Moms start to make own baby food

By Niesha Lofing | McClatchy Newspapers • Published April 19, 2009

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Elle Lofing took one look at the minced pork with pears that I placed in front of her and gave me a look that said, "Seriously?"

I have to admit, I was thinking the same thing as I navigated the spoon toward my daughter's puckered little mouth.

The flavor was subtle yet appealing. I tasted it and wished I had cooked more pork cutlets at the same time for my dinner.

The texture of Elle's pureed dinner was what prompted my second thoughts. It was somewhere between canned tuna and what I would imagine it's like when a mother bird chews up the food to give to her hatchlings.

And I was going to feed it to my 1-year-old.

In went the first bite. Success.

Another bite. Ditto.

Third time's a charm?

Elle refused to take the bite, then swiped the pork from her tongue and tried to hand me the slobbery remnants as if to say, "Oh yeah, you eat it."

Oh well.

Such was one of my recent adventures in making baby food.

While buying jarred baby food is convenient, many parents are going the do-it-yourself route in an effort to control quality, tailor texture and save a little money.

Lisa Yarbrough of South Land Park, Calif., has been making baby food for her daughter, Julia, now a year old, since she began eating solid foods at 6 months.

"I like the idea of using local, fresh produce to make my baby food and knowing what I was putting into the food," she said. "I just figured it was an easy, cheap way to feed her."

When Julia's foray into solids was in its infancy, Yarbrough began with foods like butternut squash, bananas and sweet potatoes.

"I didn't find it to be too much work or too much of a hassle," she said.

It typically would take Yarbrough about an hour to make a big batch of purees. She would then portion them into ice cube trays, freeze them and pop them out as needed.

Yarbrough met only one vegetable Julia didn't like — green beans. Yarbrough couldn't get the texture quite right, and Julia wasn't impressed. Yarbrough used jarred green beans instead.

"A lot of people I know are doing this," Yarbrough said. "I think it's a lot easier than people might think."

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