Math is sooooo booooring. Oh, wait. Moms can’t say that. I meant to say that math is SUPER FUN so let’s do some really cool math!!

I bought more silicon ice cube trays so I could make bigger baby food batches. ($14.94.)

I now have six trays. Each tray makes fifteen cubes. Each cube is (just over) one ounce. (So we will call them one ounce.) I can make up to ninety ounces at a time. MATH.

Pouch food is expensive (and a little bit risky, with the recalls and everything). But really expensive. I’ve seen the pouches anywhere from $1.25 (on sale) to $1.65 (yikes). And they range anywhere from 3.5 ounces (all fruit) to 4.5 ounces (fruit, veggies, and sometimes grains). I’m going to say $0.30/ounce is probably a fair estimate, and might even be a bit of a lowball. But fair enough. I have not done the math yet, by the way. I’m calculating as I go here. HOW EXCITING FOR US ALL.

(I shop sales for groceries and sometimes use coupons.com. I usually buy frozen veggies to make her food, except for spinach. I usually buy fresh fruit, except sometimes. I usually buy organic, except sometimes. And I shop at either Trader Joe’s, Target, or Harris Teeter. Usually a mix.)

Babystar seemed to really like this particular pouch of food, so I decided to try to make something like this first.

• 2 lbs pears     $2.99
• 1 lb kiwi       $2.39
• 24 oz spinach     $3.98
• 2 lbs peas       $2.69

This made 83 cubes. So 83 ounces. $12.05 for 83 ounces is 14.5 cents per ounce. Not bad.

(Update: SHE HATES THIS. DON’T MAKE IT. I may have gotten the ratios wrong or she may just hate peas. I know she hates plain peas. I’m sticking to recipes from my favorite baby food site from now on.)

Next, I ran out of Smoothie Cubes so had to make those next. I vary the fruit in these every time I make them, but this batch went a little something like this.

• 1 lb strawberries     $3.00
• 1 lb frozen peaches     $2.50
• 13 bananas $2.47
• just under 2 lbs grapes   $5.19

70 cubes. $13.16 for 70 ounces is 18.8 cents per ounce. Still not bad. The fruit pouches are the most expensive. Plus I can thaw just one or two ounces at a time to flavor her oatmeal or to serve with veggies. I don’t have to be limited to 3.5 ounces at a time. I DO WHAT I WANT.

And currently freezing into solid cubes in the freezer is an old favorite, Apple-Broccoli.

• 2 lbs broccoli      $4.98
• 2 lbs apples         $2.50
• a few basil leaves      $1

73 cubes. $8.48 for 73 ounces is 11.6 cents per ounce. I’ll take it.

 

RAISING BABYSTAR: $6,580.87