Store bought v’s homemade baby food

Ensuring healthy, nutritious food is offered on the menu is a parents main priority.

It is the best way to lay the foundation and help kids become healthy adults with healthy eating habits.

Often there are so many questions surrounding starting solids.

Which food to start with? How much food do they need? Should I make my own? If I buy commercial food is it nutritious? What do I look for when buying store bought food?

Plenty of parents feel the pressure to make their own baby food from scratch.

Be clear that there is no right or wrong.

There are pro’s and cons for both types of foods. You need to chose what works best for your family situation.

Providing a varied, healthy diet is key.

If you were to solely provide store bought food over time your child would be exposed to a lower overall range of food types.

Store-bought meals generally included only 22 types of vegetables overall, compared with 33 for homemade meals. Although store bought foods have come a long way in recent years in variety and nutritional value.

It is important to focus on providing a variety of foods with a variety of textures and flavours.

The greater variety of food offered may result in healthier taste preferences later in life.

Research suggests that what a child eats in the first 4 years of their life shapes their food preferences.

Yes, there are differences between store bought baby foods and home made baby foods.

The most obvious differences are the ingredients, the quantity of the ingredients, cost, time and what fits your lifestyle.

Common worries when choosing baby foods include wondering whether your baby is getting enough nutrients and concerns over using baby food made with too much sugar, salt or preservatives.

Store bought baby foods must meet the Foods Standards Code.

                                           Advantages                                                                                                                                       Disadvantages

Choosing between homemade and store bought is completely a personal choice.

To offer both sides we have also done a pro’s and cons list for the store bought option.

                                       Advantages                                                                                                                                    Disadvantages

Pouch foods are great for on the go. Ideally they should be used sparingly.

Pouches prolong sucking rather than providing the practice eating with a spoon as well limiting the development of biting, chewing and swallowing.

Pouch foods limit the opportunities to explore food with different tastes, smells, and textures.

Always supervise your child with eating with a pouch as there is the risk of choking.

Unless the pouch is dispensed into a bowl, the child can not see what they are eating. to dispense it into a bowl is defeats the purpose of the product.

• Look at the ingredients and the percentage of those ingredients.
• When looking at the ingredients are there any thickeners and whether they are necessary?
• Baby foods already within the code have the amount of additives restricted in what they can contain. Vitamin C is often added as to make up for the loss of it in the processing as it acts as an antioxidant, however you generally won’t find any additives such as preservatives, colours and flavours added to any baby foods under 12 months. If there is we would recommend choosing another brand.
• If you are looking for and/or choose an organic product check to see if it has certified organic ingredients.
• Check sugars and modified food starch content. They add no nutritional value only empty calories.
• Most store bought foods now have little or no salt are added. Sodium should always be less than 100 mg/100 gm. This may vary with some brands as some do better than others with most being no higher than 20 mg.
• Ask yourself when are you using the product. We found the frozen or the chilled products were the ones that were the closest to what you would make yourself but they had a shorter shelf life. They are also not useful if you are using them if you are out for any period of time in which case a jar/tin may be more useful.
• Some dietitians have commented that you should be wary of the amount of thickened water/juice/milk that is used in a dessert product. A 100% pureed fruit or a yoghurt is a better option than a yoghurt dessert or baby custard.
• Always be sure to check the expiration date on the container’s label, and make sure the vacuum seal on jars is intact, tins are not dented, etc.
• Organic baby food is often chosen as parents wish for their baby food that’s free of pesticides and other chemicals. This is an individual choice. Organic baby food has the reputation to be more expensive. Only you can decide if this is the best fit for your family.