Pediatricians or Nutritionists: Should I use Fresh or Frozen Veggies and Fruits to make my baby food?

Question

I made my son's out of fresh veggies and fruits...since then, I have heard that frozen veggies contain more nutrients as they are flash frozen shortly after picking. I like making the food myself as it saves a lot of $, but I don't want to short-change my new baby's health.

Answer 1

good for you for making your own. i did this and it was not near as complicated or time consuming as people wanted me to believe. plus we had no trouble getting our daughter eating regular food or weaning her off the jar taste. if you are picking the food fresh yourself or buying from a farmer's market where the food was picked the day or the morning of your purchase it is just as good as the frozen. but yes the frozen veggies contain more nutrients than the in store fresh ones. and this is because of what you said, they are frozen right after picking. where the in store foods can sit on trucks and in the storage area for a long time. sometimes the heat and temp is not controlled and the foods that still look good will be placed on the shelves for sale. these will have lost most of their nutritional value. when i couldn't buy from the farmer's market i bought frozen food and divided it into serving size packs in ziploc bags. then i would steam and puree the food and feed it to our daughter. also frozen packs of food will last longer and cost less than the fresh in store ones.

Answer 2

Not only does it save money, it tastes better, too! My wife uses fresh foods (preferably organic and local) to make our son's food. He won't even touch the jarred stuff. She also makes a lot at a time and freezes it down in ice cube trays for convenience.

If your supermarket has local produce, that is certainly the freshest source. Local produce is often picked ripe and sold quickly and should be preferred over even organic produce from a distance. If you don't have access to local produce, definitely go frozen. The packing facilities are normally within just a few miles of the fields so they are again picked ripe and packed quickly.

For best nutrition, you should ask about multivitamin/multimineral supplements. Many foods are not living up to their posted nutritional value due to soil depletion and other factors.

EDIT
I just returned from a nutrition seminar. Apparently, vitamin C alone can reduce by 75% in as few as 4 days if not frozen. I'll modify the recommended order of preference to: Frozen first, Local second, then distance produce only if necessary.

Answer 3

I often wonder about this myself! I make my own baby food, and tend to use frozen fruits and vegetables if I can. Our local supermarkets fruits and vegetables don't always look the freshest, and I saw a show on telly once where they actually tested the vitamin content and frozen won!
However, fresh or frozen, making it yourself is a great choice for your baby. Rest assured knowing you are looking out for your babies health, and know what is in the food you are feeding your baby.

Answer 4

Too much of one thing might give him the runs... The only way to do it is trial and error.... It sucks, but there you have it. You could try chewing up food that you are eating (it's not as gross as it sounds) and offering it to him and see what he thinks. Obviously, try the oat cereal again. If he doesn't like it, mix some of the squash in there and see what he thinks. Maybe let him stick his hands in it and make a mess. My little brother refused to eat unless he was allowed to wear the food first. Then he's sit there and scoop it off his head, belly and face to eat it...

Answer 5

Both are equally nutritious.