Now that Selene’s old enough, we’ve been feeding her some baby food. And we’re finally settled enough in the new house that I’m making homemade baby food for her as much as possible.

So much cheaper than buying jars and really not that hard!

I’ve been doing it the cheap way. We have a VitaMix and I’m just using the ice cube trays and containers we already own to freeze and store the food. I want to get some better baby food storage containers to avoid BPA and similar issues, but after the move that’s not yet in the budget.

Soon, hopefully.

It’s really, really easy to do, even in the early stages.

Peaches, for example. I cut them in half and put them face down in a pan, then add about an inch of water. Then they cook at 400 degrees F in the oven until tender. If the skin’s still a little tough I may peel it, but often peach skins aren’t much of a problem so long as I’ve washed them well. Pop them in the blender, and away they go! Maybe a touch of water, but not much, if they really aren’t smoothing out well.

The best part is that it all tastes pretty decent even to me. I was never able to stomach jarred baby foods. That stuff is nasty! Even a lot of the fruit ones aren’t that good.

Vegetables are pretty easy too. Steaming works well for most, and you can often use veggies in season. Carrots are a classic, as is squash of various sorts. Selene loves, loves, loves zucchini.

I haven’t tried fresh green beans yet as I haven’t found a good source. I gather they can be a bit challenging to puree well due to the skins. My VitaMix copes pretty well with that overall; it just takes a little extra time.

I’ve not worried too much about baby food recipes yet. I’ll face that more as I start mixing things up a little for her. But if I do as I did before, a lot of it will simply be making mild versions of what the rest of the family is eating.

We haven’t started meats yet either. Most sources don’t recommend that until 8 months anyhow, so I still have time.

This stuff is fun, though! Just a touch of extra work but so much benefit. Less waste for not throwing out or even recycling baby food jars. Cheaper because I’m not paying at least $0.50 per jar. Much better tasting for Selene. And a much better selection of flavors to offer, while still considering foods which may be allergens at this age.