Homemade baby food/villa/driving question.

[crazybones27]

So hopefully this is all going to come out right lol. With my daughter we used store bought baby food. Well she's such a picky eater now that with our son we wanted to make his baby food. And I have to say it's working our GREAT. Now here's my question. We live in NJ and we'll be driving to Florida. Can you think of anyway to safely transport some homemade baby food for the 17+ hours it takes to get there. I mean we can always use a cooler with ice, but I was looking for possibly a better way. We have ice packs too, but they don't stay cold the whole way. We travel through the night while the kids are sleeping so I'm hoping to not have to feed any food throughout the night, but when morning rolls around I know my very big eater son will be hungry. What I'm thinking is maybe getting some store bought fruits for the morning till we get to our villa. The store bought fruits aren't bad, but the veggies omg gross lol.

I would like to make his food for the week when we arrive. Do the villas come with blenders or food processors? I can always bring a hand blender with me. If anyone has actually made their baby's food in their villa what grocery store did you go to that you found the veggies were good. Since we'll be driving we can always go to the store instead of having everything delivered. I know this is kind of an odd question so TIA for everyone reading and taking the time to respond!

 

[2binak]

Have you tried Earth's Best brand baby food? We used it for our DD and we thought the veggies tasted like fresh veggies.

 

[crazybones27]

Have you tried Earth's Best brand baby food? We used it for our DD and we thought the veggies tasted like fresh veggies.

With our daughter we tried every brand, gerber, earths best, and beech nut. We just weren't fond of them neither was she lol. I think our son is honestly gonna be easier with eating food. We would just like to continue giving him homemade if we can. I'm not against store bought by any means I would just like to keep giving him what he'll be use too ya know. Thank you though for the suggestion it is very much appreciated.

 

[melk]

You could get one of those cooler things that plugs into your cigarette lighter on the way down. I don't know how much it would hold, however.

I'm pretty sure you can request a blender at the resort.

 

[crazybones27]

You could get one of those cooler things that plugs into your cigarette lighter on the way down. I don't know how much it would hold, however.

I'm pretty sure you can request a blender at the resort.

Ha I didn't think of that and I actually own one of these. I bought it for my husband to keep his lunch cold or hot on the road. This is definitely an idea. Thanks !

 

[rlovew]

I would bring my own blender- since you are driving I don't know that they would have many at the resort and since this is something you really need to do I would plan on having the materials you want yourself. You didn't say which size villa you are in but if it is a studio bring a bowl to make the baby food in as there are no large bowls in those villas (just paper cereal size).

For good vegies and fruit if you want to stop at a grocery I suggest Publix- more often than not they have better fruits and vegies than Winn Dixie- don't go to Goodings. You may come across a stand as ou get near Orlando- depending on what route you are taking- you have better luck if you take some of the smaller roads in rather than a major highway- they will obviously have better stuff than most of the stores- local and fresher generally.

 

[cseca]

Hmm, I'm not sure about this but it's a thought. Why don't you freeze it and then get a cooler with dry ice for the way down.
Not sure if that's the easiest way but that's just another thought.

 

[gillep]

you really shouldn't have dry ice in a closed in car for any amount of time as dry ice will flood the car with carbon dioxide unless it is extremely well ventilated!!!!!!! I work in a lab with this stuff all the time and we need special permits etc to ship with it and shipping companies regulate the amount you are allowed to ship very tightly because it really is a health hazard!!!

If you are at all familiar with home canning you could try that, but probably a small cooler with ice packs or ice would be your best bet although I agree not ideal.

 

[natt]

I do not have any knowledge about homemade babyfood, but the thread topic caught my eye.

I am an avid maker of homemade soups. On our trip last December, I took two kinds that I had frozen. I did not put them in the cooler until the morning we left. They helped serve as additional coolness (we only used the ice in the bucket from the icemaker, then got more along the way at a gas stop). They were still only par-thawed by the next day when we arrived at the villa, but soft enough to scoop out enough for immediate use to heat.

 

[cseca]

you really shouldn't have dry ice in a closed in car for any amount of time as dry ice will flood the car with carbon dioxide unless it is extremely well ventilated!!!!!!! I work in a lab with this stuff all the time and we need special permits etc to ship with it and shipping companies regulate the amount you are allowed to ship very tightly because it really is a health hazard!!!

If you are at all familiar with home canning you could try that, but probably a small cooler with ice packs or ice would be your best bet although I agree not ideal.

Got it!
Learn something new everyday

 

[simba20]

Living in the boonies (an hour away from civilization) I have learned that certain veggies/fruits will thaw quickly, even packed in a cooler. Frozen bananas turn to mush after a 2 hour drive (learned this visiting my in-laws) and sweet potatoes are partially thawed.

Unless you plan on having some foods for him to eat on the drive, I'd wait until you got to Disney to make what you need for your stay.

When my DD was starting solids, I too, made her baby food. My friends called me "crunchy granola" but seriosuly, it didn't take that much effort to bake sweet potatoes, make extra broccoli, and then process it and freeze it.

And I totally agree with you on the jarred food. I ran out of homemade sweet potatoes once, so I gave DD a jar my MIL had bought in case of emergencies. I could not get past the smell coming from the jar (yes, the jars were fresh). DD would barely eat any. I felt so bad for giving her that stuff. Later Mommy learned her lesson, when she went ot change DD's poopy diaper a few hours later. NEVER AGAIN. Before throwing away the other jars, I opened them and smelled them too. UGH. Just what are we feeding our babies from those jars.

My philosphy became DD eats what we eat. No special foods (those toddler next step meals stink too). Today at 2.5, DD eats nearly everything. She's an adventerous eater. We learned at Fulton's that you cannot deny DD snow crab legs.

 

[2binak]

With our daughter we tried every brand, gerber, earths best, and beech nut. We just weren't fond of them neither was she lol. I think our son is honestly gonna be easier with eating food. We would just like to continue giving him homemade if we can. I'm not against store bought by any means I would just like to keep giving him what he'll be use too ya know. Thank you though for the suggestion it is very much appreciated.

Totally understandable. Our DD was never (and still isn't) a picky eater. As long as she could eat it, she didn't care what brand it was or if it came from a jar or if we made it. We did make some homemade foods and I admit, I was a little disappointed that she didn't like them any more than the jarred foods, but using the jarred foods did make travel easier.

 

[katep]

you could get a travel cooler like this...

http://www.cooler-store.com/black_d...ric_travel_cooler_warmer_tc204b_4556_prd1.htm

We have one and it keeps things pretty cold.