Store-bought or homemade?

Tatyana11 · October 2010

My mom is under an impression that if I feed DS store-bought (frozen) meatballs, fish sticks, chicken fingers, etc. it would be an equivalent of feeding him poison. I try to cook at home but I have super picky LO and sometimes I spend his whole nap time cooking lunch/dinner just to have him fling it on the floor after a few bites.

It is often tempting to just pop in frozen store-bought food into an oven and see if he eats it..He probably will fling it on the floor just as he flings the food that I make, but at least I wont feel as bad...

Do you mostly make your own food or do you buy already-made frozen meatballs, french toast, pancakes, pizza, etc.? I personally think that food is food and frozen meals are ok, just wanted to hear your opinion...

cszlachta · October 2010

I'm not totally anti-processed food, but I definitely try to minimize those types of frozen food due to the high sodium count.

AMYfromKY · October 2010

He eats a mini pancake or two for breakfast every morning along with his smoothie (which I do make out of store bought frozen fruit). I don't think there is anything wrong with a mix. Obviously if you can make a healthy alternative to something you know he'll like (pizza with low sodium tomato sauce vs store bought, meatballs with chicken vs ground beef, etc) it may not be a bad idea, but store bought food is no poison!

jersangl · October 2010

I use more store bought, but I do both. Tonight we had frozen pizza. Tomorrow I am making beef stew homemade. So it's different everyday. Do what works for you and your family, dont listen to other people.

lynsef · October 2010

I try to make most of DD's food, but I do sometimes give her frozen meatballs or the little Gerber toddler meals. I haven't given her chicken fingers or fish sticks though. Well I take that back she did have some of my chicken fingers at a restaurant once. I have made my own turkey meatballs and other toddler foods and frozen them so that I can pull them out when I don't have time to make a meal from scratch.

lynsef · October 2010

AMYfromKY:
He eats a mini pancake or two for breakfast every morning along with his smoothie (which I do make out of store bought frozen fruit). I don't think there is anything wrong with a mix. Obviously if you can make a healthy alternative to something you know he'll like (pizza with low sodium tomato sauce vs store bought, meatballs with chicken vs ground beef, etc) it may not be a bad idea, but store bought food is no poison!

lynsef · October 2010

lynsef:
AMYfromKY:
He eats a mini pancake or two for breakfast every morning along with his smoothie (which I do make out of store bought frozen fruit). I don't think there is anything wrong with a mix. Obviously if you can make a healthy alternative to something you know he'll like (pizza with low sodium tomato sauce vs store bought, meatballs with chicken vs ground beef, etc) it may not be a bad idea, but store bought food is no poison!

Don't know what happened before I didn't hit post. I meant to say:

Amy I hope your uncle is recooperating well!

AMYfromKY · October 2010

lynsef:
lynsef:
AMYfromKY:
He eats a mini pancake or two for breakfast every morning along with his smoothie (which I do make out of store bought frozen fruit). I don't think there is anything wrong with a mix. Obviously if you can make a healthy alternative to something you know he'll like (pizza with low sodium tomato sauce vs store bought, meatballs with chicken vs ground beef, etc) it may not be a bad idea, but store bought food is no poison!

Don't know what happened before I didn't hit post. I meant to say:

Amy I hope your uncle is recooperating well!

Thank you so much. He had a rough night last night, but he got some feeling back in his shoulders which is very encouraging.

eas15905 · October 2010

We make most of LO's food due to food allergies but we do use things like frozen turkey meatballs. I try to read the labels and make sure that what we buy isn't loaded with a lot of junk.

ljlkm · October 2010

I have major problems with processed foods, so almost everything DS eats is homemade.

sunnyday016 · October 2010

We make most things homemade, but she occasionally has chicken nuggets or Kraft mac & cheese. We try to keep the processed foods to a minimum because of the sodium, and I'd rather her eat fruits, veggies, pasta, real chicken, etc. We mainly feed her what we eat.

emberlee3 · October 2010

DS gets that kind of food at daycare, so I avoid buying it myself. When I make stuff for DS, I freeze most of it in individual servings. Just because he throws it on the floor today doesn't mean he'll throw it on the floor next week (although he usually does!).

Tatyana11 · October 2010

Ok, I guess my mom wins this argument (based on your responses)...I am off to look for more toddler meals that I can make for LO so he can throw them onto the floor (sigh)...

jenn11980 · October 2010

We probably make 75% of DS's food. I always buy fresh fruit and precut so it is easy to grab out of the fridge. The only meat he will eat is chicken, which we eat quite often so I just make extra to save and heat up for DS if he doesn't eat what we are having. I try to just make meals for DH and I that DS will eat as well. If I make something that DS doesn't eat I grab some of the chicken or sometimes the gerber pasta pick ups.

kes3237 · October 2010

Food is definitely NOT food... a homemade chicken "nugget" made with white chicken meat, breadcrumbs, olive oil and seasoning is not the same thing that you will get in a frozen box. There are usually so many additives and preservatives in things like that and it can be harmful.

