Question for Moms That Make Homemade Baby Food

Hi!
I used to put plastic wrap on the ice-cube trays until the food was frozen, then put the frozen cubes in ziploc bags in the freezer. It worked really well.

I used one ice-cube tray, and when the food was frozen (usually overnight), I moved the individual cubes to a freezer bag. I also recommend the Magic Bullet--it's fast, easy, and a snap to clean. I use the small cup attachment and feed straight out of there; the longer baby spoons reach all the way down.

Got this idea from one of my baby books...use a regular ice cube tray, cover it with plastic wrap. When the cubes are fully frozen, pop them out of the tray and put them in a freezer bag (they won't stick together) That you only need a couple of trays. Hope this idea helps.

I have made many, many, many (you get the picture) baby food ice cubes. After you freeze them take them out of the trays and put them in a container that you put back in your freezer, then you just take out one and put the rest back in.

I used covered ice cube trays from Bed Bath and Beyond. They come with covers. I was able to put quite a bit of food into each of the cubes. I also would take them out of the trays after they froze and put them in zip lock bags and kept making more. I think Lines and things would also have them.

I started with the cubes but soon learned that it wasn't worth the bother. Then I just put it into small tupperware containers. When they are little you are supposed to only introduce a new food every few days so I would take out a container and it would last a few days and then we'd move on to the next one. It stays good in the fridge for a few days so it's really easy. I used a hand blender wand thing to make the food. It was so easy to cook the veggies and just wand blend them right in the container I cooked them in and then dump into the tupperware bowls, toss on lids and I was done. I still love my hand wand. Even now that they aren't babies I'll take a can of fruit, dump out the juice and blend it right in the can and then pour it out into their bowls. They love all of the different "applesauces" I make them. It's also handy for a banana smoothie. Just add a banana to a cup of milk and blend it. My kids love it.
Best Wishes,
J.
Mom to 4 great kids ages 5,4,3 and 1.

Kudos, mama, for making your own baby food!

When I froze food in trays, I just waited till it was frozen and then I moved it all into another container. I never left the baby food in the ice cube trays for long. I always thought those trays with covers for baby food were so great but then later I was glad I didn't spend the money on them. They're really not necessary - just another gadget to sell to new moms, I think.

Warmly,
C.

www.wholesomebabyfood.com is a GREAT resource for homemade baby food. Both my boys had homemade baby food, they've never had commercial baby foods. Its MUCH healthier, tastier, and way cheaper as well.

I would just make the food, put it into an ice cube tray, and then freeze. Once frozen, I would transfer to a ziploc baggie labeled with the contents and date. Also, a regular ice cube tray is just about an ounce, so if you wanted to keep measure of the food your baby eats ,this is a great way to do that.

With both my kids (and now with the kids I have in day care), I started out buying baby food. We don't have a history of food allergies, but I thought why mix up a batch of sweet potatoes, for example, only to learn that he's allergic? (I also seem to remember something about how you shouldn't make your own carrot baby food, but I'd look into that and not just take my word for it). So I bought a couple of new vegetable flavor as we introduced it, and a few things, like applesauce, I just bought regular unsweetened applesauce at the store. Then I saved all the baby food containers and used those when I moved on to making my own baby food (which really is easy, with a food processor or hand blender). I would fill a baby food container and then, to save some mess in the freezer, put a bunch of them in a zip-loc bag together in the freezer. That way, I didn't have a million little containers floating around, just one or two big ones. I never had trouble with freezer burn, and the size was just about right, and I found defrosting those containers easier than one or two ice cube sized portions.

Good luck with whatever you decide. I thought it was really worth it, for a lot of reasons!

I used Baby Cubes you can get them at onestepahead.com
I loved them, I didn't like just covering ice cube trays.
Good for you for making your own food!

I used regular ice cube trays. I wrapped them in cling wrap or freezer bags. Once they were frozen I put them in vaccumed sealed bags, labeled and dated them. I also ran out of bags one time and used those disposable containers you can use again or just throw away. I always had a couple jars of store food just incase we were going out to eat, then I diddn't have to worry about how i was going to thaw it. To avoid it being a chore I took one weekend, enlisted some girlfriends and we did babyfood those two days. I had enough for the whole time my son was on babyfood. There are some great recipies if you google.

It was personally easier for me to freeze larger portions, although I did try the ice cube tray method. I used 8 oz canning jars that I bought at Cub very inexpensively. Be sure to get the ones with the straight sides (not a "shoulder") so that the food has room to expand as it freezes. I used a piece of tape on the lid to label each jar with the date. You can just fill them half way to start out if she's not a big eater yet. They are very sturdy and will not leach chemicals into the food like plastic does when it is frozen or heated.

