Making food for your baby is easy if you use an all in one baby food maker in your home. It is cost effective, a time saver, and you get to make the healthiest food for your child. The varieties of foods you can make are also endless compared to the store bought brands. When you find produce on sale at the store it is good to stock up and make baby meals in advance as this is the true measure of money saving in food costs. When you make meals in advance you will need to store those meals in the freezer. I use my baby food maker to make the meals and then store it in ice cube trays that are BPA free. I put plastic over the trays and stack them and then when they have frozen, I put the cubes in a heavy duty Ziploc bag. I save hundreds of dollars a year doing this. The ice cube trays are the best baby food storage containers I have ever used. The portions are just right and I have very little waste. Naturally, when you take a meal out of the freezer bag it will have to be defrosted. There are a few ways to this safely. Lets take a look at some ways to do this:
Most people and parents put frozen foods into the microwave to be defrosted and for adults this is fine, but for baby food this might not be the best way to go as microwave ovens are notorious for causing uneven heating or hot spots in foods so you have to make sure to stir your babies food often to get consistent heat throughout the meal. Also remember to let the food cool to room temperature so not to burn your child's mouth. If you choose to use the microwave remember to use a microwave safe container that is BPA free. Use a lid to trap moisture that gets stirred into the meal. If you have an older oven that does not have a rotating tray then make sure to rotate the meal yourself and then make sure you taste the food to make sure it is at the proper feeding temperature for your child.
The next way you can defrost your babies meals is in the refrigerator. Just take the meals you will need for the next day out of the freezer and put them in the fridge. Make sure the meals are in a covered BPA free storage container. You do this to prevent bacteria contamination from other foods in your refrigerator. You can also thaw your babies meals in warm water. Easy to do, just get one large container and fill it with hot water and then place the smaller container with the baby food in the larger container. Done! One cube will thaw out in no longer than 15-20 minutes. Of course you can also take the container with the babies food and put it in a sauce pot that is on the stove on low heat. The food will thaw quicker this way. Just as a reminder about thawed out baby food. You can keep thawed meals for your baby in the refrigerator for up to three days or 72 hours, just make sure that once again it is in a BPA free storage container to prevent bacterial contamination from other foods.
