I have 2 daughters (and am expecting a third) who I have made baby food for and I would never do it any different. I was just as confused as you were in the beginning. I got loads of books out of the library, but the best one I found was called "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. It is EXCELLENT. It a little "crunchy" (promotes cloth diapering and natural things along that line which I do anyway), but it is soooo thorough. It basically tells you what stuff (vitamins, minerals) your baby needs when and what kinds of food will provide that, when they can start eating it, how to prepare it, how to store it, EVERYTHING! It will save you bundles and is way healthier. The basic ideas is freezing the food in batches in ice cube trays after steaming, and thawing out individual cubes as you need them. It really isn't that time consuming either, aside from an afternoon of preparing a bunch of food every once in a while (no different that going to the grocery store.) Good luck! I hope you find it as fun and rewarding as I did.