Save Money by Preparing Organic, Preservative-Free Food for your Baby

My Facebook Friends Were Right—
Sprouts Has the Best Selection of Organic Produce

Every year, more parents are deciding to prepare their baby's first solid foods at home rather than shelling out the big bucks for convenient ready-made portions.

Buying baby food may not seem too expensive at first. However, take into consideration that organic, preservative-free baby food typically costs around .50 cents an ounce. Yesterday, I purchased a large organic sweet potato from Sprouts Farmers Market for less than $2. Once prepared, this sweet potato yielded over 30 servings of scrumptious puree for my baby. That is a total savings of more than $13 . . . eat that extreme couponers.  

Preparing your baby's fruits & veggies will heed large quantities of food for a fraction of the cost. Your child will also enjoy additional benefits by eating only the purest, GMO and preservative-free, organic, fresh ingredients . . . especially during their precious early years.

Baby's First Sweet Potato Puree Recipe

Thirty Servings of Organic, Preservative-Free Baby Food for Less Than $2

Believe it or not, making baby food is easy. I have a Baby Bullet, but any blender will work just fine. For my six-month-old baby's third vegetable, I decided to make Sweet Potato Puree. The recipe (like all baby recipes) is super simple and easy-to-follow. Don't forget to wash your hands, all surfaces and tools before prepping the food . . . nothing is more important than cleanliness in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 Large Sweet Potato

1 Cup Water

Tools

Vegetable Peeler

Blender (I use the Baby Bullet)

Silicon Spatula

Glass Cup/Bowl

Baby Food Storage Containers

First. Wash, peel and cut sweet potato into medium-sized chunks, then add it to a little over one cup of boiling water.

Second. Once the sweet potato is soft enough to break apart easily (this took around 15 minutes), remove it from the heat, and pour a cup of the boiled water into a glass measuring cup (The boiled sweet-potato water contains a lot of the nutrients!). Cover ingredients, and allow them to cool.

Third. Add the cooled sweet potato and water into the blender. Puree the ingredients until they are at the proper consistency, adding additional water or fresh breast milk to achieve the desired texture.

Fourth. Portion out your baby's food accordingly. Store properly, food keeps for three days in the fridge, 30 days in the freezer. Thaw frozen food by moving each serving to the fridge a day prior to feeding it to your baby, or if necessary you can defrost it by placing the container in cold water. 

Start strong by preparing the best for your baby, and for years to come you will see the benefits in their health and attitude, while saving money. Who said buying organic is always expensive? I say, you just have to be smart!  ; )

Seven-Month-Old Milestones

Teething - You can typically expect your baby to cut their first tooth between their fifth and seventh month, so chances are at seven-months-old, you are attending to a drooly, fussy baby from time to time. Charlotte cut her first tooth around six months, so if you're looking for teething pointers, look no further than here.

Motor Skills - Babies really start to master their fine motor skills in the seventh month. You may start to notice your child having a preference for one toy over another, as well as the new-found ability to hold a sippy-cup or onto their spoon. Charlotte has been doing all of the above, and I love watching how much stronger and better coordinated her movements get every day. Watching her army crawl over to the bookshelf and pull of a book today, only to then eat it, I was very impressed with how well she follows through with her intentions.

Food - Now that your baby is getting older, most pediatricians would have already recommended that your infant should start on solid foods. If that is the case, your baby is probably ready to eats food with the consistency being a little thicker than purees. Be sure to check with your pediatrician first. I tend to take things slower, so I will probably wait to introduce a thicker consistency of food until I get the okay from my baby's pediatrician at next month's appointment.

Three Months Milestones

Language - You may notice a difference in your baby's language skills this month. Many babies by this point are babbling consonants within their baby talk, responding to their name, expressing their happiness or frustration vocally, among other language milestones. Charlotte in particular sounds like she's the lead singer of a heavy metal band or the squeakiest little fairy-chipmunk in all the land . . . there is no in between.

There is nothing more satisfying than watching your child light-up as they learn and grow. What are your favorite seven-month milestones?

Six Month Milestones

Our Favorite Things – Custom Tutu

At one point in time, tutus were a staple you'd as a part of every ballerinas' costume. Now you'll see tutus as part a bold and adorable fashion statement worn by little girls everywhere. While I'm not always the girliest of girls, I thought that if my baby does end up being a girly girl one day, it is only fair to have a couple pictures of her looking like a fairy princess. We knew it would be the perfect opportunity to capture Princess Char when we won a tutu and matching bow through our friend's Instagram giveaway @rileyelizabethmodeling.

This customized tutu and bow was handmade by Riley's awesome mama, Tina. I chose the colors light purple and dark purple, mostly because purple is my favorite color. We set up for a quick photo shoot this morning. Charlotte was really distracted by the beautiful tutu until we put it on, then she was just trying to grab the camera. All in all, it wasn't a bad start to my morning. Look at that face! Thanks Riley and Tina for the beautiful tutu, we're in love.