Make or Buy Baby Food?

altow1310 · September 2015

I know it's a little early considering most of our babies aren't even here yet, but I find myself constantly debating whether to give my little man homemade baby food or to go with the old fashioned, store bought baby food. I'm leaning toward buying baby food vs. making it myself, but I'm still open to input and would love to get thoughts from others, especially those of you who are second (or third, fourth, etc.) time mommas. Not sure I have the patience to make baby food, even with the simplicity of things like a Baby Bullet. What are you guys doing? Any recommendations for buying baby food (things to look out for, best brands, etc.)? Even though I'm not sure about making my own baby food I do want to make sure that what I'm giving my little man is top-notch and full of good nutrition. Thanks in advance!

MamaOwl15 · September 2015

You can do both. Honestly you've got about 6 months to figure this out AFTER baby is born, but when the time comes, you don't have to stick exclusively to one or the other.

Some foods are really easily mashed up and fed to baby, so no need to buy pre-mashed. And when it comes to vegetables, the jarred stuff doesn't always taste as good, but it's just vegetables, so it's not like there's a huge difference.

I know I'll be getting some jarred foods from WIC, but they only provide your basic single fruits and veggies, so I'll make some of my own and some I might buy jars of (like the specialty fruit/veggie combinations).

You can also look into Baby-led weaning (basically they get easy-to-eat bite-sized cubes of soft foods instead of purées, and you can increase variety as they get teeth and learn to chew).

There's no one "right" approach to baby food, and you can try different things to see what works best. With my son, we did mostly jars till he had enough teeth to eat solids, then we chopped our grown-up food and let him eat what we did.

ameares721 · September 2015

I'm thinking of baby lead weaning. Basically when the pediatrician gives the okay to start with soft table foods, you can introduce mashed avocado, banana, sweet potatoes... No need for any fancy equipment or special foods

we will see how I do when we get to that point, but I certainly like the simplicity of it!

koriemo · September 2015

I think it's funny that you called jarred baby food "old fashioned"... I think mashing up food by hand is more old fashioned!

I think it depends on your lifestyle and how much you mind being in the kitchen and doing stuff like that already. Are you the type that buys frozen mixed veggies and steams them in the microwave? Or do you buy fresh veggies, wash them, cut them, and steam them on the stove? Do you have money to spend on jarred baby food? Especially quality jarred baby food? Personally, I plan to make some baby food, but I think just giving the baby soft foods cut up really small when they are a little bit older will make it easier.

AshleeM7784 · September 2015

ameares721 said:
I'm thinking of baby lead weaning. Basically when the pediatrician gives the okay to start with soft table foods, you can introduce mashed avocado, banana, sweet potatoes... No need for any fancy equipment or special foods we will see how I do when we get to that point, but I certainly like the simplicity of it!

This is what we did and it worked really well. We never really made baby food, per se, but gave mashed or puréed simple foods and then as his teeth came in and we felt comfortable with it we introduced small pieces of of soft foods. I also gave him store-bought pouches (Good Earth, Plum, Ella's) when we were on the go or for foods I was too lazy to prepare at home

.

cmjn94 · September 2015

Well, I'll be talking to his pediatrician but I kinda just plan on mashing up what mom and dad are eating and feeding him the appropriate foods from our meals.

I don't see the point of buying baby food when the same things that are good for us are good for him too! But I may end up eating those words and buying baby food lol. This is my first so I'll really be relying on my pediatrician's advice.

maiatene · September 2015

I did both - Ellas when we were on the run and homemade when we had time. I made mostly veggies myself and it was super easy. I would steam the veggie or fruit of choice and then put it in the blender to smooth it out. I got everything from the farmers market and dedicated an hour or two every son day to make the purees for the week. With meat I would just mash up whatever we were having but for the most part the first six months were meat-eating.

The store bought was mostly veggies and fruit for when I was either too tired to fix a homemade puree or didn't have time to sit and feed the baby. It was easy for him to hold and (in my mind) gave him a sense of independence. It also gave baby a wider variety of foods to explore.

