Homemade Baby Food

I ordered a book last week, and it finally arrived!  I've been reading (and reading) about all things baby and toddler.  The idea of introducing solid food is a little terrifying to me.  What if my kid is a picky eater?  Do I buy regular or organic?  How much will it cost?  How many ingredients does it have?  What are the ingredients? When, how much, and for long?  In what ORDER?!?!?   Some foods are not good for young babies.  Some foods are more prone to giving your baby gas.  Some foods are more likely to induce food allergies if offered too early.   Your baby has cues that indicate he's ready to try solids.  Is my baby cuing me?!?!

It's a little overwhelming.  I don't consider myself a crunchy mommy-to-be, but I think I'm going to embrace the crunch when it comes to this subject.  How?   By making our own baby food.  I've asked around, and it's not as hard as it sounds.  It's also not as terrifyingly time-consuming.  You can make in bulk and freeze.  Mr. H has even agreed to take-over in the heat of busy season. 

I'm not sure how far we'll take it.  I don't like the idea of making a separate meal for my kid, once he's old enough to eat what we eat.  Luckily, the dinners I make are pretty kid friendly (read: uncomplicated in prep and taste).   Right now, I'm concentrating on making pureed foods.  I set-out to find a book that I could use as a guide.  I found lots of books, lots of complaints about those books, and then lots of compliments about the same books.  I decided on the this one:

I like it because it's user friendly and it has pictures.  I only buy cookbooks that have pictures.  I want to know what it's SUPPOSED to look like.  It's divided by age group: 6 to 9 months, 9 to 12 months, and 12 to 18 months.  The recipes are easy to follow and contain minimal ingredients.  It also contains hints and tips for all things food-related, not just pureed food. 

There's no question that, if it's prepared correctly, it's probably the healthier choice.  I'm curious to know if it'll save us any money. 

Obviously, the prices are going to vary based on state, store, frozen vs fresh, etc.  I'm also not sure if the prices above reflect organic or regular baby food, as organic is likely to have a bigger price tag.   And I pulled this table from a pro-homemade baby food website, so who knows if the results are 100% accurate.  Either way, I do think it will save us money in the long run.  Plus, I'll know exaclty what is going in to that precious little tummy. 

Will it work for us?  Who knows.  But we're going to give it a shot.