DIY baby food

I know Cheryl has an earlier post on making your own baby food, so I thought I'd just tag-team that one and offer a few tips of my own, since I started making most of Liam's food myself.

I have found it INFINITELY easier to make his food one serving at a time with my immersion blender. Mine's the one pictured (a Proctor-Silex), and it was only $15. It's only one speed, but it works well, and I can quickly mash up his food to whatever consistency I want, from a rough chop to a fine puree. This little contraption makes food prep so much faster - and if you don't have one, even buying this little cheapo version is worth the money. It's also easy to clean. And handy in case I make something a little too chunky for his palate - just blend it for a few more seconds, and it's pureed.

Here's some of the stuff I've made for Liam with the immersion blender:
- oatmeal with frozen (& thawed) berries (just throw it all into one bowl & blend)
- canned fruit turned into a chunky sauce
- turning a chunky soup that we've eaten into a creamy one for him
- making fruit salad easier to swallow
- steamed veggie leftovers from our dinner mashed up for lunch the next day

You get the picture.

I also got a wonderful food processor for Christmas, and when I saw the price I couldn't believe it, so I thought I'd pass it along. (How I survived this long in the kitchen without one, I don't know.) It's a Hamilton Beach 'Big-Mouth' processor - and they aren't kidding. It has a 14-cup capacity and you can put whole foods right in. You don't even have to cut them up. This beast is amazing. I even used it to pulverize hard bar soap for laundry detergent. It's also not screaming loud. Of course, it's not a Cuisinart, so who knows how long it'll last. I saw it on several websites for $80, but I saw it on sale at Walmart (gasp!) last week for $39. That, my friends, is a steal, and worth gritting your teeth to run in and getcha one. :)

Another random thought: I saw a commercial for Robert's Dairy the other day that states they no longer use milk from cows given the bovine growth hormone. I also know Land-o-Lakes doesn't, either. (their milk tastes pretty close to organic, in my opinion) - for those of us who can't afford organic milk but don't like the idea of the BHG in our milk.

What I want to know is, how have some of you made meat palatable for your toddlers? I hate the gerber pureed meats, so I don't buy them. Looking for something a little more creative, yet easy to eat for Liam. Any ideas?

What to feed baby.

Those little cans of baby food are so expensive. Here is a short list of much cheaper options that we fed our kids. I tried to list ones you might not have though of. But you all probably have-- you're all so smart.

Instant potato flakes, reconstituted

Canned pumpkin

Dried split peas, cooked and mushed

V-8 soup (V-8 and milk-- a favorite of Linus)

Apple sauce cups instead of babyfood applesauce

Rice cakes

Avocado chunks

Tortellini, cooked until really mushy

Banana mushed with tahini (which is sesame seed butter-- good protein)

Mandarin oranges

Scrambled eggs

Fruit smoothies

Toast strips