Poundland Weaning Haul

I've been buying baby food for a couple of weeks now all the while thinking how expensive it is but I wasn't really geared up to make my own yet. I have been looking online for baby food tupperware and I could only find really small pots or those trays that are like ice cube trays. These weren't really any use to me because Jake eats a whole pot of baby food, three times a day. So I would need loads. 

I decided to check out Poundland's kitchen stuff and found the perfect thing in their baby department. Small clip top tubs, they come in a pack of four for, well, £1. I also got a couple of wipe clean tablecloths that I am going to put underneath Jake's highchair to stop our cream carpet getting ruined (what kind of landlord puts cream carpets in a rented house? Pft) I was initially looking at Splash Mats from Mothercare that were £9.99, so when I saw these tablecloths were bigger and only £1, I grabbed 2! I picked up some food bags too just in case I ran out of pots while I was making my first batch of food. 

The tubs hold the same amount of baby food as a glass jar. I emptied a glass of Cow & Gate carrot pureé into a tub just to see what potion sizes I should be using.

I couldn't wait until my weekly shop to get cracking, so I picked up a few bits from Tesco. This little lot cost me £5.18. 

I looked at some Annable Karmel recipes for a rough idea of how to approach making baby food and she's got some fab recipes on her website. 

I started by peeling and chopping the carrots, I tried to make a DIY steamer with a metal colander but it didn't really work so I ended up boiling the carrots for about 15 minutes. I pureéd them using some of the cooking water and a stick blender. I then did the same with the swede and butternut squash. I peeled and cored the apples and pears and boiled them for 8-10 minutes. The pears went really watery so, I added some baby rice to the pureé to thicken it up.  

I then made;

3 x pots of carrot and swede

3 x pots of butternut squash

3 x pots of butternut squash and carrot

3 x pots of mixed root veg (carrot, squash and swede)

1 x pot of carrot

2 x pots of apple

2 x pots of pear

2 x pots of apple and pear

That's 19 pots in total! I had to use some other pots that I had kicking about, minus 1 lid, God knows where that has gone? I only used half of the swede so the food worked out costing £4.68, and the Poundland bits cost £7. Not a bad investment, considering that when they are on 'offer' the glass jars of baby food are 10 for £5.

The clip top pots are fab quality, I've actually been out and bought another 5 packs since, so I can get a good stock of food in the freezer. 

What foods do your little ones love? Do you have any weaning recipes or tips you could share? Please comment below!