Jarred Baby Food Vs. Homemade

I cooked everything for one and bought everything for the second. We started green veggies, then orange veggies, then fruits. Meats and risky foods were last. I cooked the veggies just enough to mash, not very long. With the second one, he only took Gerber Graduates, pretty unusual, even for a kid with eating difficulties. Not a good place to start. The order of the food was starting with least sweet to most sweet so they didn't get a sweet tooth and not want the others.

I did both.I fed my boys refried pinto beans (very easy and inexpensive to make), mashed potatoes(ditto), mashed bananas, soft homade flour tortillas (great for teething). I always bought Gerber stage 1 baby food.Oh, cream of wheat is also good to feed at that age. You can pretty much introduce most fruits and veggies, even meats for that matter as long as the food is smashed really well. Just start with small amounts and supervise closely in case baby might choke.

I have heard that steaming vegetables is the best way to go for keeping nutrients. You can get those hand-held food griders that work pretty well. I did that some, or used the food processor...but I have to admit, I got lazy after a while, and just bought the jars. I am not sure if there is a big difference! Now that there are all those great varieties of organic baby foods in jars, it's not really worth the trouble to cook and mash everything. As a new mom, you've got so much else to do...enjoy the convenience of the jarred food!

I don't think that storebought baby food adds any vitamins or minerals. The ingredients listed on most of them are: water, green beans. Or water, carrots. They would have to list the chemical name of the vitamin in the ingredients, like ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
It's true, depending on how you cook food, you can lose a lot of vitamins. They usually leech into the water. But since you have to add water back in to puree the food, use the cooking water and you keep the nutrients! Also try to limit the amount of cooking water. I used my rice cooker with a steam basket on top to cook lots of veggies at once. It used a minimal amount of water to boil them in the bottom pan, and the top ones got steamed. Then I used what cooking water I had, plus some when I pureed it with my stick blender.
I bought jars when they were on sale, for traveling or for the foods I didn't like to make myself. Like meats. I tried that, but I don't like it. Then I washed the jars and poured my own baby food into it, then froze them. Or if your baby is a light eater (mine were NOT and ate 5 jars per sitting), you can freeze the puree in ice cube trays and then pop them into labeled zip loc freezer bags.
I also bought unsweetened applesauce. They ate it straight from the can or jar. We go through so much applesauce that we buy a #10 can every time we go to Costco. You'll need it to "dilute" blueberries (frozen) and strawberries (frozen) a little, and anything that could be tart, like cherries (I bought a can) or apricots (home-canned). I bought baby cereal, too, but my kids love Cream of Wheat the best. They didn't like the cereal after a while, except for oatmeal which I mixed with applesauce and or pureed peaches and cinnamon (think apple crisp or peach cobbler) for dessert. Mmmm.
We did peaches, pears, green beans, peas (from frozen), corn, potatoes (when you make mashed potatoes for dinner, set some aside before you add the butter and milk, then add butter and formula or bmilk instead), carrots, and squash. It was really fun to make all that stuff, actually, and it's very satisfying to do something so basic for your baby.
It's also cheaper. I used to have a cost analysis somewhere, but I'm sure it's out of date, now. And I made it when I lived in another state, so that makes a difference in grocery prices.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me a private message!

For my kids I always would buy the canned food. I would actually start the kids with the fruits and sweet veggies first (sweet corn, sweet potatoes, sweet peas, squash). I have found if they like the taste of it they are more likely to try and eat it and the more sucess you will have in getting them to learn how to eat. Then when the baby is eating pretty good and has the idea down, you can start the other veggies. As far as the brands go, I would just get whatever was on sale or cheapest. As they got bigger I would have those one hand for when the baby was hungry but we weren't eating, and then start feeding regular table foods when they were hungry and we were eating a meal. I would even use the fruit to mix in with their cereal to give an added texture as they got older. Good luck
J.

I almost always make my kids food, how hard is it to throw some veggies or fruit(frozen or canned) in a little counter top processor? I have never heard what your DR told you, mine always said the opposite cause I controled the amount of "stuff" that went into it. I don't have a preference over organic or not, the stuff in the jar is gross with the exception of the fruits and my kids, even my 16 year old, will eat them like a dessert. I always start with bananas and rice cereal, once they have figures it out, I go to the veggies, be persistant and always offer them, once they are good with those they are usually ready for mooshed up table food and that they like more :). Good luck!

I thought that making my own baby food was quite easy. My kids' first 2 foods were ripe bananas and avocados, neither of which needed to be cooked! Check out a great book "Super Baby Food" by Ruth Yaron. It has all the tips and recipes from infant to age five. It also tells you how to prepare and store the food for maximum nutrient value. Sounds like just what you are looking for!

C. M., CBE, CLD, MWA
The Westside Birth Connection
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www.westsidebirthconnection.com
Marketing Chair, Colorado Doulas Association
www.coloradodoulas.com

I have done both. I started my baby on beech nut and gerber food and I now make her food (she is 8 months old now). The nutrition content of the food has everything to do with how it is prepared. Baked, broiled and steams foods hold onto most of their vitimains and nutrients... boiling is the big bad nutrition sucker. I found that I really like making her food... i spent one saturday steaming frozen fruits and veggies (you could use fresh too... I just went the easy way) and tossing them in the blender. I used the cooking/steaming water to thin out the purees (which allows you to add back in some of the lost nutrients) except for with carrot (the nitrates issue...). If you're interested in making your own food, I would suggest www.wholesomebabyfood.com as a resource. Its really good.
I started my little girl (at 5 month) first on rice cereal, then oatmeal, then single veggies and fruits (stage one food). She loves apples (I buy regualr "adult" no sugar added all natural apple sauce... SO MUCH CHEAPER!), and squash. Good luck!

this video brings up this issue directly. I think you will be amazed and have your answer on the issue.check it out

excitotoxin article by James South
articles on excitoxins
EXCITOTOXINS: The Taste That Kills DR. Russell Blaylock

video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2384105525501310962