I offer to you one of my favorite tips for reducing waste and saving money…Make your own baby food.

Every where I turn I see tips on reducing our carbon footprint and being green. It’s sometimes hard to know what the right choice is. Some advice actually turns out to be worse for the environment than the previous practice.

So, here are my baby steps for eating green. Whenever I see people popping open jars of mashed bananas I want to rush over and ask, “Do you know what’s in that jar? What's the sodium content? Are you going to recycle that jar? Why did you waste all that money to buy a mashed banana?”

Of course I don’t do that. I have gently mentioned to young couples I know who are struggling to make ends meet that I saved lots of money by making and freezing my own baby food. I liked the fact that I could pop a frozen cube into a small covered bowl and take it with me when my son and I went out for the day. When it was time for lunch the carrot pop was defrosted and ready to eat. I took home the bowl and spoon, washed them, and had almost no waste. Frozen baby food keeps for 1-3 months, allowing you to make small portion sizes.

Here are a few of my favorite "recipes" that are waiting for the birth of my grandchildren:

Bananas

Ingredients

• 2 bananas
• A small amount of water
• A small amount of baby cereal (optional)

Directions

1. Peel the ripe bananas. You do not need to cook the bananas.
2. Place the bananas in a food processor or blender and puree.
3. Add water to thin the banana.
4. Add cereal (if desired) to thicken for older babies.

Pears

Ingredients

• 2 pears
• A small amount of baby cereal (if needed)
• water to steam the pears

Directions

1. Peel and cut the pears into chunks removing the seeds and hard inner core.
2. Place in a sauce pan and gently steam the pear chunks until tender.
3. Place the pears in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.
4. Add baby cereal to thicken if needed.

Note: You may want to save the liquid to add to cereals or other fruits, such as bananas, instead of water. Simply refrigerator or freeze the liquid. If the pear liquid is refrigerated use it within one week.