I freeze mine in ice cube trays and when frozen put two or three cubes in the small freezer ziplocs. Works welll for me!

Good for you for choosing the healthiest, most earth-friendly, and cost-effective option!! I made all my son's food. All I did was make a big amount of something (say boiled carrots) stuck it in my blender, or used a babyfood mill to grind it, and poured into icecube trays (2-3 trays was suffiecient). Then, once it was frozen solid (12-24 hours) I'd put the food-cubes into a ziplock freezer bag and label and date it. The food never got freezer burned when being uncovered in the freezer for such a short period of time. We had a lot of ziplock freezer bags, which was a bit hard to manage, but I just put them all in a large tupperware in my freezer and then would pull them all out to see what I had and get out meals for a day or two in small tupperware bowls. It is a bit of work, but it's really for only a few months before they start fingerfoods! I really liked this website for food ideas and when to try stuff www.wholesomebabyfood.com

We use muffin/cupcake pans and just freeze long enough to then pop the servings out into Freezer Storage bags. We label the bags (Carrots - 11/8) and they take up much less room. You grab one from the bag and microwave to thaw. Good to go!

Hi E.. Good for you for choosing to make your own baby food. It actually can be a lot of fun and is very easy and economical to do. I made both of my childrens baby food and I used the products that I purchased from www.onestepahead.com Go to the web site and then click on the feeding icon at the top of the page. You can also request a catalog if you'd like. They have several products to help you make baby food. I used the baby cubes product and it sells for like 7 dollars. These worked very well for me. Store the trays in the far back of your freezer so they stay consistently cold, then you should not ever get freezer burn. Also, I would recommend the book First Meals that you can also find on the website I mentioned above. It has good ideas for how to eventually incorporate cinnamon, mint, and other spices into the purees so that your child gets a "full" taste bud palate.

E.,

What I used to do, and will be doing again two weeks from now is to first free the vegetable purees in the icecube trays, then empty the cubes out into a ziploc freezer bag. This should prevent the freezer burn from occurring. Making your own baby food is easy, cheap, and healthy!! Good luck :)

Hi E.,
I made all my own food for my son by pureeing the meats and vegetables, putting them in ice cube trays and then when frozen emptying the trays into zip lock bags and labelling them. You can just take out what you need when you need it.

S..

Hello E.,

I used ice cube trays to make homemade baby food. I did not put a cover on the tray but as soon as the food was frozen, I popped out the cubes and stored them in freezer bags. They'll stay good for a couple of weeks that way. I never had a problem with freezer burn.

J.

I used Regular ice cube trays. I covered them with press and seal. They were not in freezer long enough for freezer burn. Once they were froze I transfered them to a ziploc freezer bag. Super easy. Then when baby was ready to eat I would put the cubes in bowl and heat up. Don't waste your money on expensive trays. Good luck have fun. My baby loved homemade baby food!

I just froze my baby food in small sealable containers that I got at the Container Store. You could find the same things at Target. They probably held about four ounces and I didn't have much of a problem thawing one and then taking out a smaller portion and leaving the rest in the fridge for a later meal. Your child will be eating more than an ounce pretty quickly. Its a good idea to make a bunch of food at once, though, it definitely saves time.

Good luck - fresh babyfood tastes a whole lot better than jarred and I think my son is a better eater of real veggies now that he's older because he's used to the flavor. He didn't have to transition between jarred baby food and real veggies and fruits.

B.

A book called Super Baby Food gives lots of advice on making homemade baby food. Buy it or check it out from the library. You just need regular ice cube trays and foil. Some plastic freezer bags and you'll be good to go. The book gives lots of other ways to freeze and make food as well. It's easier than you think. Good Luck.

Dear E.,

I used ice cube trays and when the food was frozen I popped the cubes out and stuck them in a labled freezer bag. I would sugguest that you only make half a tray at a time when you start out though, so you can play with the textures or the proportions, or just not waste a whole bunch if your little one absolutely refuses any one particular thing.
I could never get sweet potatoes into my daugther though a lot of kids love them, and she ate absolutely everything else. Even at two she'll ask for broccoli, but won't touch sweet potatoe.

Hi,
I used regular ice cube trays. I would cover them first with plastic wrap then a second cover of tin foil. For longer term storage I transfered the cubes from the ice trays into zip lock sandwhich bags/freezer bags and labeled each bag. A book I found helpful on the preparation and storage of baby food was Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron found at Barnes and Nobles bookstore. It has a lot of great tips. Chapter 22 describes methods of freezing and thawing baby foods. I adapted the hints to fit my families lifestyle. It may at first seem like a lot of work, but in the end after some practice I found it to be very easy to make my own baby food and I plan to do it again with our second child!
S.

