I'll admit it, I've always been jealous of Jessica Seinfeld.
Exhibit A: that house in the Hamptons
Exhibit B: she started her own non-profit organization (http://www.babybuggy.org)
And, now she has to come up with a cook-book to make the rest of us feel guilty about what we feed the kids, called "Deceptively Delicious."
That being said, I've been trying to make a lot of home-made food for my son (read: I leave the nanny fresh organic fruits and veggies and I come home to frozen purees for my son) and it's deceptively easy. The premise of Jessica's cookbook - use those purees to sneak fruits and veggies into all of the other foods we cook and bake - genius.
Many friends have asked how I have the time to make baby food. I don't. But, it really is easy, and all it takes is the right tools and about 30 minutes a week. I like to know exactly what is going into my son's mouth so I only buy organic fruits and veggies (can you guess I'm a type-a attorney). I make the time on Sunday nights, or my nanny helps make some while Z sleeps (and see below... hopefully she will soon have even more time). But a great cookbook, a food-processor and some storage container is all it takes. You can even use the microwave to save time over a conventional oven (just don't microwave in plastic - but I'll save that for a later post :). And anyone who knows me knows that I get almost as much joy in life from a bargain as I do my family (I said almost)... so it's a great cost-saver over jarred or frozen organic baby food.
My tools: 1) The So-Easy Baby Food Cookbook (I did not buy the full kit, as I wanted individual freezer storage as opposed to freezer trays - but the kit would work well too) but the book lives up to its title; 2) A baby food processor (smoother than the blender);and 3) Baby Cubes - small containers that I can freeze the food in.
Oh, and back to that anal thing.. even though I use organic fruits and veggies I still like to wash everything in a good fruit and veggie wash :)
After freezing, the food thaws quickly - via microwave or in my diaper bag when I'm out and about. Simple. Easy. Fresh.
If you want any tips, recipes, or if you are in Chicago and are willing to pay me to make some extra food for you (haha) just post a comment.
2 comments:
You can use ice cube trays to freeze individual portions. Not that I ever made my own baby food.
Ice cube trays work great too - but I love the flexibility of the baby food cubes. Because they are individual containers, you can take the container on the go and let a single portion thaw before you use it.
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