The Working Mom’s Guide to Homemade Baby Food
I’ve talked a lot before about what a hard time I had getting Bean Man to eat solid foods (here and here). The first problem was that he wasn’t ready for a long time. We tried at four months, again at five months, again at six months, and finally success at seven months. The second problem was that Bean didn’t like jarred baby food. He still doesn’t. I don’t know if it is the texture or the taste, but personally I think it is that he didn’t like being fed. He didn’t like the spoon and he didn’t like me putting the food in his mouth for him. He showed slightly more interest when I put food down in front of him and he could pick it up and feed himself, but it wasn’t until he was seven months old that he really started showing interest in food. I guess everyone was right.
He’ll eat when he’s ready to eat.
Now that Bean is an eater, it has been both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because he is bulking up a little bit faster. He’s still pretty small compared to most babies his age, but I can notice a difference in the meat on his bones since he’s been eating food. But on the flip side, because he won’t eat jarred baby food, that really left me no choice but to make the food myself. And, as a full-time working mom, I just didn’t think that I would have time.
At first, it took me a couple weeks to get in my groove and those few weeks were pretty hectic. Turns out, for as small as babies are they can go through some food! Granted, only about 10% of the food I put in front of Bean actually made it into his mouth, but still. He was going through food like crazy. And that meant for a few weeks my life consisted of working, making baby food, playing with Bean, making baby food, writing blog posts, making baby food, washing my hair, making baby food, etc. But in the past month, I have created a little system for myself and it turns out that with a few simple tools, a good schedule, and a little bit of time, it isn’t all that hard.
In December, I posted about how my mom came to visit and we made pureed baby food that we froze in ice cube trays. It was really great. I’d throw a cube into a little Tupperware container and send Bean to school and by lunchtime the cubes had thawed and were ready to eat. If you really don’t have much time as a working mom, you can feed your baby like this every day and still feel confident that he is getting healthy, hearty, fresh food in his system. But I found that Bean’s independent streak made it hard sometimes for him to eat ONLY pureed baby food. He couldn’t do that himself, so about 15 minutes into the meal, he’d get bored with me doing it for him and he’d start fussing to get out of his high chair. But, I noticed that he would eat Gerber Puffs for as long as I put them in front of him. He just liked being able to do it himself. That’s when I started fresh steaming veggies for him for each meal. I’d steam them and cut them up really small and he could chow on those like he did his Puffs. But that was really time consuming.
It took me a about a week to realized that in the same time as it took me to steam one meal’s worth of food, I could steam one whole week’s worth of food. And that’s when I started to form my little system.
Today, this is what it takes to feed Bean Man…
As a working mom, I am motivated by guilt. Pretty much all the time. Guilt over the time that I’m away from him. Guilt over the stuff I’m feeding him. Guilt over pretty much everything. Its just my nature. And using store-bought, canned, jarred, boxed food was one more thing to feel guilty about. But you know what? I dropped that guilt pretty darn fast. And I’ll tell you why.
My feeling is that as long as Bean has a balanced, healthy diet and as long as the MAJORITY of his food is fresh, healthy, and of the earth, then a little help from the grocery store every now and then isn’t going to kill him. And it gives me more time to hang out with him, and I think that is better for his development than a canned lima bean is bad for it.
Having said that, there are some essential items that are store bought that I keep on hand at all times:
Plain yogurt: Bean loves yogurt. I read somewhere that plain is the best for babies his age because the kind with fruit has a lot more sugar in it. I do sometimes mix his yogurt with fresh fruit at home though.
Canned fruit: I don’t use this a lot, but if I’m out of fresh fruit, its nice in a pinch. Its also been good to use to introduce Bean to fruit that isn’t in season. I use the Lite kind to reduce the sugar and I wash the fruit off before I serve it to him to get any of that syrup residue off. I cut these up into little chunks and he likes feeding these to himself.
Elbow macaroni: I boil a big batch of these once a week and store them in Tupperware in the fridge. When I give them to Bean, I cut them in half. While they don’t have any nutritional value, Bean likes them as little snacks and they make a good filler food to round out a meal.
Lima Beans (or any bean that I don’t have time to cook): Cooking fresh beans is a process and its one that I just don’t have the time for, to be honest with you. So, I use canned or frozen beans for Beanie. Again, I rinse these off before I feed them to him to get that canned starchiness off of the bean. I cut the bean in half and he can feed himself. His favorites are lima beans, but he also likes green beans and peas from cans. (Although, with the peas, be sure you mush them up because those are the perfect size for a choking hazard.)
