Store Bought Food vs. Home Made

We live in a very busy world, where were constantly on the go. Moms these days are constantly juggling between going to school, work and raising their little ones. Healthy choices are always a concern for any new parent, but when your on the go what can you do? Grocery stores and super stores make it quite easy for parents on the go, to purchase bottled food for there growing little ones. With a variety of vegetables such as peas, carrots, sweet potatoes and a very reasonable price 60-80 cents per bottle, it allows mass purchasing at a given time. Parents who choose this route can ensure that their little one is getting the recommended amount of vegetable intake. To keep these products as fresh, companies such as Gerber and Heinz have to add preservatives to their product. How can you really know if its the type of food or the add-preservatives your baby may be allergic too? You really don't know! Snacks such as rice cakes/husks, rice puffs, and bottled fruit can be purchase. Just make sure to read the label and purchase stage appropriate foods for your little one, as choking is a big concern.

Not all moms are living the fast-paced life of juggling work or school and raise their child. Moms who have time may want to make their own baby foods. Ensuring that there are not any additional stuff added to the food they choose to introduce. There are many easy ways to puree and prepare baby food. Most people tend to boil the vegetables until they become a mushy state, and then strain it and put in in a blender or magic bullet to get it to the consistency they want. Foods prepared at home, tend to be bland, but you can jazz it up with just a little bit of butter. Fruits and meats can be prepared the same way. You can keep track of when you prepared the food, but I would recommend only to make a few servings at a time to avoid wasteful dumping.


In my case, I just found that was not enough time in the day to make my own food, and relied on purchasing bottled baby food. As Serena grew, her taste in the baby food declined as she was more interested in what I was eating. As she progressed, she ate fresh fruits daily, the only store bought items were her DHA yogurt( Stimulates brain development)rice puff snacks and baby cereal. She is 14 months now and eats whatever I or her grandparents cook. At this stage, it is very cost-efficient, but I still have to slowly introduce new foods just to make sure there is not an allergic reaction.
If you do choose to purchase bottle food, make sure you read the ingredients. Don't buy too much at one time, to avoid expiration, and watch to see if they go on sale, they will probably drop by 10 cents if theys do go on sale.


Happy Feeding :)