However, here and there is not going to do your LO any harm. I keep frozen foods in the freezer for those 1-2 nights per week that I don't have any fresh food to serve. I do read labels very extensively and choose things with as little additives as possible.

Try Happy Baby frozen fish sticks or veggie nuggets - they're great and you don't have to feel as guilty about feeding frozen food.

smilelari · October 2010

LO eats what we eat and we try to minimize the amount of processed food that we eat. In the end it's a mix of both fresh and frozen type foods, but we do our best to have more of the fresh than anything else.

gumiberg · October 2010

i get what you mean about taking something out of the freezer...i buy organic waffles, veggie burgers and Dr Praegers spinach pancakes for that reason. it may not be as good as homemade, but i read the ingredients and i am satisfied with them.

then i make multi-grain pancakes and broccoli nuggets - both are super easy - and freeze them.

smilelari · October 2010

Tatyana11:
Ok, I guess my mom wins this argument (based on your responses)...I am off to look for more toddler meals that I can make for LO so he can throw them onto the floor (sigh)...

Why can't he just have some of whatever you make for yourself?

macchiatto · October 2010

cszlachta:
I'm not totally anti-processed food, but I definitely try to minimize those types of frozen food due to the high sodium count.

Ditto. That, cost, and taste. I do buy frozen waffles and my boys have those maybe twice a month, and we have frozen pizza occasionally but I also make my own sometimes. Other than that, I don't buy a lot of frozen food other than plain frozen fruits and veggies (and of course meat ).

macchiatto · October 2010

smilelari:
Tatyana11:
Ok, I guess my mom wins this argument (based on your responses)...I am off to look for more toddler meals that I can make for LO so he can throw them onto the floor (sigh)...
Why can't he just have some of whatever you make for yourself?

Yeah, that's what we do (with some substitutions due to their food allergies). It definitely saves time and money!

JennifernKevin4ever · October 2010

Most of the things I give for DS and the family is homemade. I do also give DS Gerber meals sometimes. If we are having something he can't have.

Why not pre-make some homemade things that are freezeable?

1SwtWld · October 2010

A lot of store bought. I do make some food. Not much I can do when all my kid will eat is strawberries, hot dogs and american cheese. My mom is the same way. Apparently the hotdogs are going to give g cancer and kill her. Yeah, well starvation can kill her too. I try my best. That's all any of us can do.

saturdaynightdoubletree · October 2010

I used to do all homemade... then realized I was cooking ALL DAY!

I cook chicken a bunch of chicken at the beginning of the week and slice it up for salads, and to have on hand for when I'm rushing to get DD fed.

This week I tried to give her organic chicken nuggets... she hated them, but loves baked/grilled chicken. So much for the frozen savior.

She loves frozen waffles! And I often give her frozen fruit and veggies when I'm in a crunch for time. Frozen fish occasionally... because I just don't cook it as much as I should, and she loves it. As far as the meat goes - I try to cook it all myself to be healthier... if it doesn't meet my own meal standard, why should it meet DD's... but that's just me.

jday1229 · October 2010

I avoid most processed foods and it can be tough when you're short on time but I've gotten into the habit of making a little extra to freeze when we have things are easily frozen like muffins, pancakes, or meatballs. I'll buy a butternut squash and cook half for dinner and cut the other half into cubes that can be pulled out of the freezer and steamed in the microwave in 5 minutes. I don't think it's necessary to go crazy preparing lots of options for DS and there are so many wholesome things that are just as fast if not faster than processed foods.

SusieQ1982 · October 2010

I make my own. I try to avoid processed food so I don't want to feed it to my son.

Stellasmom · October 2010

smilelari:

Tatyana11:
Ok, I guess my mom wins this argument (based on your responses)...I am off to look for more toddler meals that I can make for LO so he can throw them onto the floor (sigh)...

Why can't he just have some of whatever you make for yourself?

I third this. Ds eats what I eat.

maple2 · October 2010

Our family is vegetarian, so we don't have a lot of processed food options. We also didn't use much processed food pre-DD, so it's not a regular part of our diet. Our consumption of veggie burgers has gone way up, though, now that I've found the DD likes them. It is really nice to have a quick easy meal as an option for busy nights/days. When we do use processed food (like veggie burgers) I still try to make some part of the meal like having sweet potatoe fries or corn as sides.

That said, I can totally understand your frustration. DD is also a picky eater. I spent a lot of time looking up promising toddler friendly recipes, buying ingredients, and cooking them only to have DD refuse them. For awhile I sort of gave up on trying to find new things and we just ate the same things over and over. That also got old, so now I try to make a couple of new things every week, but I always also serve something I know DD will eat.

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