Monday, March 9, 2009

Homemade food trial numero uno: PEAS

I guess I decided on peas first because they seemed the easiest and they are Mason's fave, so why not? Here is the run-down:


I used freshly-frozen peas (10 ounces), a basket steamer, medium sized pot with lid, one inch of water, and food processor, spatula and left-over Gerber 1st Foods plastic containers (I am still waiting on my other containers to come in the mail).


I started by boiling an inch of water in the bottom of the pot and set the peas in the steamer basket on top, covered, and boiled for 5 minutes. When the 5 minutes was up, I reserved the cooking water, then I then rinsed the peas under cold water to stop the cooking. Next, I transferred the peas to the food processor and blended until smooth, adding the cooking water until I liked to consistency for Mason.




I used a tablespoon to scoop the peas into the Gerber containers and so I could keep track of how much I was transferring to the containers. I knew ahead of time that each Gerber container comes with about 3 tablespoons of food when you buy them. I filled 6 Gerber containers with 3 tablespoons each, totaling 18 tablespoons of food.

Total time spent from start to clean kitchen was 15 minutes.


Here is the best part:

Gerber 1st Foods 2 packs= approx. $1.00 so 6 total (3 2-packs) would be $3.00

Doing it my way, 6 containers (made from 10 ounces of peas) = $.70


That's a savings of $2.30! And no preservatives and/or added acid (seriously WTF?). The frozen puree lasts 3 months in the freezer or 3 days in the fridge. I don't know about you, but my time is money and 15 minutes is nothing compared to the benefits of making my own food. Plus, it is so damn pretty!

5 comments:

Elisabeth said...

I loved making Stink his baby food. You have to check out the books by Annabell Karmel-- I cooked my way through her "Top 100 Purees" and Stink ate every single one. Heck--even I ate some of them (before pureeing) super yummy!Once I got the hang of it, it is super quick, easy, inexpensive and so much better tasting. Especially once you start to introduce meats and dinners...The jarred ones are so awful!

Avocados are also a baby favorite--super buttery and easy to mash up--no blender necessary--just a fork! Stink still loves them to bits.

Laura said...

Good for you! I totally plan to do this when Liam is allowed food, but I tell you, I am getting so much flack already! I can't even begin to figure the number of people who have told me that they "intended" to make their baby food and just never had the time. Hello! The savings alone makes me have time!

Laura E said...

I love making Lilys baby food! Good Luck:)

Tasha - The Clean Eating Mama said...

"And no preservatives and/or added acid (seriously WTF?)"
This is EXACTLY why I am planning on making Baby J's food when he gets of age.

Jessica said...

That's awesome! Keep me posted on what else you make... this sounds like a great idea!