Applesauce

imsoexcited915

Does anyone give LO real non baby food applesauce? We got a case of Motts organic individual 4 oz containers on sale at Costco and DD loves it. She likes Gerber too but think she likes this even more. Can't imagine it's an issue to give non baby food applesauce. 

missliz53

I think it just depends on whether there is added sugar. Regular motts has a lot of sugar, but the natural stuff doesn't have any added. 

bnwillia3

From the sources I've read - it is a-ok, just check to make sure it is just apples and water. I'll have to check it out - we want to do apples next and I would love to have some for travel!

wilcoxev

Yes I give my LO regular organic unsweetened applesauce

tlc11934

Yes my DD loves motts natural.  She likes a little added cinnamon too!

ChristaG22

Yes- unsweetened organic all the time  

missliz53

I steam and purée Fuji apples for lo since they are naturally sweeter and she loves them. 

Growingapepper

You can give your baby any kind of food you want, it doesn't have to come in a jar that specifically says "baby food."

LoveLee85

Growingapepper said:

You can give your baby any kind of food you want, it doesn't have to come in a jar that specifically says "baby food."

Do you have some examples? Not to sound silly but I am a FTM and always second guess myself in feeding him soothing other than 'baby food'. 

laur3877

So I was thinking I'd make my own baby food for LO, but when I went to my pedi for the 6th month check up she actually advised against it. Her argument is that the foods used in baby foods have to meet the highest quality of foods standards - but regular fruits & veggies aren't as highly regulated/ selective as the ones they put in baby food. I'm not telling you one way or another - realistically, either will be just fine I'm sure! I just hadn't thought of it before she told me and it seemed to make sense.

abchrist1

Growingapepper said:

You can give your baby any kind of food you want, it doesn't have to come in a jar that specifically says "baby food."

This.
With my first, I was so excited/nervous about making baby food so I bought a cookbook just for baby food. After reading through it I realized it's just regular recipes (I don't know what I was expecting), pasta Bolognese (when baby is a little older)for example, and the last step in the recipe is to puree or cut up. It's helpful with some stuff, like what's good for freezing, what's not and gives tips on allergies and what foods to give when, like no honey before 1, so I use it for reference and still some recipes when I'm drawing a blank on what to make. But seriously the first recipe is carrots....wash, cut, steam, puree.....I felt so dumb because I literally didn't know where to start, but it's so obvious. 

Growingapepper

So far we've done avocado, chicken, egg (some people wait longer for egg because of allergies) and carrots. Next things I plan on doing are sweet potato, rice, green beans, broccoli, etc. after she gets used to those "bland" things I'll move on to the sweet fruits. The reason I'm waiting to introduce fruits is because I don't want her to only like the sweet things

kmcshane0211

@laur3877 huh? That makes no sense. Giving a baby a jar full of heavily processed food with unnatural additives is "better" than say, homemade steamed and organic puréed/blended veggies or fruits? How?

LoveLee85

kmcshane0211 said:

@laur3877 huh? That makes no sense. Giving a baby a jar full of heavily processed food with unnatural additives is "better" than say, homemade steamed and organic puréed/blended veggies or fruits? How?

No baby food is heavily processed really. None that I have seen even have additives. We buy organic, but even the non organic doesn't have extra stuff added. 

ItsmeR30

I personally don't like the jars.. I'm not opposed to buying baby food, but I buy the pouches. The jars taste like metal to me! (Maybe it's because I have a super sensitive pallet) 

We give pretty much everything we're eating to our son and I buy pouches for the times he can't eat what we're eating. The other day we grilled and we cut him a long thick piece of steak, omg, he sucked the life right out of that meat! Like @Growingapepper said, some people wait on eggs, but wegive him egg. I make them runny and dip a super soft piece of bread in the yolk and give it to him. He loves it. He also loves soups and noodles, rutabaga (believe it or not lol) and yogurt. 

My husband bought a pouch- plum brand- and it's banana, kale, yogurt and ugh something else, I can't remember .. But seriously I wanted to eat it it was that good! 

mmd091909

We give unsweetened applesauce. 

In in terms of food, we give him most everything we eat. For example, for lunch he had a piece of wheat bread, cheese and a sweet pepper. I cut the cheese small, give him a strip of bread and he held the pepper and gnawed on it. I also cut small pieces of so he could eat some. I will often give him bites of what I am eating. He loves food and screams when he sees it.

At at this stage of eating it is about exploring tastes and textures. All nutrition comes from nursing/bottle feeding.  

laur3877

@kmcshane0211 - Gerber purees do not contain any added refined sugar, salt or starch... They are made with only vegetables and water. I'm not sure what additives you're referencing or where you got that information. When you buy fresh fruits & veggies from the produce dept, if not washed properly it could expose your LO to food born illnesses. Again, I was just saying what my pedi said and that it made sense. I would never say someone else's way of doing something is wrong. 

