Homemade Baby Food-Sweet Potatoes

Yes you can do this! It is much easier than I ever thought it would be. I know what you may be thinking, " You only have one child and no job away from home, you have time." Am I right? Hopefully by the end of this post you will be able to judge for yourself and if you have the time to read this, you have the time to do this :) I did a little trial run so that when I am ready to actually stock up and make food in bulk, it will go nice and smooth. I have been taking tidbits and suggestions from the internet and from other moms who make their own baby food too. I decided to start with sweet potatoes. I chose to buy Organic because I wanted to use the ends for a starter in my garden this coming Spring. Yes, I am going to overachieve and try to grow some of the produce I will be feeding my baby. I have had a garden for the past 3 years and thought why not change up my crop! If you are just starting out on solids, make sure you are only introducing 1 new food at a time with at least a week between foods to observe for any allergies your baby may have. If you are going to make your own I found this chart on Pinterest to be helpful of when you should buy organic. You may have heard of the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen.

What you will need:

Steam bags- Glad brand or ZipLoc Zip'N Steam bags is what I have on hand and worked great Food Processer- I was going to buy the Baby Bullet because I thought I needed it, wrong. I have a regular Magic Bullet AND a food processer which worked perfect. I used the Bullet because it was going to be an easier clean up, just throw it in the dishwasher (except the machine part). There are so many cups and sizes with the Bullet I will be able to puree multiple things in the future without stopping to clean each cup. Knife Vegetable Peeler Cutting Board Saran Wrap- to cover your ice cube trays while they freeze ZipLoc Freezer Bags Baby water if you don't want to use tap water or filtered water from your home (your choice), formula or breast milk.

Ice Cube Trays- I used  these silicone because the food pops out easier then banging the plastic ones on the counter until it comes out, plus that may wake the sleeping baby! P.S use a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond to save extra money on these trays!

Directions: Wash your produce. This should always be the first thing you do before you eat something so obviously you should do this before feeding it to your baby.

Peel your potatoes and chop into cubes. Place into steam bags and microwave according to package directions. Glad bags states 3 cups of potatoes, steam for 7-8 minutes.

While you are waiting for your taters to steam, set up your Bullet. I used the large cup with the 4 prong blade. The flat blade did not puree as well, leaving chunks. Once your microwave dings, remove and let cool for a few minutes! DO NOT BLEND POTATOES PIPING HOT OR IT MAY EXPLODE. I know this from watching Chopped on the Food Network :) I blended this into 3 batches so I could make sure it was all pureed, plus I had no idea what I was doing. If you have any liquids leftover in the bag from steaming, use them, they have some nutrients from the potatoes. You will have to add more liquid of your choice, a lot more than I thought initially. I chose to add water because I did not want to use my already pumped milk and because the formula we have on hand expires in June. Add water a little at time to achieve the consistency you prefer. Once pureed, pour or spoon into ice cube trays, cover with Saran wrap and freeze.

My 2 large sweet potatoes made 26 "cubes" of food, which is plenty to start with because I need to see 1.) If she likes it 2.) If she has any allergies toward it 3.) She won't start out eating more than 1 or 2 cubes at a time, that is already almost 2 weeks of taters! Now throw your Bullet pieces, knife, peeler, ice cube trays when food is frozen, cutting board, if it will fit (mine does), into your dishwasher and you are done! Once frozen, about 3-4 hours later, pop out of trays and put into your freezer ZipLoc bags. Make sure you label the bag with the date and what you are freezing! Your food should be good up to 3 months in your fridge freezer and 6 months in a deep freeze. My husband told me to start looking for a deep freeze before I take over our fridge freezer. Haha.This little taste of making my own baby food seriously gets me excited to make my own concoctions and to puree what we are eating. She will hopefully develop a diverse palate and learn to love food!

So ya think you can handle this?? Let me know if you try to tackle homemade baby food and please share your favorite baby recipes with me! After she starts eating her sweet potatoes we will be tubbin more often in our pink whale!

