[Tammy]

Has anyone thought about making some homemade baby food and canning to have on hand just in case? I thought about doing it but haven't decided if i'm going to or not. I know that it would save a lot of money cause baby food has actually gone up. And what you buy in stores is a small jar that cost any where from 2 to 3 dollars a jar. You could make a pink jar for almost that much if not a dollar or two more. I'm really considering doing so. I just dont know if it would pay off for me or not. I haven't decided to have more children or not. It would last for several years as long as it is canned correctly though. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

 

[NaeKid]

It is a great idea, especially if you have children (or grandchildren). Just make your normal foods a little on the bland-side, low salt and just puree it. Find the smallest canning jars possible and can like normal.

Meats (beef, pork, chicken, deer, goose, etc) baked or BBQ'd and ground up (hand grinder works well) cooked into a stew then canned or frozen is great.

Fruits turned into a sauce and then canned (apple, peach, apricot, strawberry, etc) makes a great desert for the children. The best way to make the sauce is similar to how you would make the filling for a pie, lower the sugar-count, spice it up with a little cinnamon or clove and again, can it (or freeze it) in very small containers.

My grandson is almost 5 now - no need to make baby-food till my daughter gives me the good news - another one on the way ... I am hoping!

 

[Tammy]

I dont understand if you are going to can the baby food then why would you have to get the smallest containers to can them in. I thought about going a head and canning them in the pint jars. They would be used within the week anyway without spoiling.

 

[NaeKid]

The reason behind the smallest possible canning jars is for transportability. Children get hungry anywhere at anytime - you would always want to have some food for them to eat. The biggest reason why baby-food jars are so small is for "single meal servings" while on the run. There is no real reason to use baby-food at home, baby food is just adult food blended up.

 

[Magi]

My daughter just turned six months. We have made all her food so far. My BIL has squash and pumpkins on his farm, we bought some carrots at the farmers market. The wife just cooks it blends it real well in the food processor. Spoons it out in the lil plastic containers and freezes it. We plan to use it well within a year so canning it doesnt sound as appealing to us.

 

[TechAdmin]

The trick I found when making baby food is to use already prepared food and grind them down. I tried to just jar baby food but it didn't keep well. You may have better luck.

 

[Skeeter]

We have a 3 and 5 year old boys. I won't say we never gave them bought baby food, but mostly we ground up whatever we were having and gave it to them. No worries

 

[The_Blob]

why not just preserve the food for general consumption & then just puree/blend a portion of it when you open the container (yes, adults can eat carrots & squash too! )

 

[Magi]

The reason we made in seperate is when you introduce a food to a baby you are to feed it to them 3-5 days to see if they have a reaction to it. I love carrots and squash is ok but 5 days of squash is a lil more than i can handle in a non emergency lol

 

[Kriket]

be careful with feeding infants canned food. They are more sensitive to spores and the like. I read once not to try and can your own baby food EVER but I'm sure that article was sponsored by gerber.