I don't think you have to choose one or the other. Obviously making your own is less expensive but both have their benefits.

last14real · September 2015

We have done both store bought and homemade with both of our last two and plan to do the same with new baby. I personally wouldn't spend the money on the baby bullet system especially if you already have a regular bullet or ninja blender/chopper. I would invest in some of the ice cube trays with the lids bc freezing the food in portions is very convenient. DH and I both work full time so on the weekend I would pick like bananas, peaches, steamed green beans, steamed peas, sweet potatoes whatever usually one fruit and one veggie to cook and freeze. When they were frozen I put them in freezer containers and labeled the types so I could use the tray for another flavor. If you do like 2 trays of a couple different types at the beginning when baby doesn't eat much you will have a good flavor variety stocked up pretty quick. You can defrost for dinner each night or pop in the fridge a couple days before and let them defrost. After they try all the singles you can start to mix and match flavors by just defrosting two of your puréed foods together. Sweet potatoes were one of my favorite to bake, purée, freeze and mix with just about any fruit or veggie. That being said my attempts at mixing puréed meats did NOT impress my babies. They hated my attempts at turkey beef and chicken so they usually had store bought meats. Also it's nice to have store bought on the go bc you don't have to worry about refrigeration. That being said do not leave baby food in diaper bag in a hot car it makes it separate and smell weird. If I forgot it in the car I threw it out bc I wouldn't want to eat it so I'm not feeding it to my kid:) good luck!!

oceanlove13 · September 2015

We did both. It's really easy to make your own purees using a food processor after cooking to make them smooth and then freeze them in ice cube trays. After a day I would take the cubes out and store them in a container in the freezer. I would make a lot at a time. After 6 months we started doing more mashed and small pieces of what we were eating and less purees. I bought the Plum and Beech Nut brands that included ingredients we don't usually eat at home. There are some really unique combinations so baby develops a broad palette. I bought Earths Best cereal. His first food was avacado at 4 months and also started feeding cereal then too. You will figure out what works best for you!

cindykinnear · September 2015

I gave my first baby store bought food and she loved it. My second baby hated all jars of baby food, so I would just mash up whatever the rest of us were eating and feed her that. I had a food processor that I would use if I needed. She much preferred to eat home cooked food. I would try both and see what baby prefers.. Your mother instinct will kick in and you will know what to do ☺️

intheversa · September 2015

I'm not ruling out store bought food, but I'm really looking into baby puree recipes. My MIL gave me a food processor for my birthday and since I'm staying home, I figure I might as well try it. I'm been reading through a recipe book and bought a multi-portion freezer tray so we'll see how it works out.

Food allergies are a big issue in my family. My cousin couldn't have Gerber at all and her parents had to spend a fortune on her food because of it. With my garlic allergy and DH having food allergies as a child, I'm kind of worried that we may have the same problem. Worse case scenario if LO has the same issues, maybe I can save a bit of money by making her food.

Twistedwonders · September 2015

I did both. I started with homemade to see if my son was allergic to anything. Then slowly started buying store bought. He did great.

wildbutterfli2001 · September 2015

We did both depending on the food. All you need is a blender a steam pot and I've cube trays with lids.
The ice cubes are approx 1oz. Per cube. Food is super easy to steam and mash/puree.
I found that peas were the exception. Biggest pain in the ass to do home made. Way more trouble than it was worth.
I always felt a little better doing my own because there are no recalls in moms kitchen...

candicequeen · September 2015

We used yummy local and organic foods to make baby food for my son. He was starting to eat those things in the fall and harvest veggies are still his favorite! We also bought some for traveling or to give him things we couldn't find fresh, didn't have time to, or didn't want to cook and puree. Saved $ over the organic jars in store by making our own though! Baby bullet all the way. A food processor works too.

mommy_wife_nurse · September 2015

We got a baby bullet at our shower (had it on the registry). We plan on baby-led but will use the bullet to make our meals eat-able for baby until she gets comfortable with chewing more.

jamielynne1533 · September 2015

We used a baby bullet for my son and I steamed or roasted all his veggies and then pureed them or mashed them. I absolutely loved it and will be doing it again. I loved that I WA able to do a big batch of food at once then store some in the fridge and freezer. It didn't take a lot of time at all and I love knowing exactly what was going into his body. I was one of those all natural all organic moms... fast forward 3 years.... and nothing is organic or all natural really anymore his favorite food is bread and cheese and macaroni and cheese! Lol so I have to sneak in fruits and veggies when I can.

MommyPhoenix · September 2015

We did both home made and store bought packets (Baby Gourmet, Love Child...). We bought a food steamer and a silicone freeze tray and would make batches of mash (sweet potato, avocado, banana, pasta sauce..etc.) and froze whatever we could into little cubes for easy meals later on. We were gifted a simple bowl/masher tool combo which worked great to mash up single servings of food at a time. We also did baby-led weaning which really worked out well for us...messy as hell, but it really expedited DDs ability to feed herself. Her favorite at the time were avocado spears covered in Cherrios dust (easier for her to pick up and hold).

amberrmariee20 · September 2015

With my first I did a mix of homemade baby food using the baby bullet I bought, and purchased additional storage containers and also baby led weaning. My son didn't like jar baby food, especially the casserole ones, or the ones mixed with rice, chicken and whatever. He used to gag on them so we went homemade !n

nbpa3027 · September 2015

I made purées for my son and I just bought a $20 immersion blender and it worked great. He never really liked the jarred baby food--it really doesn't taste like anything and is pretty watery. Which is good for their first tries, but I don't think it is that great as they get older. My daughter just hated purées all together so we did more of a baby led weaning approach and she was eating age appropriate table foods by 7 or so months.