My Baby Must Haves

We are quickly approaching the four month mark :( I know people say time flies but seriously, they are not kidding! I often find myself wondering what I did before I had a baby. I took my free time and me time for granted. I realized this yesterday while running errands with my baby. Complete and utter torture, I swear. She hates her car seat so much, I have dreamed of the day when we go back to no child restraints. I mean I would use my Baby K'Tan to strap her to me if that counts? She screamed for about an hour, then after we got home, she was happy as a lark. I am so jealous of the people that can drive around to get their child to sleep. Tummy sleeper problem number 5,000.I unlike most first time moms, did not buy much before she was born. I had no idea what I was getting into and the stuff I did buy, I quickly regretted. A bassinet? Waste. Clothes that have buttons not snaps to fasten. Those people clearly do NOT have children. So I have come up with a list of some of my favorite things this far. I understand every child is different and everyone of these things may not have worked for you, but they would make a great baby gift for someone else to try! >
1.) Diapers I started out with Pampers because that is what the hospital uses. They were great until she learned how to blow out of her diaper and ruin outfits daily. Then I had a package of Luvs I got as a gift, too scratchy to me. I have not tried the off brands like Costco because I don't want 500 diapers if I hate them. The verdict in this house is HUGGIES! The cadillac of diapes for us. That little cinch above her booty is ideal, no more blowouts. 2.) Lotion Aquaphilic. Thick, boring, non-scented lotion, non-staining, and non-irritating. I love it for all of those reasons. Pay about $11.00 and find it behind your pharmacy counter, it will last forever. You do NOT need a prescription, it's just so awesome they hide it! I found mine at Target.

3.) Shampoo Mustela Foam Shampoo. Craddle cap? Dry, flaky scalp? This is the best! Again, it is a little pricey compared to Johnson's but at $12.00 per bottle, 1 pump per bath is all you need. A friend told me about this and I have never used anything but this. You can find this miracle stuff at Target, Buy Buy Baby, online, and other retailers.

4.) Wet/Dry Bags I refuse to carry a diaper bag. I just have an extra large cute purse and throw this amazing bag in it with everything I could need. I carry things like diapers, wipes, lotion (sample size), baby wash (sample size), comb, extra change of clothes, teething ring, paci just in case she changes her mind :), nursing pads, a bib, mini trash bags, and room to spare! The best thing is if she has a blow out, dump the goodies out in your purse and use the bag to keep the wet clothes until you get home, wash it out and re-stock! Buy Buy Baby has these in many colors and sizes.

5.) Baby Monitor Since my baby now sleeps in her crib...yes you heard me right! Success and one more thing to check off my bad mom list. I love love my Motorola Digital Monitor 3.5 video MBP 36 baby monitor. I can't imagine how you could improve this thing. First off, you can adjust the camera when they move, talk to them through the monitor, play pre-recorded music, adjust volumes or silence when you are tired of hearing them cry (it has sound-activated lights so you know they are crying, relax), night vision, temperature of the room, set an alarm to wake you up ( why would you ever do that?), and works up to 590 feet. For a mere $239.00 it was the best gift. Just buy this at Buy Buy Baby and use a 20% off coupon! Duh.

Hello Mom :)

6.) Swing 4MOMS brand Mama Roo is really exactly what it says, for moms. This spaceship of a machine takes up little space and does everything but vibrate, not sure why it couldn't? I never read instructions so in the beginning I never used this because my baby likes to sit up and see things. Thanks Google for reminding me I already have a swing that would work. It lays back and sits up with the ease of 1 flap. With many different motion options, nature sounds built in, and a cord to hook up your phone/ipod. Hello Pandora baby station! I promise everything I buy is not that expensive, but this sells for around $230.00. Listen, this is the only swing/bouncer thing we own!

7.) Blankets/Swaddlers As pictured above, our Aden & Anais swaddle blankets go everywhere with us! We do not use them for swaddling but they are great for that, great for wearing as a scarf for covering up while breastfeeding, and just a great around the house blankie. They are made from bamboo and are so light and breatheable but also very warm! Amazing! 8.) Baby Carrier My go-to carrier is my Baby K'Tan. Quick, easy, and not much fuss. Best for around the house and fits easily into my purse. The Baby K'Tan is in my size and therefore does not fit my husband, that is one downfall. So our other carrier is the Ergo Baby Performance carrier. I used this for the first time 2 days ago for our first walk outside, perfection. Comfortable and easy to sneak a feeding in under wraps :). I can't wait to try all of the versitle postions this carrier has to offer. That purple thing is my baby :)

I hope some find this useful as I would buy these over and over again if I ever had more children, which will NEVER happen, so I will share with you all. Let me know if I am missing some of your favorite products. I would love to hear your feedback.