Baby Food Cubes.

Since I now have a child, I think I am turning into the “food police” (not that I wasn’t already).  Because I am “in the know” of what is in our food and water supply, I am very vigilant on taking steps to reduce my child’s exposure to toxins. One of those steps is feeding her organic food and using filtered water.

Organic baby food costs approximately 89¢ – 99¢ and up, for a 4 oz. jar. Not a big deal, I thought. When items are priced under a buck, we are more apt to let go of our dollars. However, it adds up quickly. Especially as the quantity goes up as she increases her intake. Babies grow quickly! And when you look at what you get in one jar of baby food for the money, it’s not much. So I started making my own.

It’s Healthier

When making baby food, you don’t have to cook the fruit and overcook the veggies. That means more of the the vitamins, minerals and enzymes stay intact. And if you are using organic food, you know there are no chemicals, pesticides or GM (genetically modified) ingredients. You’ll notice homemade baby food is brightly colored whereas the jarred food looks dull in comparison. It’s dull in color because it is pasteurized and overcooked.

How To Make Your Own Baby Food

There are plenty of “make your own baby food” kits and products, but really, all you need is a blender, ice trays, and maybe some small containers (or baby food jars) for refrigerated leftovers. Keep it simple. First, I start with vegetables, either frozen or fresh, and steamed them with a little bit of water. From there, puree them with some, if not all, of the water in a blender (I found that the food processor leaves it too course). Then pour the mixture into ice cube trays, freeze them, and then store them in labeled freezer containers or bags. I also purée fresh and frozen fruit and cooked lentils. As your baby gets a little older to eat more complex foods, you can purée healthy meals that you are eating.

You’ll be amazed at how much money you will save by making your own baby food. For example, let’s compare a jar of organic lentil dinner to homemade. Again, it costs 89¢ – 99¢ for one 4 oz. jar. I went and purchased organic dried lentils in bulk for $3.99 per pound and there are about three cups of dried lentils in one pound. One cup of dry lentils yields 24 oz. when cooked. That’s equal to SIX jars of baby food! So in a nutshell, you can pay $3.99 and BUY 4 jars of baby food (16 oz), OR for the same price you could buy one pound of dried lentils which makes 18 jars of baby food (72 oz.). So, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that over 300% more for your money? Granted, lentils are an extreme example since they are sold dried and expand when cooked. But even with fruit and vegetables, you will still get much more for your money when compared to jarred food.

Here are some foods that I have made myself:

• broccoli
  

  Lentils, Broccoli, Green Beans and Baby Food Cubes

• cauliflower
• green beans
• peas
• spinach
• sweat potatoes
• lentils
• peaches
• berries
• mango (a little more time consuming)
• bananas
• avocado

It Tastes Better

I made it a rule not to feed my baby anything that I wouldn’t eat. What I mean by that is, if it doesn’t taste good, I’m not feeding it to her. I’m speaking of healthy food, of course. My baby eats everything I feed her, because I feed her good tasting veggies, fruit and meals. It’s important to start feeding children a variety of fruit and vegetables when they are babies so they develop a taste for them that will carry into their older years.

Now Go Do It

As always, start simple. Go buy some frozen cut up fruit or vegetables. Steam the veggies as I explained above, and/or thaw the fruit. Blend them, freeze them and you’re done. You can venture into preparing fresh fruit and veggies and more complex food once you feel comfortable. Good luck and good job! Here’s to you for putting your baby first!

In my previous post about purchasing organic produce at an affordable price, I briefly suggested some sources. Well, here is a list of sources with a descriptive blurb. I also posted a link to a website where you can search for local produce in your area. I hope you find it helpful.

Sources for Organic Produce:

• CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) – this is a membership that you pay ahead of time (usually several months) to a local farm where you get a box of fresh produce either weekly or every other week. It’s a great way to get a variety of fresh produce that is seasonal, organic and locally grown. Plus, you are supporting local farms which are a sustainable source of food. It’s a win-win for everyone: you, the farm and the earth. It’s also a great way to become acquainted with produce that you may not be familiar with. Usually CSA’s will let you know ahead of time what is in the week’s box and will also supply recipes for items that are not so widely known. 
• Farmer’s Markets – Like CSA’s, shopping at a farmer’s market is a great way to support local farmers and get fresh seasonal produce. It also allows you to talk with the farmers themselves. Some local farms use organic growing practices, but are not officially USDA Certified Organic. Reason being, the certification process is too expensive for their small farm. They are not allowed to advertise “organic” but they can at least advertise as “pesticide free.” They may even let you know that they follow organic practices. So essentially, you are getting organic produce, even though it is not labeled “organic.”
• Local Produce/ Grocery Stores – These can range from a roadside stand, to a mom & pop grocery store. Usually, they purchase their produce from local farmers. However, you may need to ask some questions as to whether or not pesticides are used and what their practices are.
• Specialty or Health Food Stores – These range from larger chain stores such as Wholefoods and Trader Joe’s to smaller chain or individual health food stores. Usually you get a nice selection, BUT, you need to really check out the prices. This is where you will find prices fluctuate and they can be quite high or very affordable.
• Organic Sections in Supermarkets – Many large chain grocery stores are now creating organic sections in their stores. Again, the prices can be high. Plus, the produce may be out of season and imported from halfway across the globe (burning a lot of fuel in order to make it from the farm to the store). But at least it is good to see these large commercial stores now giving an organic option. Because sometimes out of convenience, you may need to purchase from this source. Plus, as more people buy organic, the supply may increase and bring the prices down.
• Costco – Costco is a wholesale club that now carries many organic products at REALLY good prices. The downside is, like mentioned above, the produce may come from halfway across the globe. BUT, they also carry a lot of organic local (depending on where you live) and frozen produce. They are a great affordable convenient source if you are a member.

