Green Baby: Homemade Baby Food

Now that Bodhi has made the move to his first solids, we're taking advantage of all the fresh fruits and veggies growing in and around our garden and the Sakonnet area.

So far, Sara has cooked up peaches, apples, carrots, and squash. This stuff is so good, I'd honestly sneak a few of the containers in my bag for lunch -- but alas, I won't steal from the mouth of this babe.

For us, making our own baby food makes sense on so many fronts:

• Nutritional -- You make it so you know what's in it. Real simple. And since we're freezing everything in either these cool little Baby Cubes or ice cube trays, there's no need for preservatives.
  
  
• Financial -- Store-bought organic baby food jars are in the $0.60 - $0.70 range according to PeaPod. Since we're getting most of this stuff for free (courtesy of the Gerlach Garden or Sara's mom), our "raw materials" cost is near zero. With Bodhi eating about two container's worth of solids a day, we're saving over a dollar a day. It doesn't sound like much, but add it up by month and you can see the impact.
  
  
• Environmental -- Way fewer food miles traveled here. Less CO2, organic growing, seasonal eating (for now) -- it's a win-win.
  
  
• Developmental -- In terms of developing Bodhi's palette, he's getting real, fresh food. You know THAT difference between fresh and not-so-fresh. He's getting it from the get-go. We think that will give him a step up when it comes to developing good eating habits.

So for now, we're happy with how things are progressing. The challenge will come as summer gives way to fall, and fall to winter. We'll try to freeze as much as we can over the coming weeks to see how long we can keep the fresh, local options going.

Looking ahead to when we can expand his palette beyond just the basics, Sara has taken a few baby food recipe books out of the library to read through. I can't wait to see what she cooks up.

(Photo Credit: Carrot Cube, Sara Gerlach)