This week I’ve started making my own Baby Food for Dylan. It is fun to make, but there is always a big mess to clean up. I decided to make Butternut Squash. One small Squash made 3 small jars of Baby Food. I decided to do the math, and making my own Butternut Squash vs. buying 3 jars saved me only $.20, and left me a sink full of dishes. The Squash was really tasty though, but the extra dishes got me thinking…
Is is more cost effective to make an item or to buy an item? Where do you save the most in time or money?
I know, it’s super messy, isn’t it? And it sounds like you don’t have a dishwasher (or, I should say, you *are* the dishwasher LOL). Sammy doesn’t eat baby food anymore, she’s eating everything we eat already…so I have a freezer full of ziploc bags of squash, carrots, corn and other things that were just a big waste of time now. Hey, move up here and I can just give it to you. There’s a house for sale just down the block LOL.
For me, it bothered me that all of those containers were going into recycling if I bought baby food. But really, it’s a big messy job so it’s that little bit of money that you save compared to the convenience of just pulling a jar out of the pantry and not having to thaw baby food…especially when they’re hungry RIGHT NOW and the poor thing can’t wait the minute or so for you to microwave their food.
I dunno what the answer is either!
We did the making baby food for Ethan and I had more motivation (and time) with my first. With Emily, I bought baby food coupons off of eBay and found the cost to be about the same. Of course, if you want to know EXACTLY what is going into the food that is why so many seem to what to do it anymore.
Great post!
Thanks Susan! How I wish we were neighbors I’d swap you baby food for homemade pies 🙂 That is great that Sammy made the switch, I’m slowly switching Dylan, nervous Mommy I guess.
Yep, you guessed right, I am the dishwasher! I love to make the baby food, and I know it is fresh and healthy for him, but whatever I cook seems to make itty bitty amounts with giant messes for me to clean. Oh well. I do feel better about using less packaging, and I’ve already noticed that I’m bringing home 2 less plastic bags of groceries a week, so thats pretty cool.
Thanks Amy! That is so great that you made your baby food for Ethan, and you saved money on Emily’s baby food. The time has been a big factor for me, it is hard to get it all done in one day. I do feel good about preparing the food and knowing exactly what is in them, but I dread the clean up 😉
Dylan misses his old baby food a bit, but he has discovered a new favorite food, Oatmeal 🙂 I know he’ll come around soon enough.
Hi Nicole- I have been so busy with the new baby, but stopped in today to read your blog and catch up! I liked making the veggies for jake when he was little, i just made sure we ate the same thing that night, so it didn’t seem like i was making too many extra dishes. Who knows what this next one will eat? It’s so hard when you have 2 under 2- is there a fast food drive-thru for infants? heather/jakesmom(and now Zack’s too)
Thanks Heather! I’m so happy to hear from you. I’m glad that you and your little guy are both doing great! I bet you have been very busy, I feel like I’m finally just getting caught back up and Dylan is almost 14 months old. Is Jake enjoying being a big brother?
I think a fast food drive-thru for the little ones sounds like an awesome idea, and it would cut down on the dirty dishes 😉
I only made things that were super easy, like mashed bananas, pureed carrrots,blended pears & peaches, things I could just do in the blender and feed them right then. I agree that you won’t save much money and it can be a lot of work. But our babies are worth all of the mess and bother, aren’t they?
Thanks Mimi! I agree the mess is totally worth it 🙂 I’ll have to try the mashed bananas and pears. Dylan loves pears!
Yes, Jake is very protective of his little brother. He only minds it when Zack cries. then he screams along! Poor mommy… Hoping to check in more often! Have a fun weekend, heather
Thanks Heather! Jake sounds like a great big brother. Thade now screams at Dylan anytime that he is screaming too, and then Dylan forgets why he was upset in the first place, and just screams at Thade instead. It is always noisy at our house 😉
Wishing you well and big hugs too 🙂
My little guy hated baby food. If its pureed he won’t touch it. He like Costco’s chicken nuggets(they are soft),cut up strawberries, and trying to eat whatever mama is eating. I did buy a few jars at first but decided not to make my own when I saw he would not eat it anyway.
Thanks Maggie! I bet that Dylan would love Chicken Nuggets too, I’ll have to give that a try. He is almost ready to make the switch, he also wants to eat whatever is on anyone’s plate. Dylan often swipes his big brother’s breakfast 😉