Baby Food !
I don't know what got into me to wake up one day, go to a produce market, get a bunch of fruits and veggies and make baby food all afternoon. Oh, I remember- I was at Target, thinking to start my baby on some baby food. I was picking up the organic brands, when I turned the packets around to look at the ingredients. I've always assumed they will contain just organic fruits and veggies. To my surprise some brands added thickeners, acids, and "natural" preservatives. I began reading some non organic brands just to see the crap they added. I know - it's way more affordable to go with the non organic but there are ingredients I wouldn't eat so why would I give it to my developing baby? Oh, the worst is "natural flavor added" and "natural color added" natural to what? what are they adding flavor and color to something that is just supposed to be fruits and veggies and grains? crazy. I was off buying ingredients and thinking through flavor combinations that I would love if I was a baby. Gosh you guys, so good! The best baby food I've ever tasted! Oren loves it too. Ummm, no, I didn't read labels back in the day when I had my first son, I just bought "organic" without question. I did stick to one brand with my second son, its the best baby food on the market - that's another post for later.
Any way - with this one I'm making my own. So, hear we go...
First step is to buy organic fruits and veggies. I always stop by a favorite produce stand and then Trader Joes and lastly a natural food store - they are most expensive, but I'm here to get a bang for my buck.
Then I wanted to add flavor using essential oils. I went with Lavender Essential Oil because it's amazing, Basil essential oil because I love to add basil in everything and I want the baby exposed to all kinds of flavors (I don't want another picky eater on my hands like my toddler...sigh) and Lemon Essential oil because its so refreshing.
Next, I wanted to steam all the veggies and fruits instead of baking or boiling because the steaming process retains vitamins such as vitamin B, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, biotin, B12, pantothenic acid and vitamin C, as well as minerals such as calcium, phosphorous, potassium, and zinc.
Next, flavor combinations!
1 . Mango Carrot Basil
1 mango, 2 bananas, 3 steamed carrots, 1 drop Basil Essential oil
2. Pear Sweet Potato Lemon
2 pears, 1 large, seamed sweet potato, 2 bananas, 1 drop lemon Essential oil, 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3. Beet Apple Raspberry Lavender
2 apples steamed, 2 beets steamed, 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen), 2 bananas, 2 drops Lavender Essential oil
I was going to use a magic bullet to puree these, but we just moved a month ago and I'm not sure if the magic bullet is in storage or somewhere in the pantry - I cant find it. So I used a hand held pureer - it's magic. I love it! everyone needs that tool in the kitchen. But a blender, a food processor, vitamix, will work just fine.
Lets talk about storing the baby food. I actually went to a few stores, wanting to buy special storage bags or pouches. But I had to buy an entire collection of gadgets and - no- I don't have space for that and time for that and just - no. I suggest using milk storage bags that you can freeze. So easy and you have some on hand for sure - if you did any pumping. I've seen people put the baby food into ice cube molds and then freezing them in bags and popping out 2 cubesof baby food as needed. I just feel it there's a slight "freezer" taste after that method.
I have about a month's supply of baby food on hand. My son still nurses ALL THE TIME. So not too many bags will last me. I'm going to try other flavor combinations next time and I'll add those to this post as I do.
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BUT ,if you're planning to make baby food all the time, I would go with this system: 
