Adventures in Baby Food Making- Part 2

Well, not exactly Part II because I have been making some food all along but this was the next major food making.


Today was cherry day. Every week I check the grocery ads through Grocery Game (more on that later) and this week Cherry's and Plums were on sale. I love sales so I grabbed a big bag of each and got started. How hard can Cherry's be, anyways? They are so cute and yummy!



Here's the beautiful bowl of cherries ready to be de-seeded. I grabbed the knife and began the process.
This is how many I did before I realized this would be harder than it looked.... and messier! I had to cut each cherry in half around the pit and twist it open, then remove the pit... then get the pits in one bowl and the cherries in another- sounds like a simple step but if i mixed it up even once, that little pit could cause some problems when it got into the food processor. Since a friend had recently sliced her finger open with a sharp object I was extra careful with the knife!

This is what my hands looked like when I was done. I think I still have purple under my nails. Yuck!

Whew, empty bowl... finally.

And the beautiful cherries ready to be chopped up.

For most baby food I have made so far, you steam the items first then process. For cherries and blueberries and some others, you puree then heat. Supposedly it breaks down something that makes it easier to digest- I don't know, I just do what they say.

And it's ready to freeze or eat. Cason's not ready for Cherries but I had to give it a try. I prefer my fruit with a little more sugar but it was still good. Frozen cubes are put in labeled freezer bags and heated up when needed.

"Is this really worth it?"

I'm glad you asked. Actually, I have no idea. For me, I like knowing exactly what is in his food at his young age. Also, I think it saves money. Here's the rundown and I'll let you figure it out, I was never good at math. I got the Cherries for $7.27. (Yes, that's more than I would normally spend on a snack and Yes, that was the sale price). I made the equivalent of 16 jars of baby food (according to the Internet- the source of all good information- 1 jar = 2 cubes). I don't know how much baby food costs but surely it's more than that! Even better were the plums I also made. Paid $2.68 for 18 plums and it made about 10 jars.

"Do you always buy organic?"

Nope. Typically if baby is eating the peel of the fruit or veggie I will like Zucchini but otherwise now. I did use canned green beans for one puree and those were organic. Using fresh green beans didn't sound like fun... but after cherries I can do anything. No, the cherries were not organic (although it breaks my peel rule) but if regular cherries cost over $7 then imagine how much organic cherries cost.

"Where do you get your info?"

My main source is from a book called Cooking for Baby from Williams Sonoma. My other sources are Nurture Baby and Wholesome Baby Food.

"Does he like the food?"

So far we have tried Zucchini, Peas, Apples and Butternut Squash. He loves them all!