We certainly live in a society which is geared towards fast-n-easy. Baby food is no different. Jarred baby food is merely another convenience which is more expensive and less healthy. Before 1928, when Gerber started making jarred baby foods, parents simply mashed up what was on their plates. In a previous article, we discussed why baby food isn't necessary. However, if you choose to feed your child baby food, you can skip the expensive jars of organic baby food and go directly to the produce section for ingredients to make your own.
Listed below are some advantages to making your own organic baby food:
1. It's less expensive. A pound of fresh organic carrots will cost about $1 while a four-ounce jar of organic baby food carrots cost about $.75 (translated this is $3 a pound!)
2. It tastes better. Homemade baby food actually tastes like food she'll eat for the rest of her life and by feeding that to baby from the beginning, she will be accustomed to the flavor of fresh fruits and vegetables, making her more likely to accept those foods later.
3. No having to read the label. You know with a certainty that it's free of additives and preservatives.
4. You can tailor the texture to your baby's preference.
5. It is more nutrient-rich than jarred foods because you made it. And because you made it, you know it hasn't been sitting for 6 months in a train car or in a stock room.
So have fun making baby's food yourself and know that you're doing a great service for your child's health and future eating habits.
I'm just a smidge confused... a couple days previous to this post, there was a post about how babies don't actually need baby food. Then this one is about making your own baby food.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree that babies don't need baby food, so you don't need to "make" anything special for them at all. We followed bay-led solids with my daughter and it's simply fantastic -- and simply simple! No purees, no mashing, no special preparation at all, just real table food from the beginning. She's now 2.5yo and a champion eater, with no crazy typical kid-fussiness, she loves curries and spicy, flavourful foods!
I've written about baby-led solids at ecochildsplay, http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/13/baby-essentials-that-arent-part-7-baby-food/ if you're interested. :)
Just because we point out that baby food isn't necessary, doesn't mean that others won't still use it. I have plenty of friends who are well aware that they don't need to do this or have that and yet they still do it whether because they simply want to or their husband won't agree to less conventional ways.
ReplyDeletePersonally, we don't bother with it, putting only what's in our plates in their mouths. But if people are going to use baby food, why not help them to do it in the healthiest possible way?