Stroll today's grocery aisle and you'll see organic labels, kosher guarantees, exotic mixes (how about some mango and kiwi with that applesauce?), and supplements that promise to boost your baby's brain.

All that innovation adds up. Check your grocery receipt, and you'll see why. The price of one jar of applesauce can outweigh one pound's worth of actual apples a few steps over in the produce section.

So as the global recession continues to pinch parents' pennies, more families are looking to make their own baby food. After all, your great-great grandmother somehow survived without 4-ounce jars of pureed pineapple glazed ham. You and your baby can do just fine, too.

Making your own baby food can save $245 or more in your baby's first year alone. Homemade baby food also is safer, fresher and healthier. Plus, it's easier than you think. Many of the techniques here will take you less than 30 minutes, yet provides you with a freezer full of mushy goodness. All that, and your kitchen will stay cleaner than ole' applesauce face in the high chair over there.

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