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 Your baby’s first experiences with food
will likely form lifelong habits that will be either wonderful or hard to break.
I have two children, one of which we fed jarred baby food and he is a picky
eater. The other we fed homemade baby food and she enjoys a variety of healthy,
tasty foods, and is willing to try new foods. I don’t think that this is a
coincidence. I can't even remember why I decided to make my daughter's baby
food. I think it just came as a natural progression from what we learned from
the cloth diapering community. Some moms don't even "do" baby food; they nurse
exclusively until the baby wants to eat the same foods they are eating from the
table. Somewhere between 12 and 18 months, they begin eating solids, without
experiencing pureed baby food at all. There is nothing wrong with this. You will
hear all kinds of advice on what to feed your baby, and when to feed it, and
really, the only thing you can do is what you feel in your heart is the best
thing for your baby. That said, I can tell you that homemade baby food is the
BEST baby food option if you are going to "do" baby food!
The Bottom Line
Because most parents will choose their
babies’ diets based on what is sold on the baby food shelves, it is no wonder
that children are starting out on very poor diets, with foods made as cheaply
and quickly as possible by companies trying to make a buck- or millions of
bucks. The first thing you need to know about jarred baby foods is that they are
made by companies who are more worried about their bottom line than your baby’s
health and nutrition. Even though organic jarred baby food is an improvement
over the traditional, it is still not even close to foods that you can make at
home.
Jarred Baby Food
is “Convenient”
I would never suggest to anyone to serve
jarred foods in their homes, but I can see why it happens. It’s “easier,”
“faster,” and “more convenient.” After all, I did it myself, because I didn’t
know that there was an alternative. These qualities are great- if you weren’t
sacrificing the health of your child. Doing things easier, faster, and more
conveniently is not a good trade off for the number of times you will be sitting
in the doctor’s office because your child is getting illness after illness
because she is not getting enough nutrients from her foods.
Where to Begin
with Homemade Baby Food
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You will need to arm yourself with some basic information about how
to make baby food, foods to try and when, and things to look out for. The
absolute best source of information regarding these is
Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron . It contains almost 600 pages of information, and provides updates at the
website
www.superbabyfood.com. This book is vegetarian, which is actually good.
It talks about foods that you may never have thought about, and if you are a
meat eater (I am, too) then you can introduce solid meats as appropriate at your
dinner table. (Would YOU want to eat pureed meat?)
There are some reviews on
Amazon that are not favorable, but I found it to be a very useful book at a
great price (and I bought mine new!) Overall it gets 4 stars out of 5, which is
great. One of the concerns expressed by one parent is concerning nuts. I
personally believe that the nut allergy has been blown out of proportion. While
food allergies are very serious, they are not as common as you would believe if
you listen to the media. As a matter of fact, if you are a nursing mom who eats
nuts, eggs, and dairy, you will know early on if your baby has an allergy. Not
in EVERY case, but in most. So tread carefully, but don't withhold a food group
out of fear because you know another baby who is allergic.
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If You Want to
Get Started Now
 The main thing to remember when you
start solids is that you should always breastfeed first. You don’t want foods to
replace breast milk, you want them to supplement it. If you are feeding formula,
I wouldn’t be so concerned about the order. Many people think that cereal is the
best first food because that’s what doctors recommend. Doctors are not trained
in nutrition, so please just smile and act like all is well if your doctor tells
you what to feed your baby. The best first food is avocado. It is easy to
prepare because you don’t have to cook it. Just spoon out the green “meat”, mash
it, and add water until it is a consistency appropriate for your baby. It has
good fats in it that are great for brain development. Bananas are also easy to
prepare. Mash, add water, and serve. (Always use
distilled water).
Egg yolk is a great source of iron, and some people even feed their babies raw
liver for iron. The book suggests an iron supplement, but I have never given my
babies iron supplements and they have done very well. If you are breastfeeding,
it is important that you are getting the proper nutrition, including iron, so
that your baby is getting this from you.
