Homemade baby food - price breakdown

Last week I gave you a general run down on how to make your own baby food and I'm wrapping up the subject this week with a cost comparison on conventional baby food vs. homemade.

Keep in mind, these are prices in Colorado for mostly in-season produce (typically in-season produce is less expensive, and locally grown or from your farmer's market is even better priced).

The prices below are broken down based on how much Rachael (7 mo.) is currently eating.

*Bananas: 6 semi-large @ $.69/lb. = $3.03

Total servings = 12
*Sweet pots: 2 large @ $1.59/lb = $1.87

Total servings = 12
*Butternut squash: 1 medium size @ $1.49/lb = $3.01

Total servings = 15
*Avocado: 6 semi-large @ $5.99 (bag from Costco)

Total servings = 24

Total spent: $13.90 for 63 servings

Earth's Best baby food jars (this is the brand I would buy if I bought conventional baby food, you may wish to substitute the price of your favorite brand in place of this for a more accurate price comparison):
*1st foods: $.69/jar; 2 jars = 1 serving (63 x 2=126 jars)

Total spent = $86.94
*2nd foods: $.89/jar; 1.5 jars = 1 serving (63 x 1.5 = 94.5 jars)

Total spent = $84.11

Using an average of the two different sizes of jars the difference is incredible.

$85.53
-$13.90
$71.63 (this is the amount I saved for 1 month's supply of food, it is 18% of my grocery budget!!!!)

I have not included the cost of cereal for breakfast (and to mix in when veggies have gotten too soupy from too much water added during pureeing) because Rachael receives WIC, so we do use conventional cereal because it is provided for free. For added accuracy, add in the cost of how many boxes of cereal your little one goes thru in one month and then calculate the difference. It's still substantial if you do buy cereal.

Be sure to visit Frugal Friday for more wonderfully frugal tips!

Homemade baby food

This post has been in the works for a while because I've really been wanting to share how much money I save by making my own baby food.

Jacob is 5 now, but when he was little I was introduced to Super Babyfood by Ruth Yaron and it totally changed my perspective on feeding my precious child. I also absolutely love how she lists every fruit, vegetable and grain you could possibly think up and the age at which it is considered ok for baby to eat, along with choosing and preparation instructions!!

After reading thru the sections on actually preparing the food, I was amazed at how easy it all seemed and I knew this was for me!

Jacob was in daycare at the time because I was still working (long story and I'm so glad God finally got it thru to me about being a stay home mom!) so his lunch meal was provided at the daycare center as part of his fee, so I ended up only preparing foods for his breakfast and dinner.

When Eli came along, I was no longer working and knew that the majority of his food would be prepared at home and it has been the same for Rachael. She has been eating solids for about 6 weeks now, so I'm back to preparing baby food and I really enjoy knowing what goes into her food1

I'll give you a short tutorial now and then a price breakdown next week for a one month supply of homemade food at Rachael's current appetite!

Butternut squash seeded and cut into large pieces. I believe I baked the squash at 375° for a little over an hour. The goal is to bake it until soft all the way thru - I find that the time varies based on how thick the squash is.


While the squash is baking, gather the rest of your supplies: * Food processor (this is a 3 cup version and it's plenty big enough); * Ice cube trays; * Filtered water; * Utensils for peeling/cutting and scooping


Once squash is cool enough to handle, peel and cut into chunks and fill food processor bowl approximately 3/4 full.


Begin with adding a small amount of water and turning on the processor. You'll need to add water in small amounts until you get the squash the correct consistency (based on the age and eating abilities of your child). The amount of water you add will vary greatly depending on what kind of food processor you have.


Once that batch is the correct consistency, scoop it into the wells of the ice cube trays, filling them almost to the rim (leave a little room for expansion because you added water). Then repeat the process until you have your entire squash made into baby food.

Place trays (uncovered) into the freezer overnight.


In the morning, label a large freezer bag (if you don't have a freezer bag, you'll need to double bag it) with what it is - because once you get several foods of the same color in the freezer you won't be able to tell them apart - and the date prepared. Then break them all free of the ice trays, dump into the bag, seal and place back in the freezer.

Prep time: 10 minutes
Baking time: appx. 1 hour
Work time: appx. 30 mintes
Servings: 15-16

Be sure to visit Frugal Friday for more wonderfully frugal ideas.

Frugal Friday

I am posting for the first time on Frugal Friday because I actually have something to share this week!

With the cost of groceries and gas rising to unheard of prices, I've found that our budget is suffering. Staying within my budget for groceries has been somewhat challenging, but I've been learning the art of 'couponing' and combining all the wonderful offers with sales to get items we typically use for free or very close to it.

BUT I cannot do much about the gas expense. I have 2 kids and taking our very limited public transportation is not doable. Driving less is also not doable at this point.

We live on a single military income - if you're a military family you know what that's like. It's very little money, but up until now we've been making it work with a little money allotted to 'fun' each month. We are even managing to pay down our debt. However, with gas prices the way they are, I'm finding it difficult to pay the same amount toward our debt because we are now spending approx. $250 per month on gas.........

So, my solution is NO 'fun' that costs money for at least a month. Right now we only have $100 per month allocated to 'fun', but that's $100 I can put toward debt since I'm having to reduce the amount I can put toward debt during this gas price struggle.

We still have our small personal allowances we have agreed upon to do with whatever we like, but our actual budget for eating out, etc. will be added to debt for the next month - maybe longer.

Basically, my frugal tip for the day is don't spend any more money than is absolutely necessary to survive for a while and see how much you can save.