When most people think of green baby food, pureed peas or string beans come to mind. But Kate Yerxa, the statewide educator for nutrition and physical activity at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, has a different perspective. The green she sees isn’t beans. It’s dollar bills. “Over six months, you can save $60 if you just make your own green beans, but the greatest cost saving came from meat and baby food.”

To help Maine parents save money and offer safe, healthy alternatives to store-bought baby food, Yerxa will lead a series of “Make Your Own Baby Food” classes starting Sept. 8 in Bangor.

Yerxa’s classes and UMaine Extension’s “Making Your Own Baby Food” publication provide nutritious recipes, discuss storage techniques and review when it’s appropriate to introduce new foods to babies and infants, including pureed versions of the same meals their parents are eating.

For information or to register for the classes, which will take place from Sept. 8 to Nov. 18 at 103 Texas Ave. in Bangor, call Nannette Marcinkowski at 581-3445. Class size is limited to 10 participants. The “Making Your Own Baby Food” publication is available for download at http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4309.htm.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 9:34 am and is filed under Education, Food & Dining. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.