jar because you don't have time for all that food making nonsense? well... i've been in both camps and i'm back from the trenches to tell you...

you don't have to do either one! with the boy i thought that i never had the time to make my own baby food and honestly, i didn't have the confidence either i guess... but it turned out to be super expensive and i felt guilty for not being the super mommy who does it all. so with the girl i decided to just buckle down and try out this whole homemade food nonsense. and you know what? it's really not that bad! and! it's waaaaaaaay cheaper than buying the jars.

so here is just a quick picture tutorial into how i do it (in case you're interested) so you have something to look at ... and also because it's easier than you coming over and judging the state of my house. just saying...

okay. first thing. you're going to need to decide what to make. i started the girl on sweet potatoes as her very first food. since then she eats almost anything i put in front of her, especially if i blend it with something else. tonight i made butternut squash. so, buy a squash. you're also going to need a good, sharp knife, cutting board, good vegetable peeler, a pot with a lid, one of those steamer basket thingies, and some sort of food processor. i've heard you can use one of those handheld immersion mixers too but that's too fancy for me.

peel the squash then scrape out the nasty stuff inside. cut it up into about 1" pieces or thin slices (it's your call) and put it in a steamer basket thingie in your pot with some water. you're gonna let it steam until it's super soft and a bit mushy.

move all your squashy goodness into a food processor. you can add some of the water that you steamed the squash with or some breastmilk or formula to thin it out and give it a familiar flavor if you like.

blend, blend, blend until it looks like... baby food. =)

okay, now you need to figure out how to store all of this yummy goodness. i use two different methods and they are both great. the first is by one step ahead and it's these great little containers. they hold about three ounces of food and you can freeze, warm up, and serve all from the same container. the second is the fresh baby - baby food freezer tray. i think you get a two pack and they hold twelve one ounce "cubes" once it's all filled. just spoon in your puree, cover, and freeze. you can also use these for breastmilk that you've pumped too! the good thing about this one is you can just pop out a few cubes whenever you want.

so when it's all said and done, you've got your food for your kiddos! oh! a bonus of the whole thing: sneaking purees into regular food so your boy (or girl) gets extra veggies. trust me. when your kid eats a steady diet of nuggets, corn dogs, and mac and cheese it's nice to know he's getting a little something extra when you slip some carrot, squash, or sweet potato puree into his mac and cheese or in tonight's case - quesadilla! true story! i just spread some squash on one of the tortillas and then smashed it in there with the cheese.