Whats better buying baby food in the jars, or making your own? How long can homemade food stay in the freezer for? Is it just a simple blending of the food once its cooked or is there any special thing you have to do? My little one has a month to go before she can start eating veggies and I want to give her the best. Can you use frozen veggies to mash down or is fresh better?
2007-01-30 05:37:03 · 5 answers · asked by Proud Mother 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
Either is fine for most foods. But it is cheaper to make your own. Wash them well, you don't have to cook them all, and some things you will probably want to add a little water to just to make it soft/smooth enough. Then just put in the food processor and let it turn to mush. If you are doing fruits, put just a dash of lemon juice in it so it doesn't turn a nasty color. Frozen or fresh, doesn't matter, just don't get lazy and use canned. If you compare the frozen and canned, you will notice the extra additives that are not good for her. Frozen is good until it develops frost bite (after mushed). I don't rec. making more than a week at a time. Hope this helps!
Oh, any make sure you buy a good processor, the cheap ones SUCK and you can never get all the clumps out! (don't want her to choke)
2007-01-30 05:55:30 · answer #1 · answered by henryswrecker_fr 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I made all of my kids (2) fruits and veggies. I tried to make meats but I could never get it as smooth as in the jars. Fish is also great homemade. For the fruits and veggies, it's OK to use frozen as long as there isn't any salt or sugar added. Either way, once it's cooked (boiled, steamed or microwaved it's up to you) you place it in the blender and slowly add water until you get the desired consistency. Things like zucchini will require less water than carrots (it's better to use the water that was used to boil the food rather than tap water except for root vegetables, those you need to use fresh water). Divide the puree into ice cube trays and once they are frozen, place them in Tupperware or freezer bags. They are good for 3-6 months except for fish which is only good for 1 month.
Don't forget, once your baby has tasted each item on it's own, you can mix 2 or 3 together to change things up.
2007-01-30 13:57:41 · answer #2 · answered by scorpio 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are several conflicting schools of thought on this.
"Fresh is always better" may be true, but often "fresh" fruits and vegetables found at the grocery store are loaded with pesticides, which is definitely not good for your baby!
On the other hand, many baby foods (Stage Three) contain fillers, or other thickening agents, and most are watered down (making it easier for baby to swallow without choking).
You can buy organic fruits/veggies to make your own baby food, but it's very expensive, and some people cannot afford to do so.
Personally, I buy Beechnut stage #2 fruits and veggies (no deserts and no mixes with meat), and I make my own apple juice mix (50/50 of juice and water), with any 100% apple juice brand, straight into the sippy cup, as it's exactly the same nutritional value, at about 1/60th of the price!
Further food for thought...I found a lot of good suggestions in this article by Dr. Stallone, titled "Cheating Babies: Nutritional Quality and Cost of Commercial Baby Food":
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/cheat1.html
2007-01-30 14:04:38 · answer #3 · answered by Julia A 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had every intention of making my own baby food.... so I cooked up some yams, and zucchini... threw it in the food processor... poured it into ice cube trays... froze it... transferred it to Ziploc bags... and tried feeding it to my baby......
She hated it. It was too textured for her... she would only eat pureed jar baby food. That lasted for about a month and a half... now she hates the jar food, and she eats the veggies I have prepared for her.
My recommendation... if you get jar baby food, try to get the organic stuff, it actually tastes like the veggie/fruit. The flavours of freshly prepared food is quite strong, and textures can be hard for a baby to adjust to... you'll know what's best at that time... it's all trial and error.
2007-01-30 13:54:56 · answer #4 · answered by naenae0011 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
fresh and frozen are pretty much the same thing they pick them when they are perfect then freeze them and doing it yourself is so much better for them
2007-01-30 13:56:09 · answer #5 · answered by mama92805 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