ForeverEverAfter

Fruit and veggies not fit to sell are deemed "manufacturing grade" and are sold to make canned or processed food. You have no idea what the apple looked like, or who grew it, before it became baby food. You also have no control over the quality-just look at recalls on any packaged food, it only takes ones mistake to make people sick. When you choose the food yourself and cook it yourself-you have a guarantee it is the freshest and safest food. I buy most produce and meat locally, and I trust the people who grow/raise my food. "Processed" foods don't necessarily contain additives-but they are still processed. To be shelf stable, a jar of purée is subjected to very high heat, destroying many vitamins (some which are added back in-like vitamin c with ascorbic acid). Steaming til soft preserves more nutrients.

I agree with @Growingapepper that you don't need it to have a "baby food" label. Just read the label to check for additives or sugar. Try the natural foods aisle. Yogurt is yogurt. Applesauce is applesauce. The rest is marketing.

Kelliek327

My pedi said that carrots, spinach, collard greens, turnips, and beets are best bought organic or in a baby jar because they can possibly have large amounts of nitrates, which causes anemia in infants.  Apparently the baby food companies are required to test for nitrates so these foods are safer this way.  Those were the only foods he specifically called out.  If you do make them yourself he said to serve them fresh because storing them can increase the amount of nitrates in them.

jlawson23

A lot of people on here have stated that baby food particularly Gebrer does not contain additives. What do you all consider additives? Just out of curiousity because Gerber baby food definitely has "extra stuff" in it if you read the labels. The vegetables *usually* don't. Most of the fruits have added ascorbic acid to "maintain color." Which is for shelf life and appearance. The meat has constarch in it and some of the dinners have canola oil. Not trying to be rude, but baby food is not excluded from
 fillers or additives. Sorry the food industry drives me crazy! I watched the documentary "Fed Up" and now nutrition labels consume me when I go to the store, sorry again! 

LoveLee85

All baby food I buy I read the ingredients. No oil, starch, acid or anything is added. I just don't want a lot of moms reading this thinking they are doing wrong feeding their baby store bought food. Not saying you are but still!!! Mommas, there is NOTHING wrong with store bought food. Read the ingredients. Simple as that. 

jlawson23

I agree if you read the labels! I was specifically talking about Gerber because that's the one that caught my attention. Not sure of other brands; I don't buy very much at this point.

yellow1daisy

Not trying to sway anybody one way or another but the main reason I make my daughter's food at home and don't buy premade is because the premade stuff is pasteurized (with high heat as PP mentioned) and some of the nutrient content is going to be compromised. So not saying there's anything necessarily wrong with it but a pedi saying it's better than making your baby's food yourself from fresh organic ingredients would lose credibility with me. My pediatrician advises making food at home. 

I only have 1 child now though and I stay home with her so I'm fortunate to have the time. I can understand the inconvenience it proposes. Though to be honest I've found it much easier than I thought it would be. 

LoveLee85

My pedi also adviced not making my own organic baby food. He said to just buy it. He said this: it's exactly the same as buying organic, minus all the work. I'm so glad I listened! I have NO TIME to do anything. Let alone spend time buying, boiling/cooking, mashing, storing, thawing baby food. I hardly have time to go grab a spoon. If I had magical time I could accomplish things in a fantasy world, sure I would make it for fun. 

LoveLee85

@yellow1daisy I would buy some off of you if we were neighbors! LOL I'm a SAHM also and just don't have the time. 

kmcshane0211

@laur3877 I'm sorry. I reread my comment and it sounds rude. 

MW5280

I buy Stage 1 baby foods for the initial testing for allergies but then make my own after. I don't want to spend the time steaming, blending, freezing, etc just to then discover she's allergic to something :-p

I also just mash up avocado before I use the rest to make guacamole on taco night and use some of the applesauce that one of my older kids will later finish. No biggie. 

laur3877

@kmcshane0211 - yep, your comment made you seem very rude. I hope you don't offend other moms on here - The Bump is a place to discuss and ask questions etc. OBVIOUSLY there are a million different ways to do things, but that doesn't make one way any better. 

momofsweetps

Feed your babies what you want or can. I am a homeschooling mom of 6. I've done jars, pouches and homemade. I have formula fed and breastfed. My kids are all healthy and happy and you can't tell who has been fed organic homemade baby food to those that were fed non organic jarred baby food. I'm pretty biased of course, but my kids are all pretty amazing and smart and beautiful! 