The only recommendation I have is make small batches at first because you have no idea what your baby will like.

amiejl · September 2015

I think we make it too complicated. Are you busy, buy some food. Are you wanting to be creative and make baby food? Make some food. Try not to worry about this stuff months beforehand. When it's time, consider what is best for your family. If you're working full time or you don't enjoy making the food, buying some food might be your best option. This is coming from a mom of soon to be four who does make her own baby food. I love Weelicious recipes for baby purees if you do decide to make, and cutting up soft food when baby is ready as previous posters have mentioned works well too.

JaqiDec04 · September 2015

With DD, she breastfed till 16 months, so I wasn't even concerned about what she was eating till she was at least 10 months.

At about 6 months, we introduced soft fruits and other foods that me and DH were eating with each of our meals, and let her feed herself. If she ate, she ate, if she didn't, she didn't. She was still nursing, so it wasn't a concern. By 10 months, she would feed herself most of her meals. And she ate, what we ate, and usually fed herself. And the occasional jar of apple sauce, etc.

I rarely bought jarred foods. But those "yogurt" and "smoothie" pouches were a life saver when we were on the go, for a quick cold snack too.

erinboehme · September 2015

I have made baby food for my last 4 children and plan to with this one. I will boil or stream fruits and veggies and freeze them in ice cube trays. Then when I'm leaving, I can grab a cube or two and throw them into a Tupperware for later. When we're eating dinner, I use a baby food grinder at the table. You put the food in and grind it up right there and it is in the portion you need. We very quickly move to chopped up food ant have actually skipped baby food altogether. Kid #2's first food was cheerios and he did just fine with them. My exception is buying "baby" food is usually applesauce. I just buy tree top (or whatever) organic unsweetened.

DynoMa · September 2015

With my LO I was always concerned about knowing what was in the store bought baby food, like additives, preservatives, food coloring, etc. I tried to limit the amount of jar baby food and mostly make my own with organics. It's also much cheaper!

NathanheartsKim · September 2015

I made for both of my kiddos. The second one refused purees though and ended up going straight to table food. Check out "Baby led Weaning"

dchiapella · September 2015

I'm planning on making our own... don't get me wrong, I know there will be a point in time where baby is hungry and I didn't pack enough food for the outing in which case, yeah-- I'll use jarred at that point. But I'm primarily going to be making my own. They've simplified things so much with all the new information out there and you can make a large portion at once and freeze them in ice cube trays even! I just like the idea of getting baby used to all of the complex flavors of fruits and vegetables. I was the weird kid growing up who when asked what I wanted for my birthday dinner would only say artichokes. I appreciate that I loved all fruits and veggies growing up and am hoping I can get baby on a similar track by exposing him to those tastes early. We will also be doing some level of weaning as well, though. At the end of the day it's going to be an experiment. I wouldn't stress too hard about it. It's good to have a plan, but when the time comes we all will end up doing what best works for us at that point and we just have to roll with the punches.

intheversa · September 2015

Our pediatrician actually specializes in newborn diet and nutrition and had some good advice about making baby food.

He suggested trying it, but don't feel like a failure when your baby won't eat it. And have some store bought food handy if it doesn't work out. He also said don't make it too complicated and only make what you're comfortable with making. So for example meat, makes me really nervous so he said buy that but maybe mash up a banana or puree some pears. Try different things, figure out what you can make, and what's just easier to buy in store. He also said don't be afraid to ask for advice on what brands doctors recommend that are store bought and what books they recommend if you're going to try making it yourself.

amiejl said:

I think we make it too complicated. Are you busy, buy some food. Are you wanting to be creative and make baby food? Make some food. Try not to worry about this stuff months beforehand. When it's time, consider what is best for your family. If you're working full time or you don't enjoy making the food, buying some food might be your best option. This is coming from a mom of soon to be four who does make her own baby food. I love Weelicious recipes for baby purees if you do decide to make, and cutting up soft food when baby is ready as previous posters have mentioned works well too.

Agreeing with you completely on this. I'm a FTM, I really want this to work, but I also know that sometimes it just doesn't and as long as the baby is getting the proper nutrition that's all that matters.

Want a personalized experience?

Make or Buy Baby Food?

Re: Make or Buy Baby Food?

Choose Another Board

Search Boards