What is so Bad
About Jarred Baby Food?
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Jarred baby food was once filled up with
“junk” to help fill up the jar. Once parents caught on to this and demanded
change, many of these fillers were removed. The main concern I have is that the
foods in the jars are over processed. This means that most of the nutrients are
no longer there because they have been cooked out. Jarred baby food has a
completely different taste from homemade food, so when the label says, “Sweet
potatoes, water,” and the list stops there, something’s not right.
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Depending on jars of food limits your baby’s
experience with food. Not only does it taste bad, there is a limited variety
that you find yourself alternating, and probably getting bored with it yourself! Making your food at home, and realizing all of the options out there  (depending
on the season) opens your baby’s world up to a very wide selection of foods to
experience, improving his concept of “food.”
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You aren't supposed to feed straight from the jar, and the servings in jars are
bigger than what your baby will eat at one sitting. This forces parents to
either throw away unused food, or some parents even feed their baby only one
food during a meal so that they finish it. This is not good!
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You don't get to see what the food
was made from. Do you think that they select their best fruits and
vegetables to make their baby food? Food manufacturers are always going to
select the worst looking fruits and vegetables to make baby foods, just as
they pick the worst oranges to make orange juice.
What About
Organic Foods?
Organic jarred baby food is just as
processed as the traditional foods, but at least it's pesticide-free. This is
a big deal, but you can make your own organic foods at home that are not
over-cooked. Even more important than organic fruits and vegetables, you should
look for organic dairy and meat products as well. Dairy and meat contain more
residual pesticides and growth hormones by far. Some fruits and vegetables
contain more pesticide residuals than others and you can see a list of these
fruits and vegetables to
help you decide which are “okay” if they are not available organically grown.
For the times when you do have to use inorganically grown fruits and vegetables,
use a veggie wash to remove as much pesticides as possible. My friend Shannon
sells
Wash 'Dem Veggies at her store,
Old Coast Trading. You will find
other excellent products there as well.
Freezing and Thawing Baby Food
If you are like most moms, you will probably freeze
your baby's food in ice trays or little bowls. It is much easier to freeze large
batches and thaw as needed (keeping the food as fresh as possible). Homemade
baby food shouldn't sit longer than a day or two in the refrigerator. Plan your
baby's foods the night before, and move them from the freezer to the
refrigerator. If you can find a way to heat the food without using your
microwave, I highly suggest this. Food does not have to be warm, but your baby
will probably prefer food at room temperature. If you can collect baby food jars
from friends, store the food in them, and then place the jar in hot water when
you are preparing your baby's meal.
Any Tips on
Making Homemade Baby Food Easier?
Make the food in batches and store
in the freezer. Pull out the amount you need for the next day and thaw in
the fridge. Servings should be in one ounce portions until baby is eating
bigger servings. Ice trays work nice. Freeze them in ice trays, then put the
cubes into little baggies.
Select foods that are age
appropriate that are also in season. The Super Baby Food book will tell you
this, but you will also know when you go the store and see what is
available.
Tell yourself if you ever “don’t
have time” or “think it’s a pain,” that it’s only temporary! Before you know
it your baby will be eating food right off your plate, which reminds me…
Change YOUR
eating habits NOW! Once baby is eating solids, he is getting closer and closer
to taking on your dietary habits. If you eat too much junk, recognize that and
change it. You will feel much better planning for this rather than changing it
once you realize how badly your toddler is eating. Children get into food ruts
because we have limited their repertoire of foods. Always offer fresh fruits and
vegetables, yogurt, nuts (when applicable), cheese, meat, hummus and other
healthy foods before you resort to what’s easy and on hand- like cookies, chips,
muffins, doughnuts, etc. Once you have moved on from preparing baby food, it is
essential to make sure you have just as healthy foods available for munching!
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