How do you save money on baby food? It’s been a recent question and new challenge for me and my husband now that our daughter has started eating 3 meals a day.
How Do I Save Money on Baby Food?
I use Thrive Market and an incredibly simple meal planning strategy! Lately I have been plagued by baby led weaning, baby meal prepping, and reels from pediatric dietitians on Instagram about what to make them and the meal planning and making just felt all too overwhelming for me. I don’t want to make pancakes every day or put together 3-5 ingredients for 3 pancakes every day. It’s just too much for me and it was really preventing me from even thinking about starting weaning. So I decided to throw all that away and just do one breakfast everyday… and I am pretty sure she doesn’t notice. She absolutely loves this meal plan.
*Disclosure: I am both a Thrive Market Affiliate and Amazon Affiliate. This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase using the links in this blog post, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Meal Planning to Save Money on Baby Food
Simple meal planning is the best foundation to saving money on baby food. It also helps emotionally and with my anxiety. For breakfast, I just pop bread in the toaster first thing and then she takes an hour to eat her whole meal. For lunch, I make pasta and then she has enough for 4 lunches. How great is that!?
A Baby Meal Plan Template
Breakfast:
- 1/2 slice of whole grain toast (purchased at Costco) with Kirkland Signature mixed nut butter (when I feel like going the ‘extra mile’ I make it on the stovetop as French toast but that is kinda rare).
- One of the fruit or veggie purees (read below) with Whole Grain Oatmeal cereal.
I used to buy the Keto Nuttzo Butter at Thrive Market- it is a 12oz jar for $11.49 (with the Thrive Market membership). By myself, it would take months to go through the delicious nut butter- so it was worth it to me- but with a baby eating it everyday with me for breakfast…. We were better off buying the Kirkland brand of nut butter for $6.99 for 27 ounces!
Lunch:
- Annie’s Butter & Parmesan Spirals + frozen peas + shredded chicken
- Yogurt or fruit/veggie puree mixed with Whole Grain Oatmeal cereal. For a fruit or veggie puree, I use either a Gerber puree tub ($1.89 for a 2 pk at Target) or (more often than not) I use a pouch from Serenity Kids split in thirds.
Annie’s Butter & Parm pasta is $1.59 at Target and $19.08 on Amazon ($1.59 each). Thrive Market carries select Annie’s products but the price is more affordable at my Target ($2.99). And the cost is more expensive at my local grocery stores than Target or equal to Thrive Market.
Dinner:
We feed her whatever it is that we are eating that night, just made baby sized. I did recently buy a 1 pound log of ground turkey at Walmart for $4.73. I portioned the ground turkey into 2 tbs balls- making 18 ball servings = 26 cents each!
Snacks:
So far her snacks include grazing on Gerber or Serenity Kids puffs that we keep in a container and available to her at all times.
Additional Meal Planning Notes
Each meal includes her Dr. Brown’s sippy bottle to help her finish her meals. First thing in the morning, I wash the bottle and fill it to the 8 oz mark. I read that babies should only drink or only need 6-8 ounces a day. It gets filled once a day and I wash the outside after each meal. I have noticed that she drinks 4-6 ounces in a day.
My sister and I also purchased a Baby Led Weaning book and there was very insightful content- especially a couple chapters about how to prepare and the 3 things that should be on a plate for baby. When we are ready to wean from breastmilk, I am going to start with almond milk. I haven’t decided on Thrive Market or Costco, but there is a great deal at Costco: Three 1/2 gallons of Silk Organic and Unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk for $10.99.
Using Thrive Market to Save Money on Baby Food
This year I started buying more baby food and baby friendly snacks on Thrive Market. I have been buying Serenity Kids food pouches (among others) a lot lately because of the convenience, organic ingredients, and I am a huge fan of puree POUCHES. I buy meat purees, produce purees and puffs. The fruit/veggies pouches can easily be split into 3 meals when I mix with cereal. I also use my FREE GIFT options to try new baby foods or simply get more baby foods for free.
The membership is $60/year and if you don’t spend/save at least $60, you will get Thrive Market Cash for the remaining amount. For instance, I didn’t shop from Thrive Market that much in 2022- I spent $40 that year- when my membership renewed, I was given $20 Thrive Market Cash (essentially a gift card) for future purchases.
Currently, Fee is obsessed with the chicken, beef, butternut squash, wild-caught salmon and sweet potato pouches from Serenity Kids. I feel at ease giving her these pouches because they are organic, have bone broth, and are a quick meal. For me, this is how I save money on baby food because 1. we don’t give her the meat ones everyday, 2. the fruit or veggie ones get split into 3 meals when combined with whole grain cereal after which the pouches make up to 18 meals.
Thrive Market Baby Food Costs
I have broken down the costs of the pouches based on the following:
- The cost of buying Serenity Kids varies by product, but I have not spent more than $23 per box of pouches.
- You get 6 3.5 ounce pouches, 1 box of a fruit or veggie pouch = 18 meals for us.
- As an example- the butternut squash pouch costs $1.14 per meal that I use that pouch (if 18).
- She does not get a meat pouch everyday so I feel that I am saving money on baby purees.
I also purchase puffs from Serenity Kids and Fee is obsessed. Sometimes they are just snacks, and other times I add them to her plate at meal time. She loves the broccoli and spinach puffs made with bone broth. They kinda smell like fish food to me, but they make her happy. Also! These puffs are grain free and made with cassava root.
The Thrive Market Baby Food Grocery List to Save on Baby Food
Here is the grocery list, prices reflect the cost from my order. Other factors you can consider is placing items on auto-ship to gain additional savings, and buying a specific threshold to receive Thrive Market cash. Sometimes things go on sale- and that’s amazing!
Final Thoughts on How to Save Money on Baby Food
The decision to buy from Amazon, Target, Thrive Market or a local grocery store is greatly influenced by your location and budget because there are taxes, shipping costs, and other factors that vary by state. Definitely take the time to think on meal planning and prepping, and read up on my latest post about saving money on grocery shopping. My Current Grocery Shopping Strategies to Help Save Money
If you want to take your money saving skills a step further, you can make your own baby purees with freshly purchased in-season produce and put them in a reusable pouch or simply their plate. That’s a wonderful option too!
If you need more information about whether or not Thrive Market is for you, read about my first experience: My Thrive Market Experience