These cherries now languish – crushed, mutilated, and wholly untouched – in our freezer.
Somewhere between buying thirty-six cloth diapers for Sunshine and committing to what our local Target calls ‘natural feeding’ (because some people consider ‘breast’ a terrible word) I heard about the wonders of making your own baby food. The magazine article claimed it was Easy! Wholesome! Cheap! Fun! And Totally Not Messy At All! Since I’m into cheap fun, I went for it.
It was not the first time I’ve been lied to by a magazine.
There were hints from the start that life would be easier if I simply opened up a jar of Gerber and shoveled it into Sunshine’s mouth. For one thing, Gerber doesn’t require a blender. But I’m a stay-at-home-mom now, so I feel an obligation to get my inner housewife on. Most of the time that means I toss laundry into the washer a few times a week, make dinner when I feel like it, and sweep the floor on a semi-regular basis. Otherwise, it’s all Sunshine, all the time. Still, girlie and I were lurking about the house anyway, so why not?
The peas came first. I lovingly cut open the bag (because, no, I was not going to hand-shell three hundred sugar snaps, no matter how much I love my daughter), dumped the frozen contents into our electric steamer, and set the timer. Now all I had to do was grind them into baby-safe mush. Easy. I poured a mountain of veggies into the blender, tapped the puree button, and waited for the magic. The engine whirred ineffectually, a burning smell tinged the air, and smoke curled out from under the base. Okay. Fine. Next button. More power. Still, those blades would not move. Hot pea juice fogged up the inside. Sunshine fussed. The Mother of the Year acceptance speech I’d been composing in my head dissolved.
A quick consultation with my father – who’d never made baby food in his life, but does have a knack for dealing with mean machinery – solved the problem. A little water, a little stirring, a little more water…a lot more water. With a groan, the blender finally complied, grinding the peas into an unappetizing neon green sludge.
Giddy with accomplishment, I slid Sunshine into her high chair and served up a big old glop of the stuff. Which, of course, she refused to eat. (Because, you know, who wouldn’t love warm pea mush for lunch?) Undeterred, I spooned the rest into three ice cub trays and froze them in baby-sized portions, as per the instructions in the magazine article, two cook books, and seven websites I had, by now, read on the subject.
Carrots came next, chopped and steamed and blended with a bucket of water, then chilled into little orange cubes. I dished up a mound of the sticky slop. Ick face ensued.
I was desperate for a victory, so when she ate the yams I sent a silent “Take that!” to Gerber and planned my next feat. Luckily, the end-of-summer trees were heavy with fruit. I peeled, sliced, and simmered apples. I halved and roasted hand-picked peaches and apricots, then slipped off the skins. I removed the seeds from so many grape-sized plums that my thumbs hurt for days. And every bit went into our now-compliant blender.
On occasion I trot out one of the cubes, let it melt, and dish it up. Sunshine still likes her peas round and her carrots chopped, but she’ll take a taste if I pretend I don’t care. As for the rest? Wholesome, cheap, and, if you’re fourteen months old, rather tasty.
I can’t believe it’s called natural feeding! Too funny.
I’ve been a stay at home mom but I lack the drive to be some kind of super mom. However, I still boil carrots and that’s how my kids eat them. Plus, I like to give my kids frozen mixed veggies, still frozen. lol They eat them up and it’s SO easy.
I never tried cloth diapers though…
@Tana – Now I’m blushing!
@Shari – Thanks. I’m lucky to have her!
@Conda – Good point. Mainly, because I’m cheap. 😀 Seriously, she does get some store-bought baby food (various puffs and dried fruits and other snacks for babies), but I did like that making her food lets me know exactly what’s in it. Most of the fruits and veggies were organic, which helps.
@Beth – But you were probably much saner because of it!
@Leslie – Yay! Another cloth diaperer! We don’t soak ours, so maybe that’s why I still love them. I guess whatever works. And I’m glad I’m not the only one into making homemade baby food.
@Stephanie – That definitely counts! If it weren’t so expensive, that’s probably what we would be doing, too. And, honestly, it helps that we know a lot of people (including us) who have unsprayed fruit trees so most of Sunshine’s food was organic.
@Jessica – Yeah, I had to stop for a second to try to figure out what the heck ‘natural feeding’ was. It said ‘bottle feeding’ underneath, and the aisle was all about bottles, breast pumps, etc., so it finally clicked. Some people are so easily offended. Oh, and I loved your idea of feeding them still-frozen veggies. Sunshine is still young enough that it’s a choking hazard, but that might be in her future.
OMG, Caryn.
You are my hero…slightly insane, perhaps, but definitely heroic ;). I’d heard some people talking about “making one’s own baby food” during that long-ago time when my son was very little. And I ignored them as the potentially deranged humans they must have been, LOL. Then again, I’m not all that good at making adult food either… Sunshine is a very lucky little girl to have such a cool Mama!!
You totally rock! Waaay back when my kids were babies/toddlers, I’d never thought to make my own food, but I think it really is so much better for them. Sunshine is very lucky! I did however, try cloth diapers. For about two days. Then gave up. Again, you have my admiration! With your awesome mom skills, though, I’m betting sunshine will be potty trained sooner rather than later.
Have a great weekend and wonderful trip!
Well I have to hand it to you. I stayed home with both kids but never ONCE attempted to make my own baby food. AWESOME.
Agreed about you winning major Mom points for the cloth diapers. I dabbled in homemade food, but my kid didn’t need much. I breastfed her for the first 15-months (I know, a little long by today’s standards, but it was free and healthy food!). It was so much fun reading about your adventures in steam and blender land!
@Marilyn – LOL! Well, I’m sure my sanity is frequently in question, but the whole making-your-own-baby-food thing really isn’t that hard. Well, once you get the hang of it, at least. And if you make huge batches and freeze them, then you just thaw it out and you have a meal. Adult food is much more complex. But why am I convincing you? Your kids are well beyond the baby food stage. 😉
@Robin – Oh, I’m hoping you’re right and Sunshine potty trains early! It will have nothing to do with me, though, I’m sure. She’ll probably just want to be independent. (Though I do hear that kids in cloth diapers tend to potty train earlier and more easily.)
@Lisa – But I bet your house was much tidier than mine! (Hey, I’m busy making baby food. You can’t actually expect me to clean, too, can you?!? :-p
@Jess – Too much to say. I just sent you an email instead!
OMG. I tried that with carrots and mixed in some other veggies. The cringing look onmy sixteen-month old was priceless. No more blended foods for her. We still try to give her pre-packaged natural food and watch what we put on her plate, but I’m nowhere near your Domestic Goddess tendancies. You rock, girlfriend. 😀
you are so funny! any article that promises it is easy and not messy cannot be trusted…
I had one baby who wouldn’t eat anything that wasn’t perfectly smooth (my blender or food processor couldn’t get it smooth enough). My mother didn’t believe me…then he threw up a sample cup of cheerios after one bite in the grocery store.
Second baby, wouldn’t eat anything that I didn’t eat. So I diced food into half-pea size portions. She was happy and healthy and loved to self-feed.
Just give it time! You’ll find the “thing” that works. Good luck!