Think Outside the Box: Baby/Toddler Foods

This week is going to be all about Baby and Toddler Foods on my blog. I will post recipes specifically made with the baby/toddler crowd in mind.

My baby just turned 15 months so I have a good taste tester for all my baby/toddler recipe experiments! Only Jad approved recipes will be posted!

Lucky for me I do not shop at the regular grocery store so I do not have to brave the "baby aisle" they have going on in there. There is a baby aisle at Sprouts where I often shop but it is much smaller and healthier so I can handle that.

I still don't need to spend money on most of the stuff in any
of the baby aisles at any store though when I really think about it and pay attention.

When it comes to feeding your baby or toddler I really think we can learn a lot from Ma. There was no baby aisle for Ma to shop in. She just made food for her family and most of the time her babies ate what everyone else was having, she probably just mashed it up and maybe added some liquid to it as needed.

I realize this is not going to work all the time in our modern lives and convenience is good and can be very helpful but I am asking you to think outside the box and realize that buying jarred baby food and little pre-packaged toddler meals is not the only way to make life easier. You can still save time and money by adopting these few tricks:

• Buy big jars of applesauce or pear sauce. The jar pictured above cost me a little over $2 which is much better than the close to $1 you usually pay for each small jar of baby food. You can also buy a big bag of apples or pears and make your own pear or applesauce if you have some extra time on your hands. Pear sauce is the easiest to make. Recipe coming soon!
• Buy freeze dried fruit. Trader Joes sells bigger bags of many different kinds of freeze dried fruits at good prices. Costco also sells a box of 20 individual packs of freeze dried fruits for about $13. These are great for times when you are on the go and want an easy snack for your baby or toddler. Much healthier than crackers too. I am not into grains so I don't feed them to my kids. We try to eat foods that are as close to the source as possible and grains just don't meet this criteria. All grains have to be heavily processed to be edible and we are not into processed foods at this house!
• Buy frozen veggies and fruits like peas, carrots, squash, blueberries, peaches, cherries, etc. You can defrost a small amount and mash it up or puree it for babies or serve it whole to toddlers. I can usually get bags of organic fruits and veggies for around $2 a bag and they last much longer than the jars of baby food.
• Feed your babies and toddlers some avocado! Forget the fortified rice and other grain baby cereals with all the added iron. Avocados are naturally high in iron and healthy fat. Great for brain development! They could not be easier either. Just wait for them to get ripe, slice, scoop out the flesh and serve! They are also great for pureeing alone or with other foods. They make things nice and creamy.
• Buy large winter squashes and bake them whole following this method: Easy Delicious Baked Squash For babies you can scoop out all the squash into ice cube trays and freeze these small portions for easy defrosting and quick meals. For toddlers you can just store big wedges of the baked squash in the refrigerator for quick meals and snacks. This is definitely cheaper than buying little jars of pureed squash.
• Make a BIG pot of veggie soup, I like to use my slower cooker for this. Then use a slotted spoon to serve soft veggie chunks to toddlers or puree a big scoop and spoon feed it to babies. You just made your own mixed veggie meal and you will have enough for many baby food jars worth for more than half the price! When you baby starts eating meat (if you are into meat like we are!) you can add some chicken thighs or breasts, pork shoulder, or beef and the meat will be nice and soft and easy for baby or toddler to eat. Don't ever buy the jars of baby food meat, they are watery and smell funny. Making your own by making soup is easy and it will taste much better, your baby will thank you!
• Pick something to make and make A LOT of it! Then freeze or store it in the refrigerator for quick meals and snacks. Some ideas: fritattas, veggie meatballs(recipe coming soon), egg muffins or egg "brownies" (recipe coming soon), machaca (recipe coming soon)

Please share any of your tips in the comments. I would love to hear them!

Look for baby/toddler recipes all this week on my blog.

I forgot one more tip, give them fresh fruit! Its sounds simple but it seems like a lot of people forget about this fresh and easy option. I cannot tell you how many meals I have been able to cook while Jad sat happily in his high chair gnawing on a fresh apple, pear, peach, or plum.