Applesauce: Now, I know you can make homemade applesauce really easily and especially since I already steam fresh apples for Bean anyway (I’ll talk about that later). But I find the jarred applesauce is just as good and is cheap, too. To me, personally, its one of those things that’s just better out of the jar. I try to get the homestyle or natural when its on sale to reduce the sugar intake, but this week regular Motts Original was the sale item. So, Motts it was!
Gerber Products: Bean loves Gerber Puffs – peach, sweet potato, cherry, banana, any flavor. He loves them! In fact, when he was first starting to actually eat real food, I used the Puffs to teach him how to eat by putting a piece of real food under the Puff so he couldn’t see it. The only thing about them is that they melt on contact with saliva and so they don’t teach him how to chew because they just slide down his throat. He also really likes the Gerber Yogurt Melts. He’s not as crazy about these as he is the Puffs and he prefers real yogurt, but in a pinch, they work just find to distract him or keep him busy.
Not pictures: Frozen veggies, like broccoli (which I steam and then puree to a chunky pulp with apple juice to smooth it out). These are great for those times when I run out of fresh in the middle of the week.
While those store-bought items are staples in our house, we use fresh fruits, veggies, and meat about four times more often. And there are staple items that I buy every time I am at the grocery store:
These are some of the fruits that Bean eats straight-up. He loves apples and strawberries, but I still put these in that great feeder that my sister gave Bean for Christmas. That way, I don’t worry about him choking. The bananas I just cut into little pieces and he can eat those himself. But the avocados? Hands down Bean’s favorite food. I chunk them up into little pieces and he stuffs his face. He’ll eat an entire avocado if I let him. And I’m okay with that because they are SUPER good for him and they mush right up when he gums them. He loves them!
So far, everything I’ve talked about has been low maintenance and quick to prepare. But the bulk of Bean’s food comes from steamed fruits and veggies and those are what needs a little time for preparation. So, here’s how I do it.
On Sunday afternoons, I chop. And I chop. And I chop. I chop enough food for Bean to eat all week long. Right now, my general list of chopping includes squash, zucchini, apples, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Once I get everything chopped, I put them into labeled Ziplock bags that are dated so I know when I chopped them.
While I’m chopping, I am also steaming. I steam enough for 3 or 4 days at a time. I have tried to steam everything at one time for the entire week, but I found that by half way through the week, things got a little mushy and slimy. So now, I steam enough to get through until Wednesday or Thursday. It usually ends up being about one medium-sized Tupperware container.
All total, I think it takes me about an hour and a half to chop enough for the week and to steam enough for half the week. Then, with all my chopped fruit and veggies in their Ziplock baggies, on a Wednesday or Thursday night, I just have to throw handfuls of stuff into the steamer and I’m set to go for the rest of the week.
Some of Bean’s favorites are steamed sweet potatoes. I chunk up 2 sweet potatoes for a week. Throw a couple handfuls into the steamer and Bean eats them like candy. He loves them!
He also LOVES steamed apples. I steam them because I’m a weenie and I’m afraid he would choke if I gave him a small piece of a fresh apple. But if you put some chunks into the steamer, they get good and mushy, while still keeping their full flavor and nutrients. Bean almost likes these better than puffs. Now, at this point, you could add a few ingredients, throw ’em in the blender, and make yourself some applesauce. But Bean is a purist and I’m lazy, so we just stop at the steaming and pick up with the jarred applesauce when we’re feelin’ frisky.
More recently, we have added a little meat to Bean’s diet. I boiled two chicken breasts on Sunday and shredded one of them and put the other in a Ziplock baggie. I usually mix the shredded chicken in with apples or squash or something else with a mushy texture so that it isn’t so dry and hard to swallow. So far, Bean seems okay with it, but it does give him pretty gnarly gas. I think that’s cause he’s not used to meat in his system yet.
I know some people say that you can also just cook the baby’s food while you cook your own food, but the truth is that Chris and I don’t really eat simple enough for Bean. Or healthy enough for that matter. And I was always cooking two separate meals at night; one for us and one for Bean. Doing it this way seems to save me a lot of time. I spend an hour and a half on Sunday afternoons and then half an hour on Wednesday evenings when I steam. And when you add these fresh, steamed fruits and veggies to the fresh fruits and veggies and the some help from the store, Bean eats a LOT and he eats really healthy. And we’re ALL happy.
