Making Your Own Baby Food

When you have a new baby in the house, life is full of revealing experiences and unexpected surprises. In the midst of sleepless nights, packing diaper bags and learning what infant cries are really calling for, the idea of making your own baby food may seem slightly daunting.

While it may seem easier to run out and buy baby food by the dozen, taking a small amount of time to make your own baby food can be therapeutic and save you money. Here are a few ways in which you may see big benefits to making your own baby food.

Money Saver

It may not look like it from the outside, but the time you invest in making your own baby food is money back in your pocket long-term. Jars of baby food tend to run anywhere from .70 to over a $1.00 per container. Over the course of several months, this can add up to a significant amount of money being spent on products you could easily produce and store yourself.
Products like sweet potatoes, avocados, bananas, peas and beans can be mashed, frozen and used for as long as you have a functioning freezer. A single sweet potato can potentially create a month’s worth of baby-sized servings. Put money in the bank and instead, fill your freezer with nutritious and delicious meals for your child.

Convenience and a growing palette

While it’s no secret that some babies start out as picky eaters, if you decided to make your own baby food, you may have an opportunity to introduce your child to a wider variety of flavors and tastes. Creating a unique and flavorful meal for your baby is as easy as creating a pureed version of your own meal for your child. Incorporating combinations of food you and your spouse enjoy into homemade baby food will give your child the chance to taste flavors that otherwise wouldn’t be available in store-bought brands.

Baby food bonding

A new addition to the family is a blessing, but also brings with it the potential for a certain amount of pressure and newfound stress levels. Many parents are looking for ways to bond with their children that surpass the rising levels of fatigue. Making your own baby food can be a great stress reliever for you and unique way to bond with your baby.

Feeling like you’ve incorporated love and personalized flavors into the food your child eats can be a path to parents feeling they’ve connected with their new bundle of joy in a special way. Taking the time to discover flavors that your child loves is a great way to form unique parental bonds to the son or daughter you call your own.

Food is an essential life-sustaining habit that connects mother and baby before an infant even arrives in the world. Continue the tradition of making cooking a collaborative and creative effort with your child through making your own baby food. It’s an effective way to set the standard for dinnertime being a family event from the very start.