Jelly Beans and Polka Dots: Baby Food Co-op

Drew started eating baby food about a month and a half ago and I decided that we were going to homemade baby food. I wish I could say that I made that decision because I want only the best, organic, no-weird-stuff-added food going into my baby's belly. I mean, I guess all that's true, but the real reason I decided to go the homemade route is because I'm cheap, I can get one jar of baby food for a buck, or a pound of sweet potatoes which makes the equivalent of about 4 jars of baby food. Sold.

After making sweet potatoes and then carrots for Drew, I realized making baby food is kind of time consuming. And if I wanted my child to have some variety in his diet, I needed a new plan. And so the Baby Food Co-op was born. It's basically the same as the cookie exchanges you do around Christmas, but with homemade baby food. Five other moms and I each made a ton of one type of baby food, froze it ice cube trays, and then had a little party where we swapped. Okay, we did more than swap at the party. We drank some wine, had some yummy appetizers and desserts and chatted. Without kids. It was glorious.

Confession: I was all about having this be a "moms only" night and thought I had made plans for my mom to watch Drew. Come to find out, what she thought the plans were and what I thought the plans were didn't quite match up. :) And Drew was only awake for about 15 minutes of the party. Hooray for early bedtimes!

My contribution to the baby food extravaganza? Peas and parsnips. I know, I made two things. I'm kind of an over-achiever. Not. (Who says "not" anymore?) Apparently parsnips are not the most popular vegetable and I cleaned out our local grocery store and didn't have enough. (We were supposed to make enough for each person to go home with the equivalent of one ice cube tray of each food.) So I made peas as well.

My peas and parsnips in all of their baby food glory.