Making Baby Food

For Christmas, my mom gave me a Baby Bullet - a system to make your own baby food.  When Grayson turned 6 months old (old enough for solids), we were in the middle of our move, so I didn't have the time to make any at that point.  The first six foods that Grayson tried were all from jars that I bought at the grocery store.  I decided that last weekend was a good time to get the Baby Bullet out and experiment.  I chose to make sweet potatoes and zucchini for my first try.  

In order to make the zucchini, I boiled water and then dropped the pieces in (unpeeled).  It took about 5-7 minutes for it to soften, and then I took them out of the water.  I didn't use a colander to drain them because the recipe calls for 1/4 cup of water, and I wanted to use the water that it boiled in.  This is a good way to put some of the vitamins that cooked out of the zucchini back into his food (or so I am told).  After the zucchini cooled off for a few minutes, I added them to the mini bullet container along with the water and then pureed it to the right consistency.  I think I ended up adding a little extra water to the mixture to make it a little thinner.  Grayson was not crazy about zucchini and only took about two bites each of the two nights I offered them to him. 

Three servings

Since the booklet recommends that food be eaten within three days if it is stored in the refrigerator, I did not chose to freeze any of the zucchini. 

The sweet potatoes took a little longer to make purely because they had to be peeled and then cooked longer than the zucchini.  I think that I ended up boiling them for about 10-12 minutes before I felt like they were tender enough.

 I took the potato pieces out and saved the water because it called for 1 cup of water to go in the puree.  Once the potatoes cooled down some (read: after Grayson got a bottle and put down for a nap), I added them to the larger bullet container and pureed them along with the water. This created 7 servings, and I decided to freeze some of it. 

Now, for the fun part! (well, to this CPA)

 I purchased one sweet potato at the store for $.75 and it created seven servings, which works out to about $.10/serving.  The jars of baby food that I have purchased at the grocery store have been about $.50 each, a savings of $.40/serving, or $.40 a day!

 I purchased one zucchini at the store for $.46 and it created three servings for Grayson, which works out to $.15/serving.  A savings of $.35/serving, or $.35 a day!  When he starts eating solids 2-3 times a day, this will really start to come in handy.
Of course the advertising for the Baby Bullet says that you can make a week's worth of food in 5 minutes, which I didn't find to be true, but it didn't really take too long.  I won't lie and say that it is easier to make the food rather than just grab a few jars at the grocery store, but I am happy knowing exactly what went into Grayson's food as well as saving a good chunk of change every week as well.