The last tip for feeding babies while your working is to create a space in the fridge that belongs to your baby. I made a little area on the right side of the bottom shelf in our fridge and that is where anything Bean eats is stored. This makes it so much simpler to pack his lunches and feed him meals because I don’t have to think or search. I know whatever I pull out is Bean-approved. Its also nice for when Chris pitches in at mealtimes. Because I’m the primary food-giverer, Chris sometimes doesn’t know what foods Bean can have and what he can’t. So, if Chris has to pitch in one night, he knows that anything in that one area is for Bean.
Being a mom of any station has all kinds of pros and cons. But being a working mom at times feels like its own beast of burden. I’m finding though that the more I plan ahead, the more time I make to spend with Bean. And doing simple things, like giving him the healthiest meals that I can, make me really feel like I’m doing okay. Like even though I’m working so much, I’m still providing for my baby’s needs. And that puts a smile on my face.
39 Comments
Mindee@ourfrontdoor
Hey Katie?
You’re doing a great job at this mom thing. 🙂
Jayme
I bought a cookbook at TJ MAXX called ” 1,2,3 cook for me” it has recipes for all ages, and there are even recipes for adults too!! Here is a link to the cheapest one i could find on-line ( http://us.ebid.net/perl/auction.cgi?mo=auction&auction=22121449&from=googlebase )
Jayme
If your ever in need of some different ideas to try with him as he gets older there is a book called ” 1,2,3 Cook for Me”
Here is a link to the cheapest place i could find on line.
http://us.ebid.net/perl/auction.cgi?mo=auction&auction=22121449&from=googlebase I found a copy at TJ Maxx!!
P.S Way to go with being a healthy momma for Bean and giving him a good,healthy start with eating!!
Betty
Ok, I am bookmarking all these posts for the future. Also, I was wondering about this today when I looked at the six loads of laundry I need to fold: How do you and Chris handle housework? Do you have a house cleaner, do you split stuff up? Thanks for posting so much HELPFUL information!!!
Mom of 3
Wow! I am impressed…he really has caught on to this food thing hasn’t he? And very healthy!
Just 2 comments, take ’em or leave ’em. It’s still recommended for babies this age to have whole milk dairy products and I noticed that your yogurt is non-fat. If you want him to gain some weight get him the full fat yogurt (it’s good for his brain too.) Also, if you want his pasta to have more nutritional value get the whole wheat variety. It takes some getting used to as an adult who’s always eaten white pasta, but my kids never knew the difference and still eat it without thinking about it, when their friends balk at it. I used to have to buy it in the organic section, but now the mainstream brands carry 100% whole wheat pasta in lots of different shapes. I found that the spiral rotini cut in half fell apart in babies mouths easily and was less likely to cause choking. I’d also recommend always buying whole wheat bread and brown rice, they’re so much more nutritious and he’ll never know the white stuff exisits (until he sees what his friends bring for lunch, but by then his palette will be well trained.)
Katie
Oh!! Great suggestions!! I’ll do both of those!!
Nancy
Great post. Glad the Bean is finally getting the food thing! It’s so fun when babies realize what they’ve been missing.
And a tip (take it or leave, as the previous commenter said!): I find frozen veggies and fruit to be cheaper and better tasting than the canned/jarred stuff–especially when it’s out of season, plus you don’t have to worry about rinsing off the syrup or whatever. I just steam the veggies in the microwave, and I add frozen fruit to Alice’s oatmeal. The heat defrosts the fruit just enough to make it soft. You can also just defrost the fruit in the fridge overnight. I also blend the fruit with whole milk (you can use yogurt, also) to make smoothies because Alice is also on the tiny side and I feel the need to fatten her up! When she is teething, she hates eating but she’ll drink smoothies! Also, if you buy the frozen tiny little sweet baby peas, they aren’t a choking hazard once steamed because they are pretty soft! Alice loves ’em.
Keep up the good work. I don’t have the time and the energy to do all that planning and I don’t even work! LOL.
Katie
Smoothies, eh? (I’m not Canadian.I’ve just been watching the Olympics…) Do you put it in her bottle?
