(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best baby food storage containers

Ah... we just went through this three weeks ago. Our little guy turned 6 months last week and we introduced solids when he was about 5.5 months.

We thought he was ready because he's already able to sit up straight, has strong neck (and can look away when he's had enough) and has almost tripled his birth weight so milk alone would not be enough to give him the daily intake of calories.

We also skipped rice cereals for fear of constipation and allergies. The first food was avocado - it's easy to make, no boiling necessary, no putting in blender necessary. We just picked an avocado that's firm but has a slight give when you press them slightly, cut them in quarters and put them into these little containers and pop them in the freezer (so the avocado doesn't turn brown... there's nothing wrong with it, we just don't like how it looks after it's oxidized :)).

We give him a quarter of avocado (mushed, mixed with a bit of milk to make it creamy) at 7PM (his bedtime is 8). That would then be his dinner + a bottle of milk. The first night we gave him that, he slept for 8 hours (as opposed to the usual 6). As we upped the amount of solids that he takes, his sleep gets longer and longer. This past week he's been sleeping from 8PM to 730AM without waking up for a feed, and since we didn't change anything we'd like to think that it's the solids that's preventing him from waking up hungry in the middle of the night.

At the beginning, though, I was almost convinced we didn't do it right because he had this weird face whenever we put the mush into his mouth (he didn't spit it out or gag or anything, but he made it clear he wasn't impressed), and he much preferred milk. Turns out that he was just getting used to the new texture and taste and now he practically inhales it.

At this point we've tried: avocado, sweet potatoes (not a big fan), pear, and we're gonna try carrot next. We make the food ourselves (using Baby Bullet) but turns out that, with carrot, it's preferable to get the bottled ones because raw fresh carrots have a lot of nitrates. Who would've known?

Good job on transitioning your LO out of the room! It was the same for us too - he sleeps better on his own. We got rid of the swaddle at around 3 months tho, cos we didn't want him to roll over in his sleep swaddled. We used Woombie convertible when we were in the in-between stage (about 1 week) and he now sleeps in Halo Sleep Sack.

GOOD LUCK! <3

Some upfront costs, but on the waste front: in addition to the obvious cloth diapers/cloth wipes, we also go through very few paper towels in our house (mostly for cat puke or similar). Old clothes, diapers, and the million and a half receiving blankets/burp cloths get cut up and stashed under the sink. We have a huge pile, but we go through them regularly with a toddler and a 1st-grader in the house. We use them for wiping faces, hands, tables, floors, everything. We have converted almost entirely to cloth snack bags. There are lots of brands, but those are my fave for pliability, capacity, and the fact that they zip closed. They're good for just about anything that's not liquid, including fruit. We also got some reusable pouches that were great for baby breakfast (mostly oatmeal and fruit and yogurt blends) but also awesome for sending yogurt/applesauce in the big kid's lunch. We also have tins that will hold food for snacks in the diaper bag or lunches -- we have a couple sizes of these. It helps cut down on the disposable food containers, while also encouraging making/packing your own.

And yeah, for less stuff, just have less stuff. Totally easier said than done, but that's more or less all there is to it. Say no and regularly cull.

I just ordered some of these to try (recommended on the Plant Powered Runner blog)

Little Green Reusable Baby Food Pouches

Edit: Yea, these didn't fit in my packs front pouches, so they're a no-go. Going to try out the Gu flask, looks like it will be a better fit.

So just to put this out there they do make pouches that you can fill and reseal yourself. We didn't really trust pre-made baby food in general so we mostly made our own and these pouches worked great. All the convenience of a pouch plus control over what's going in them and since you reuse them it's better for the environment too. We used these things a lot until our LO found out how much fun it was to squeeze all of the food out onto the ground instead of eating it (>.<) but at that point they were mostly able to feed themselves anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Here's a link so you can see what I'm talking about:

On Amazon but there are other places to get them obviously: Link

I need this set of baby food containers that are freezable, microwaveable, etc so I can make and freeze baby food for kiddo! I want to make my own so I know what's in it and can customize it. Also it will be way cheaper! Thanks for this fun contest! <3

You can buy reusable pouches. Amazon has these: HB Reusable Food Pouch Easy Clean No Leaks For Baby Toddler Kids (8-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012909FZY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_OKl9wbSJTCQB9

These look perfect: https://www.amazon.com/WeeSprout-Double-Zipper-Reusable-Pouch/dp/B074CP5BCQ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=6ESSFTBGL6JL&keywords=nature%27s%2Blittle%2Bsqueeze%2Breusable%2Bfood%2Bpouches&qid=1555858454&s=gateway&sprefix=%22Nature%27s%2BLittle%2BSqueeze%2Caps%2C455&sr=8-3&th=1

I got these - it's nice because there are two ounce and four ounce containers. Then I save the little jars for stuff I don't need to freeze
OXO Tot 12-Piece Baby Blocks Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009M63NVG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_OtnOrM2i2tt3W

I've actually recently switched to testing these although without the cute cartoons lol. I found a refillable foil pouch that has a strong cap and can take a dropper top for filling unicorns. One time use kinda thing.