This little dude gets homemade food 99% of the time because I make almost everything from scratch for the last 3 years due to food allergies. It's not that much more time consuming for me. I like that he's so eager to eat foods, but I miss the days of him just sitting still and peaceful in my arms as he nurses! Oh and I miss the only breastfed poops! 

kmcshane0211

@laur3877 I totally agree. This is a place of support for all. I've only ever posted supportive comments on here. My tone sounded rude but I can assure you I did not intend to judge your decision. I was reacting to your doctor's comment BUT in rereading your post and my response I see how it implies more than what was intended. Completely not my intention and more likely due to not reading carefully enough or prereading my post. Again, no harm intended. I swear! 

It is interesting to me how doctor's are all over the map. I'm glad we have a place to compare notes and can then all make our own informed decisions. 

dmbfan46835

Since applesauce was the initial topic... Anyone's kid hate apples?? I make all his stuff and I have tried to give him apples and even mix in plums, banana, mango, peaches. Nothing works. Apples are the only food so far that he refuses. I have about 10 portions in my freezer that I may just end up throwing away. 

yellow1daisy

dmbfan46835 said:

Since applesauce was the initial topic... Anyone's kid hate apples?? I make all his stuff and I have tried to give him apples and even mix in plums, banana, mango, peaches. Nothing works. Apples are the only food so far that he refuses. I have about 10 portions in my freezer that I may just end up throwing away. 

We haven't tried Apple but we had this problem with carrots. She refused to eat them even when mixed with something she liked. 

I kept taking breaks (few days to a week) and then trying again. Now she loves them. 

missliz53

What kind of apples did you use? My lo hated the store bought stuff which to me tasted a little sour, so I bought Fuji apples and used those for purées. They are naturally very sweet. I use them when I make home-made apple sauce and don't have to add any sugar. My lo gobbles up the Fuji puree. 

We've also had a couple foods though that were not big hits at first so I just keep trying them every so often and some of them she loves now and others are still a no go

J1D

Alright- I'm trying for the dumb question award-
When you all say steamed are you using a special steamer set up of some kind? 
And when you wash your fruits and veggies are you using just water? Water and soap? Special veggie wash? Water and vinegar?
We are just now getting ready to dive into the adventurous world of solids and my ftm status is showing real hard.

dmbfan46835

missliz53 said:

What kind of apples did you use? My lo hated the store bought stuff which to me tasted a little sour, so I bought Fuji apples and used those for purées. They are naturally very sweet. I use them when I make home-made apple sauce and don't have to add any sugar. My lo gobbles up the Fuji puree. 

We've also had a couple foods though that were not big hits at first so I just keep trying them every so often and some of them she loves now and others are still a no go

I used organic gala apples. I think I will try Fuji and see how that goes. I like honey crisp but I think they may be too tart. My sitter said he acted like his tummy hurt the day I gave them and then she warned that she finds that a lot of babies get upset tummies from apples.  But I haven't seen anyone else say that on here so now I'm confused, lol. 

mrsmctaggart6

Try letting him chew on a chunk in a mesh feeder, Rosa didn't like them until I let her try a chunk, I think it might be a strong flavor that that have to get used to? She loves them now, I also tried mixing a little at a time into her morning oatmeal, I did the same thing with pears and she seems to enjoy both now, weird baby lol (this was meant for dmbfan46835 about the apples, re read this and realized I came out of left field with this, I blame mommy brain)

ForeverEverAfter

@J1D I wash the food same as I would for myself (tepid water, wipe with finger tips or scrub brush for potatoes/carrots). I steam using a metal steamer basket in a covered pot with an inch of water underneath. If the basket is dirty I just boil the veggies. 

yellow1daisy

ForeverEverAfter said:

@J1D I wash the food same as I would for myself (tepid water, wipe with finger tips or scrub brush for potatoes/carrots). I steam using a metal steamer basket in a covered pot with an inch of water underneath. If the basket is dirty I just boil the veggies. 

Ditto 

Growingapepper

J1D said:

Alright- I'm trying for the dumb question award-
When you all say steamed are you using a special steamer set up of some kind? 
And when you wash your fruits and veggies are you using just water? Water and soap? Special veggie wash? Water and vinegar?
We are just now getting ready to dive into the adventurous world of solids and my ftm status is showing real hard.

I use a veggie cleaning spray from the honest company! 

booksandcleverness81

Am I the only one who feels super lazy with introducing solids? LO's 6.5 months and I only first tried solids this week (avocado), which he didn't seem too excited about and probably didn't actually swallow any of. I didn't really feel like he was ready yet, so I'm taking a very laid back approach. Also, I would much prefer to just nurse him forever, so much easier! I plan on trying sweet potato next (we're blw), but I wonder if something sweeter like apples wouldn't be a good way to get him more interested in food to begin with. Idk, we'll keep trying here and there and see where it goes. 

imsoexcited915

@booksandcleverness81 How are you doing avocado? Making it yourself? I can't seem to find it in the store in a jar or Gerber packet.