Nancy
Sippie cup. She never used a bottle, but you could put it in a bottle if it’s thin enough, though “they” say that the only thing that should go in a bottle is milk or formula, so hey– good opportunity to introduce the sippie cup or straw to the Bean! (Oh, and maybe this goes without saying but at this point with the Bean, you would use yogurt, not milk.)
Danielle Melnyczenko
Again Katie, I’m writing a similar post lol. Aidan’s favourites are steamed apple and steamed sweet potato. Pear is also good to get the bowls moving. Last week Steve and I had a roast chicken dinner and I baked an extra piece of pumpkin and potato and stripped some of the chicken breast and mashed it up for him. He gobbled it down. We eat a lot of salads here (aussie summer) so I had to come up with a similar system so I wasn’t having to make 2 dinners every night. He even has his own section of the fridge lol. Hubby makes his own yogurt, it’s so much cheaper and so easy.
I’m glad Beaner is enjoying his food now. You’re doing a great job and trust me, the guilt sticks with you no matter what you do.
lindsay
Veggie Chop. amazon.com and williams sonoma sell it. It helps save a lot of time if you have to chop a lot of stuff. and you control the size by how many times you pull the level. Just a thought…
Ella
Your doing a great job with Beanies food! We also have a section in the fridge for my sons food – makes it easier for everyone. I think Beanie would be getting a few nutrients from the pasta. Rice is also a good food to try if you havnt already. I also suffer from the mother guilt as well, guilt over bottle feeding instead of breast feeding, pretty much everything!
Miss M!
Try mixing the avocado with the banana. Sounds nasty but babies LOVE it.
I’m also going to agree with the previous poster about the lowfat yogurt – babies need the full fat for brain development.
I’d be a lot healthier if I were on the Bean diet ! 🙂
Candy
He’s a total cutie, and you are an awesome mom!
And now, may I ask… those little ziploc containers (the smallest size), where did you get them? We have nearly run through our supply (they get used in school lunches) and now I can’t find any to replenish our cupboards.
Thanks!
Jen
This is too cute.
You are an awesome mommy!
Lisa
Great system! You sound like you are doing such an awesome job with him!
kk
Bean must be overwhelmed with all the food choices he has now.
I know this may be from infomercials but have you thought of getting a Slap chop? It makes it easier for your chopping life.
Sarah H.
You’re doing a great job!
Betsy
I hate to tell you this, but after introducing meat to Jackson he still has gnarly gas!!! People will sometimes stare at me in the store!
Julie
Do you give him the full chunks at a time? I have a 7 month old and want to start doing something similar but am not sure about the choking thing? She will not eat baby food either so I am wanting to use your suggestions. Does he do good with the chunks? When it comes to dinner, do you just take them out of the fridge and give to him or do you “thaw” out first? Sorry for all the questions, I just have a slight panic attack about giving her food but I know that she is ready! Thanks!!
Katie
I felt the same way about the chunks. I was so worried he would choke. Starting with the Puffs actually helped that because he learned to gum things and chew before he swallowed and since those melt on contact, I didn’t have to worry (as much!) about the choking hazard. For the regular food, I steamed it until it was really, really mushy. Now that he’s had it for about a month, he is getting better with chewing/gumming so I don’t have to steam things until they are mushy anymore. But the steaming just helps get it good and soft. If you want to start with something really easy, I’d go with the steamed apples or the avocados. Both of these are really easy for Bean to chew up. Those might be good to start with. It took Bean about 2 weeks before he wasn’t gagging every time he ate something. He wasn’t ever choking, but his gag reflex would kick in every time he swallowed. After 2 weeks though, he learned how to swallow more chunky food and he hasn’t had a problem since.
Katie
Oh, and I just take it out of the fridge for him. Sometimes I warm things up (like the sweet potatoes and the squash), but he seems to eat it better when its room temperature. Might be different depending on baby’s preferences though.
Caitlin
Thanks so much for this post! I’ve been looking for nutritious finger foods for my little guy. Great ideas!
Lori @ I Can Grow People
“As a working mom, I am motivated by guilt. Pretty much all the time. Guilt over the time that I€™m away from him. Guilt over the stuff I€™m feeding him. Guilt over pretty much everything.”
YES! ME TOO!
It’s so hard. I see P only 3 hours a day–1.5 in the AM and 1.5 in the PM. So difficult.
