Home made or Gerber/Bought baby food?

Question

whacha think?

What are some lovely tips on making home made.. Im just now introducing veggies. He did not like carrot :(

he just turned 6mo

Answer 1

I think that homeade baby food is much more nutritious, when it's made of mashed or pureed steamed vegetables, that is. I wouldn't say so if it had a lot of salt of other things added at home. But if you read the nutrition facts on a jar of baby food, you will see that the main ingredient is almost always some type of starch. This is simply a filler. That means that in order to get the benefits of the vegetable, you are also giving your baby a lot of extra fillers that they really don't need. They don't need it, especially if they are already eating formula and cereal. I think baby foods are made like this because it is cheaper for the manufacturer. This rule is also the same with cheap dog food and cat food. The cheaper foods, ingredient list starts off with corn meal or some kind of starch. The more expensive ones start off with some sort of meat. So, no, unless you can find one without all this starch, I don't think bought baby food is the best. I think it's ok for hectic days, or when you go somewhere maybe, but not as an all the time thing.

Answer 2

Homemade saves you money and if you have a hand blender, doesn't take any extra time. A blender will puree some foods better though. Bought baby food is WAY SAFER when away from home and convenient for a babysitter or Grandma. Contrary to fanatics, both are healthy.

I would add that the world's oldest pediatrician, who retired a few years ago at 105, said jarred baby food was the single most important invention saving infant lives than any medical thing designed. Many babies died from contaminated, spoiled and sometimes inappropriate food. Gerber only takes food from organic farms now. All the baby food manufacturer's test every batch for contaminants. As another poster noted, even foods we think are safe, such as spinach, aren't always.

Answer 3

I do homemade. It's really not as time consuming as you might think. The website wholesomebabyfood.com is pretty helpful. There's also quite a few books available.
I've heard that the gerber first foods are comparable to homemade since they are mostly only made with the fruit or vegetable and water. Once you move to stage 3 and toddler foods, there are tons of additives, sodium, and sugar.
My son is 10-mths and giving him homemade food can be as easy as baking a sweet potato, or pureeing fruit and adding it to plain yogurt.

Answer 4

I started my oldest on Gerber, then switched to homemade after doing a little research. I usually just made sure to set some aside from each dinner...if he doesn't like carrots, try mixing some cinnamon with them, like you would a sweet potato. I also used to puree carrots, potatoes, and beef roast all together. Great way to get him to eat everything, and it actually doesn't taste that bad! Homemade all the way...at least then you know what actually goes into it. And it's really not as time consuming as you may think.

Answer 5

I just always used the gerber foods...the come in perfect sizes so you know exactly how much your child is eating plus you dont make too much and have to throw any out and you dont make too little! It was just my prefrence! I work full time too and it was just a convience for me to be able to buy it....Plus I am not a good cook and dont steam anything...so i would probably make it all wrong anyway! The cost isnt much different b/c if you buy the freshest veggies and they arent really that cheap either! My son is perfectly healthy and he had the gerber stuff so i feel its just whichever is convient for you!

Answer 6

my first I made baby food out of our left overs and her greedy butt loved it. I would take potatoes and other veggies and mash them together and add gravey for her . Then I would give her mashed fruits. But for my others I just did it the Gerber way it was so time consuming and really not as healthy. Because I did it wrong. I gave her our food and the salts were to high. Baby food is seasoned just for kids and they even have organic.

Answer 7

well i think both are great but homemade is just a bit better b/c its homemeade all you have to do is shred the fruit or veggie and feed it to him and dont add no sugar or salt just the plain fruit or veggie. i personally dont have the time to make my babys food (shes 8 month) i work full time and after work i do errons and clean the house and take care of her which my days go by so fast. so if you have time do home made but if you dont gerber is the best

Answer 8

I work full time and we do homemade.

I agree with the previous answer: there's too much filler crap in bottled baby food. It's easy to do you own, just cook the same veggies you're feeding the rest of the fam. Break out a fork and mash a banana. It's just as portable.

You can take one hour a month and make all your food ahead. Just steam, puree, and freeze in ice cube tray. Then move to ziploc bags to store.

Have you ever tasted the jar stuff? NASTY! I won't feed my babies that junk. Cheaper, healthier and just as easy.

Answer 9

I'm not knocking those who don't have the time to go homemade, shoot I was a Gerber baby. But have you seen the ingredients in the baby food??!?! Even the baby cereal's hava a whole list of things that you can't even pronounce in them. With homemade, you at least know what your putting in your baby's tummy. It makes me feel like I am really doing something special for my little man!!

Answer 10

I preferred home made... my daughter was not into the rougher texture of my food and preferred the jarred stuff - go figure!!

I steamed all my veggies in one of those Asian bamboo steamer things. I used a food mill to grind it up, maybe a blender/food processor will get it smoother.

home made is cheaper... if baby likes the texture, whatever veggies you're making for the rest of the family, just mush hers up on the side!!