Make your own baby food: Eco friendly and cost effective
Let’s face it. Having kids is expensive. And it can come with a lot of waste-diapers, wipes, baby food packaging, snack packaging..just to name a few. It can be very difficult to try to live a low waste lifestyle when kiddos are involved. I have only just begun making more sustainable, eco friendly choices in my life but one of my favorite changes I have made is making my own baby food pouches. It’s so easy and produces a lot less waste.
Before I started making my own baby food pouches, I was buying the organic Gerber baby food pouches that cost a whopping $1.70 each and are a single use item. Not only were they burning a hole in my wallet, they were affecting my conscience! I felt guilty for the amount of waste I was producing on my son’s snacks alone. So, I decided to make a change.
I started searching for reusable baby pouches and was pleasantly surprised with the selection. I ended up buying the Nature’s Little Squeeze brand and I have been pleased with them thus far. You can fill them with smoothies, yogurt, blended veggies and fruit, or whatever your little kiddo’s heart desires.
Here’s how I make my baby food pouches.
PICK YOUR FOOD COMBINATION
Really the options and combinations are endless. You can combine whatever fruits and veggies you’d like. This is definitely ideal for kiddos who don’t like to eat a lot of greens because you can hide spinach leaves when they are blended up with other bright fruits and veggies. For the baby food pouches I made this go round I used half a banana, 5 organic strawberries, about 1/3 cup organic blueberries, and 5 oz triple zero oikos Greek yogurt.
BLEND IT ALL UP
Use a blender or food processor to blend up all of your ingredients. Make sure there aren’t any big chunks left unblended or it won’t be easy for your kiddo to get the food sucked up out of the pouch. Keep in mind it’s best to avoid an overly runny consistency because then things have a tendency to get messy.
FILL UP YOUR POUCHES
Pour the blended ingredients into the pouches-a funnel may be useful for this. I always like to let the pouches chill and thicken up in the fridge before giving them to my son.
This batch would filled up three 3.4 oz containers, but my son ate a whole serving before I got around to filling up the pouches. 🤪
These homemade baby food pouches cost around $0.56 each! That’s less than a third than the store bought variety. Plus, they completely eliminate the single use packaging. It’s a win-win!
The best part is your kiddo won’t even know the difference. They will most likely enjoy your homemade pouches more!
I hope you are inspired to try out making your own baby food pouches. If you do, tag me on Instagram with @holzyberry with your own yummy creation.
Until next time, stay healthy 🙂
HolzyBerry 