I really want to make my own baby food, but my husband is like, “Why when you can just buy it?” And then I want to punch him in the face. However, I may give this a shot when Hubs is out of town next week 😉
Katie
Chris kind of thinks its ridiculous, too. He doesn’t come right out and say that, but he does a lot of eye-rolling while I’m chopping and steaming. But I don’t care. Its not for him, its for Bean. And in some way, its for me, too. It makes me feel like I’m giving him something that he can’t get anywhere else. I know that if I have to be away from him, he still has a little something with him that’s just from me.
deepa
Dude! Next time Chris rolls his eyes, hand him a knife and tell him to get to work! 😛
Julie
Thank you!! Very helpful.
Margaret
Hey – thanks for posting! We’re officially in the land of Earth’s Best, and man! I am too lazy to figure out what else to do to mix it up (my son is in trouble when he relies solely on solid food). BUT I found these puffs at Whole Foods (by HappyBaby) that have no added sugar! I think my goal is to go sugar-free as long as humanly possible. I can handle the jarred food as long as it’s organic and sugar (and cane syrup etc. etc.) free. I also heard the thing about the nonfat vs. full fat yogurt. Looks like you have a great system, though!
Amy
I am DEFINITELY going to find time to do this when I have children. What a great idea, Katie!
Caitlin
It worked! I gave my little guy chopped up green beans last night and he just kept stuffing them in, he loved it! Thank you for the great idea!
Jessica
WOW! I hope that I can be that dedicated when I am a mom. I use the Ziploc® Brand Zip ‘n Steam Microwave Steam Cooking Bags for my husband and I and they work great in a pinch. I don’t know anything about feeding babies, but maybe they could help if your strapped for time. : )
Nancy
BTW, I meant to ask what kind of steamer you use? Or do you just use the microwave? (Or maybe even a steamer basket on the stove? LOL).
Katie
Steamer basket in a pot on the stove, baby! I’m old school! But I do have a groovey, retro, green, bendy, plastic steamer basket, so I feel like that counter-acts some of the old schoolness…
Dandy
Wow, I’m going to take your word for it. It looks like thats a lot of work and I was starting to get a little anxious…which is a problm considering I’m not even pregnant yet. Great information though!!
Brooke
Thanks for the rundown. I’m due in early July and planning on using fresh food over jar food for my little one. I also have the same fridge as you! Kinda funny. I only hope mine is as organized as yours down the road.
Emily Marie
Wow, this is probably the best post I have ever seen on baby food and all the work that goes into it. THANK YOU SO MUCH! My little Michael is just a month younger than yours, so this is very timely, especially considering he started out with some of the same issues with not eating as the Bean. I’m really excited to start chopping and steaming veggies now! lol
Cindy
You are doing an awesome job with feeding the Bean. I have been having difficulty with my little one eating for the past year– she is now 16 months– and just keep trying different things over and over again. I have 4 children — 20yo, 11yo, 8yo, and the baby so I have been through this before and it has always been a struggle. I have also learned not to worry so much about it because I know that they will eventually start eating well. So this is my confession, my baby mainly eats: whatever dry cereal is in the cupboard (sometimes Trix but sometimes Special K or Cheerios), bananas, Spaghettio’s, Gerber Crunchies, puffs, wagon wheels, or Yogurt melts, Nutrigrain bars, 100% Fruit snacks, Yo-baby Yogurt. She always refused to eat any jarred baby food or any food that I prepared that remotely looks like baby food so this includes mashed potatoes, applesauce, and any “homemade” baby food. She also continues to not want to eat any meats– she just chews on it and then spits it out. If you try to give her something that she doesn’t want she will either refuse to open her mouth or she will put it in her mouth and then promptly spit it out and sometimes spit it into her hand and throw it at you. So in order to make meal times more pleasant I have just resolved not to worry about it anymore and give in to what it is that she wants to eat.
Katie
AMEN! This makes me feel so much better! We should all just take a deep breath when it comes to feeding out stubborn little babies!!! Thank you!
Dee
Your post has some really good information. My baby just started refusing to be fed and I am working full time. I have been making my own baby food but pureeing and freezing them seemed so easy compared to figuring out what chunky food to given him so that he will have the same amount (Baby was eating 6 ounce a sitting). Thanks for all the tips. Very well planned out.