Not sure where to find LOCAL produce? Here is a link to a website to search for local produce in your area: www.localharvest.org

“You Paid $21 for Only Three Pieces of Produce?!”

I normally do the grocery shopping when it comes to produce. But the other day, my other half did the honors. And I was very thankful that he did. He brought home some really nice fruit and vegetables. However, some of his choices caught my eye, as they seemed out-of-season. So I browsed the sales receipt. And low and behold, there were a few high numbers that jumped out at me.

Grapes, cauliflower and pineapple were the culprits. The grapes were $7, the cauliflower was $6, and the pineapple was $8. How crazy is that? I broke out an earlier receipt to make sure that wasn’t “the norm.” And sure enough, it wasn’t. On the previous receipt, I paid $1.96 for grapes, $1.50 for cauliflower, and $2.99 for the pineapple. I paid, roughly six dollars for the same items that he paid twenty-one dollars. Wow! What a difference!

Tips for Buying Organic Produce

Buying organic food can be more expensive than commercially grown food, but it doesn’t have to be outrageous. The key is to be vigilant and look at the prices CAREFULLY, especially if sold by the pound. It’s all about supply and demand. And since there is less organic than commercially grown produce, and the demand keeps going up, the prices are more volatile and can change dramatically, as demonstrated in my story. Also, it’s usually better to buy what is in season and, if possible, grown locally. Finally, keep a look out for sales and take advantage of them. It’s always better to have more than one source for your organic produce as well (such as CSA’s, farmer’s markets, local markets, specialty or health food stores, wholesale clubs).

Is It Worth Paying More for Organic Food?

To an extent, yes. The main reason I buy organic produce is to avoid poisons such as pesticides and herbicides. And now that I have a child, I try to only feed her organic food. Who knows what those GMO’s and pesticides do to a developing baby? What really scares me are the genetically modified foods (GM or GMO), even though those are not usually found in fresh produce (except Hawiian Papaya and Sweet Corn). If you care about your health, you should care what you are eating. But I don’t think one should have to give up cable TV in order to eat organic. It just takes more time and effort to make it affordable. Which means have several sources; look at prices carefully; buy what’s in season and buy wisely.

Become Aware: Try this Experiment

Choose an organic fruit or vegetable and “follow” it’s price throughout the year. Notice how much it fluctuates. See where it hits its peak and when it is at its cheapest and compare the price at different stores or sources. It will open your eyes to how much the price can fluctuate so you won’t pay $7 for a vegetable that you paid a $1.50 at an earlier time.

After educating myself on the detrimental effects of genetically modified (gm or gmo) food and where these gmo’s are hiding in my kitchen, I started replacing the bad with the good… one item at a time. Granted, I initially wanted to comb through and toss anything that could possibly contain gm ingredients. But it seemed a bit overwhelming to do it that way. However, if you have the time and resources to take action in such a bold manner, I salute you.

Start with Your Next Shopping Trip

To begin your vigilant change to non-gmo food, stop buying anything that could contain gm ingredients. It’s easiest just to buy organic for the sake of easy label reading (anything labeled USDA Certified Organic or the ingredients are specified as organic, contain no gm ingredients) or products labeled “non-gmo,” or simply avoid processed packaged foods. But sometimes organic isn’t an option, and we want to get some cereal or crackers (processed food). That’s where you may have to take extra time to read labels of non-organic processed foods.

Where You Shop Can Make This Easier

If you shop the large grocery store chains, finding non-gmo and/or organic foods can sometimes be a challenge. In fact, I recently read that certain large grocery store chains in Canada went out of their way to make this task even harder for consumers by boycotting any food that had a “non-gmo” label! Can you believe that? I’m serious. Look it up and get angry. I did. But on the contrary, some large chains are embracing the organic movement, thankfully, and are now carrying more organic and non-gmo items. Ask the manager to start buying more of these products. The more people ask, they more they are likely to meet their customers’ requests (you know, “supply and demand”).

Then there are smaller grocery store chains, specialty stores, local farmer’s markets, and independent stores and co-ops. These stores usually specialize in “healthier” foods (organic, non-gmo, “natural,” hormone-free, pesticide free, sustainable farming, etc.). If you’re not shopping at one of these types of places, maybe that should be your next “search” item in your area. These places make it much easier to purchase non-gmo food. And for fresh produce, there are also CSA’s (community supported agriculture. A CSA is where you pay an upfront fee and get a weekly box of locally grown produce).

My First Item to Replace

My first item I replaced was my cooking oil, which happened to be canola oil… one of the “big four” gm ingredients (corn, soy, canola, cotton). Since I couldn’t find organic canola oil where I was shopping, (it’s available, in fact, Spectrum make one.) I bought grapeseed oil to replace it. I figured since I use oil often in cooking, that would be a good item to start with. I’m actually glad the organic canola oil was not available, because I discovered that the flavor of the grapeseed oil is really nice.

What’s Your First Item Going to Be?

As I said, if you just try to replace one item at a time, you won’t get overwhelmed or over burdened. So today, choose a gm item that is in your kitchen and replace it with a non-gm version. Then move onto the next item. Before you know it, you’ll (hopefully) have a non-gmo kitchen! Good luck and get going!