Make Your Own Baby Food

If you're a new parent, you may be wondering if you can save money by making your own baby food. The answer is...absolutely! Not only is homemade baby food much more nutritious, but making your own baby food can also help you save a considerable amount of money on groceries each week—especially as your baby gets older. Typically, one ounce of homemade baby food costs about one-fourth of what you would pay for a 1-ounce jar of baby food.

I started making my own baby food when my daughter was about 6 months old and had moved onto Stage 2 baby food. At that point the amount she was eating cost about $15 dollars a week. The main reason I started making my own baby food is that I wanted to avoid any additives and preservatives. I also found out that beans upset her stomach and unfortunately many of the mixed vegetable and dinner varieties of jarred baby food had green beans mixed in. Making my own baby food allowed me to control exactly what vegetable combinations I fed my daughter, and I was able to introduce her to a greater variety of tastes and textures, including ethnic foods. As an added bonus, the rest of our family started eating healthier because I would usually cook lean protein and vegetables for dinner so that I could make baby food out of it.

How do you make your own baby food and boost your grocery savings? Simply wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly and peel the skins which can be hard for your baby to digest. Bake, steam or boil your vegetables until soft and then puree. Frozen veggies are fine too if you're strapped for time. Then just puree and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer. I loved using these reusable dishwasher and microwave safe baby cubes to store baby food. Reusing empty baby food jars also works well.

Although making your own baby food can save you money on groceries, whether you decide to make your own baby food will largely depend on your schedule. If you regularly cook meals at home, making your own baby food could be as simple as pureeing the food you already cook for your family. But if take-out food is a way of life for you, making your own baby food will take some organization and possibly extra time that you simply do not have. Either way, making your own baby food is something I recommend trying at least once.