I used ice cube trays with nothing to cover it, after it was frozen I put one to mulitple food cubes in a ziplock bag.

Tupperware has an ice cube tray with a cover. There are a few other cheaper ones out there, just look in the stores. Otherwise, you can freeze it in the ice cube tray and once they are frozen, wrap them individually with plastic wrap or freezer paper and put them in a freezer bag together. I made baby food for all 3 of my kids, plus I run a home daycare and make baby food for the daycare babies this way.
S.

I bought some Oxo ice cube trays that came with covers. I got them off Amazon. I found making my own baby food was really easy and I would highly recommend it to anyone. The food tasted much better (like real food) and I gave my son a huge variety of foods.

E.,

Glad to here someone else out there who cares enough not to use foods with all the preservatives in them. I made my own baby food also. What I did was put them in ice cube trays until they froze. Then I would take them out and put them in a vacuum sealer bag. Yuo can put as many or as little as you want in them. I would suggest splitting it up into smaller groups and leaving room at the top so you can reseal it once you take out what you want. This way you can make lots at one time and have them sealed good to stay fresh. I also used the generic types of frozen vegies since they seemed to be made without salt. Good luck!

We just used ice cube trays, and covered them with a heavy duty freezer type cling wrap. We never really had freezer burn, because he ate it so quickly!

I used small canning jars for my homemade baby food. (You know, the glass ones with the metal ring and suction center part thing?) This way, the jar would be more air tight than ice cube trays, and in order to thaw, I could just transfer it to the fridge, or set the jar in a pan of warm water on the stove. You can get fairly small ones, but none as small as a ice cube tray, so individual portioning might be a challenge. I would put a couple of meals worth in each, and just keep the unused portion in the fridge for another meal. (Not too long, though, obviously...) I've also heard of people saving store bought baby food containers (either the plastic ones or the glass ones) and sterilizing and reusing those, but I've never tried that. Just a couple of ideas! Good luck!
P.S. The book First Meals by Annabel Karmel is a great book for moms who want to make their own baby food...

Not sure what trays I used but once the food was frozen I popped them out and stored the cubes in freezer bags I labeled. I used a GREAT book called "First Meals" by Annabel Karmel. Not only does it give great recipes, it gives step by step instructions for making and storing baby purees.

Hi E.,
If you can read this book - Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron -do it! It's a great book. My sister-in-law told me about it and it's a great resource. She made all of her own babyfood and would freeze in in standard ice cube trays, covering it with saran wrap and then when done, pop them out and protion them into little ziplock freezer bags. That way she could always get the portion or combination of foods, just grab and defrost.
Good luck!
S.

When I froze baby food for my daughter, I never even looked into kits. I just used my blender and ice cube trays. It seemed that things froze pretty quickly, and then I'd just pop the cubes out and store them in freezer bags. I never kept things long enough to get freezer burn.

Good luck!
T.

i used Baby Cubes. they are individual plastic cubes that sit in a tray in your freezer. they're great because you can thaw one portion at a time, which allows for more variety in diet. i had about four trays and i would usually prepare food about twice a week. i would label and date each cube and found the whole experience to be incredibly easy. i used only organic fruits and veggies and found it was still less expensive than jarred stuff. i know you can find them online at One Step Ahead. also, i found them at USA Baby, which saves shipping. It's been a while so I don't know if they still carry them though.

Hi E.,

I used the Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I can't say enough about it. I now give it to everyone as part of their Baby Shower gift. It explains everything in minute detail. I used ice cube trays as did all the other Moms. Covered them with wrap until frozen and then pushed them out into freezer bags. It may seem scary at first, but it really was a piece of cake! If you want any input, just e-mail me back and I will pass on what I learned and some ideas. I never bought one bottle of Baby Food. My daughter is now almost 4, and she eats anything and everything - olives, cashews, cauliflower and steak. Good Luck. B..

I just used ice cube trays with either tinfoil or plastic warp over the top. Once they froze I than transfered them into plastic ziploc freezer bags. Dated and labeled them. It was so simple. Its saves a lot of money and doesnt take as much to do as most people would think.

We tried the 1 oz covered containers but the food expanded during the freezing process and it was difficult to stack and store the containers. We used ice cube trays and they worked really well. Cover the trays with tin foil when you are originally freezing the foods. Once the food is completely frozen, remove the cubes from the tray and store the cubes in either a freezer zip-loc bag or a plastic container that is freezer safe. It is easy to label either of these containers so you know what foods you have and these are also easy to store in your freezer.

Making homemade baby food can seem like a lot of work but once you get in to routine it is very easy. I am glad we took the time to do it for our son.

I used regular ice cube trays to freeze the food and once they were frozen, popped them out and put them into freezer bags that I had labeled with the contents and date they were made. Good Luck!