melii BPA-Free Baby Food Freezer Containers, 6-Pack

Time is at a premium for parents of young children. You have to take care of feedings and diaper changes and making sure your infants grow up to be well-adjusted adults. Anything you can find to make life a little easier is welcome.

Many parents choose to make their own baby food, using fresh ingredients and pureeing them to avoid the artificial ingredients that come in packaged baby food. But one of the best things about packaged food is that it comes in handy serving-size containers. Food is portioned out and you can just grab a package and toss it in a diaper bag if you’re on the go.

If you make your own baby food, you’re in luck. There are a variety of containers that you can either store in the refrigerator or freezer for the same grab-and-go convenience you get with the packaged food you buy in the grocery store. Simply make your baby food in larger portions, then separate them into smaller containers for storage.

The amount of food your baby will eat varies by age, but by the time your baby reaches three to five months, you’re probably feeding 6 to 7 ounces five or six times a day. Making fresh food for all those servings would take any extra time you have in a day. Food containers for baby food often come in 2- to 4-ounce portions, so you can pull a couple out of the freezer, defrost them, and feed your baby at the designated time.

But if you plan to freeze your baby food, you’ll need a container that’s safe to store in the freezer. There are some that seal up individually, but if you’re home all day, you may find a single tray with multiple pods for storing servings of baby food easier than individual containers with lids.

• If you’re storing baby food in the freezer, it can help to track what’s in each container, as well as the date it was made. Some containers let you write information on the lid. Use a washable but durable marker like a felt-tip pen to make the note.
• A better alternative to writing on the lid could be special sticky notes designed to survive moisture-prone environments like freezers. These waterproof sticky notes make it easy to note the contents of each container, along with the date it was either made or put into storage. Using these, you won’t have to worry about using a pen with ink that will wipe off between uses.
• When stored in the right container, homemade baby food should last 48 hours in the refrigerator if it’s made from fruit and vegetables only. Add meat, fish, poultry or eggs to the mix and you’ll need to consume the food within 24 hours. For longer duration, store the food in the freezer, which ups its lifespan to one to three months, ideally. You can technically stretch it to three to six months.
• Instead of freezing the baby food, you could freeze the fruits and vegetables you’ll use to make it. You’ll need to cook the ingredients first, then freeze them, but you can then later thaw them and include them in your baby food without having to go to the trouble of cooking them on the spot.
• If you want to be able to wash your containers between uses, make sure you’re choosing one that’s dishwasher-safe.
• You’ll also want to check for safety in the microwave before buying a container set. You may want to defrost your frozen baby food quickly at some point and being able to slip the entire container into the microwave will be a big help.