My 5 month old is now eating carrots, sweet potatos and squash. I buy the Gerber food and he loves it, but it is so expensive. I tried to mash up my own s.p and carrots and froze them in an ice cube tray. I was so excited to feed him, only to find out he hated them. So now we are back to the store bought. Does anyone have ideas on recipes for a 5 month old? Other than mashing up the veggie along with water and/or some milk?
Go to Bed, Bath and Beyond and buy the Magic Bullet (use their 20% coupon) I use it all the time to make my own baby food, it is super easy too. The book Super Baby Food is great, but all you need is that Magic Bullet, it takes 2-min to puree any foods, including peas, rice, oatmeal, etc! And you can make yourself some smoothies too! Oh, avocado is a great food for 5m old, it was my daughter's first food and she loves it to this day!
Check out the book Super Baby Food. It's a big help- tells you which foods to introduce each month, and how to prepare them so they retain their nutrients.
T.
I would say he may not like the food because it has been frozen. I tried my son's food after I froze it once and realized that it had been picking up flavors from the freezer so it did not taste good anymore. I would say try small batches that you can keep in the fridge for a week and then toss when that week is up. Other than that I also made sure to go online and get coupons and only buy food when it went on sale. If you watch like the Jewel ads they rotate through the food stages and the sales. Stock up when it is on sale and use the store coupons they print at checkout or from the gerber site you can sign up. Good luck I feel your pain. Picky eaters test your wallet and patience.
I used the A Karmel book of making baby foods. It had great suggestions to get me started. Basically, I steamed/baked and mashed/pureed whatever vegetables, meats, etc that I was making for dinner and would freeze them in bulk. Then I could warm up and mix several together to make fun meals. Some favorites were beef stews, chicken noodle soups, and so on. It also made it easier to transition them to table foods as I could just not need to puree whatever we made - just cut up differently to make finger foods. I would recommend trying the carrots again. The jarred food tastes differently from fresh so he just needs a few exposures to it to like it. You could also mix a little barley with it to tone down the stronger flavors of fresh vegetables.
Yeah! It's nice to see another mother wise up! I am making my own babyfood. You can save a ton of $ and give your baby very fresh, nutricious food. It only takes a few minutes to make a "batch" of food.
A few sources are Superbaby food & Mommy Made (and Daddy too). Watch out for Superbaby food book they recommend eggs & nuts at an early age - always use common sense and check w/your dr for food allergies.
When using the food processer use the water used from steaming it is packed w/ nutrients.
Look around the grocery store for veggies & fruits that are in season (fresher & cheaper).
remember to introduce foods many times. I'm sure I didn't love brocolli the first time I tried it.
Asparagus is in season now - you don't see that in a jar. Buy some and freeze it if your baby isn't ready just yet. (warning it may be a little stringy)
Avacados & bananas are a great travel food. Mash up and serve! You never need to worry about the temperature.
S.D. email me if you need more tips.
I am with Andrea...I bought a book by her too called 100 purees. It is fantastic. I am a new stay-at-home M. of a 5 month old too and I am so happy to make her baby food. I put the veggie into the steamer and use the blender then freeze them. It is awesome I know what is in it and I know how fresh it is. I put my baby puree next to the store bought Gerber and quickly realized how much better it looked and tasted than the store baby food. Plus its easy, inexpensive, and nutricious. You should try it again. Try with other veggies too like green beans and yellow squash and butternut squash. I find that when I can't find fresh you i use fresh frozen. For example, last week I found peas, green beans, and yellow squash at GFS and used that. She loved it.
I would say try again. You can mix in some gerber cereal with the infant water. You can also mix in some breast milk or formula. Good luck.
I have found the website "Wholesome Baby Food" (http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/) to be really helpful. It is organized really well so it is easy to use and has great suggestions for when to introduce food, how to select and prepare different foods, and different recipies to try too.