But it still sucks balls.

Thank you!

These are GoodCook + Meal Prep On Fleek 2 compartment containers. The big side is 2 cups and the small side is 1 cup. They don't appear to be leak proof, but I don't need them to be. They stack nicely and are intended for freezing and microwaving. I'm not afraid of plastic, though.

I got them at Fry's (Kroger) for $4.99 for a 10 pack. They were $3.99 last time I was there, so they might be on their way out

Edit: Amazon link for the product

Amazon has these you could put whatever you want in them, applesauce works well, or regular yogurt.

i bought these and really like them WeeSprout Double Zipper Reusable Food Pouches | 6 Pack Variety (2 ea) 3.4 fl oz, 5 fl oz & 7 fl oz Size Pouches | Original https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014UC3KUK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_X3oXCbF162KFT
i also bought the extra pack of caps, so far we have only lost one!
i put smoothies in there, or yogurt blended with fruit. store in the freezer and then defrost in the fridge until they are soft enough to eat

Yes you can! I use this type of baby food tray: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T6ZGCAM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_eGRVAbVY0NH2W
(Sorry I’m on mobile)

These work better for repacking than Nalgene jars cheaper

My daughter was never a big fan of the pouches. I tried one myself and immediately understood why. We bought these guys and started making her little smoothies out of whatever we had in the house -- usually greek yogurt, chia or flax seeds, berries, bananas, and maybe some frozen peas or spinach if we were feeling very adventurous.

The puree stage didn't last long; she started to insist on feeding herself after not too long.

I think you're on to something here, and I think I have the solution. :-)

We started off with purées, and I used a steamer and my kitchenaid blender to make them. I would use some of the water in the bottom to blend with the fruit or vegetable to make them thinner and still get some of the nutrients/flavor of the actual fruit or veggie instead of watering it down. I started off making one batch at a time, since I would give her the same thing for 4 days to make sure she had no allergic reactions. I would keep enough out in the fridge to last a few days and then I'd put the rest in a silicone freezer tray. Started off with 1oz cubes and moved up to 2oz cubes. I started off with these though it seems they jacked the price up at the moment. There are a ton of diff ones on Amazon though. I was going to buy a special baby food maker machine, but for the cost I decided to just buy a $50 steamer pot at target and use my blender at first. It worked so well, and wasn't any inconvenience to me so I just stuck with that. I just recently bought some pouches, but haven't tried them yet! After I had a solid amount of things and she had no reactions, I started to make a bunch big batches in a day and freeze them up so I always had a stock pile.

I recently saw a YouTube video where some backpackers were using baby food pouches. No idea what their durability is, I like the idea though. GoToobs are comparable in price and definitely sturdier, with the downside that they retain shape when empty.

Here are two different options but there are a lot of different highly rated ones:

https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Squeeze-Storage-Homemade-Toddlers/dp/B07H8DN35J/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=baby+pouch+reusable&qid=1570278412&sr=8-6

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https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Modern-Reusable-Pouches-10-Pack/dp/B07QF3ZDFR/ref=pd_cp_75_1/144-6945590-4960531?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07QF3ZDFR&pd_rd_r=8595abe2-7614-4493-b887-fd688f09c051&pd_rd_w=e89ja&pd_rd_wg=bm6Is&pf_rd_p=ef4dc990-a9ca-4945-ae0b-f8d549198ed6&pf_rd_r=8XG425GQZN3PAZ94ZPVN&psc=1&refRID=8XG425GQZN3PAZ94ZPVN

They even have a Goldfish cracker holder: http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-EV60010-Pepperidge-Goldfish-Snack-Tainer/dp/B002X0IFWU

Just saw it at the grocery store last night.

Heres the version with a spoon:

https://www.amazon.com/Cereal-Breakfast-Portable-Yogurt-Container/dp/B077PQYKSV/

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07L7WLT1P/ref=dp_cerb_3?th=1

This is what we use in Canada. Make our own yogurt in the InstantPot too!

I use this but you could also use ice cube trays.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AWJHB5G?pc_redir=1412316121&robot_redir=1
Reusable food pouches!

I had one of these as a kid: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002X0IFWU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_UxZDAbR2XAYBC

long ass name

under $10

I do a hybrid of some of the other posters.

I grocery shop once a week and stock up on staples: protein (wild caught fish, tofu, whey powder), fruits, veggies, lemons/limes, HOT SAUCE, oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, milk, nuts, etc.

For my husband, who eats whatever the hell he wants without changing his weight, I make 3 recipes over the weekend and he takes servings for lunch and dinner each day. This past weekend I made mushroom stroganoff, beef stew, broccoli leek soup, and quinoa with broccoli and cheddar.

Every Sunday I make a batch of fruit puree (usually pear, apple, peach). I portion it into pouches for a quick dose of carbs whenever I need it throughout the week.

For me, I make a few days of protein at a time (usually fish) and portion it. Then each day I make a veg/fruit/starch to meet my macros each time I have a meal. This could be steamed or roasted veggies, or a serving of fruit puree.