Homemade Baby Food?!?!

I made a lot of baby foods myself thanks to an amazing website I found....http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/, http://www.myhomemadebabyfood.com/Recipes.htm, http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/,
I couldnt remember which website it was but they all look really good. I would spend a whole day cooking and feeze it, it would last almost 2 weeks for my son. Made it a lot easier when I could make it for the whole family too, so try to find ones that sound good to you too. GOODLUCK

Organic or not it was just easy to put whatever we were having for dinner in the food processer for my son. OR I even just chewed it a bit and gave it to him that way. My son only had jarred stuff one time when we had to go out of town and stay in a hotel when my grandmother passed.
Plus my son didn't really take off on solids until 10mo and the pureed stuff he didn't want, went right to self feeding and I was fine w/that!

some books: WHOLE FOODS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY by Roberta Johnson. Second Edition.
WHOLE FOODS FOR KIDS TO COOK by LLLI
Whole Foods for Babies and Toddlers by Margaret Kenda

A good link:
http://askdrsears.com/html/3/T032300.asp

Good first foods for babies (http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/firstfoods.html)
Save money and give your baby the freshest food by making your own baby food. Here are some suggestions.

Fruits

Most babies love fruits. Make sure they are ripe, and wash well before peeling. Here are some favorites:

Bananas cut into slices which have then been halved or quartered
Unsweetened applesauce, or tiny apple chunks that have been softened by cooking in the microwave
Plums, peaches, pears, and apricots, gently cooked if necessary
Avocado diced into small, bite size pieces

Vegetables

Fresh vegetables should be washed, peeled and cooked until tender. Frozen veggies are convenient to have on hand. Avoid the canned varieties to which salt has been added. Your baby may enjoy:

Baked or boiled sweet potatoes, in tiny chunks
Mashed white potatoes
Baby carrots, green beans, peas and squash

Meat and fish

Babies often prefer well-cooked chicken, which is soft and easy to eat when shredded. Be careful to remove even the tiny bones when serving fish.

Beans and legumes

Remove the skins from beans as they tend to be harder to digest. If you use canned beans for convenience, make sure they are unseasoned.

Grains and cereals

Commercial, iron-fortified cereals are often the first foods served to babies who are not breastfeeding because they need the extra iron, but breastfed babies are rarely anemic as the iron in human milk is well-utilized. If there is concern about the baby's iron levels, a simple test can be done in the doctor's office.

Whole grain cereals, breads and crackers are the most nutritious. Wait until later in the year before offering wheat products. If you use cereals, make sure that they only have one ingredient and use either water or your own milk for mixing. Many mothers prefer to let their older babies chew on a hard bagel or an end of bread instead of sugary teething biscuits.

I know that for alot of us, it has less to do with the organic aspect (because as you said, you can buy organic in the jars), but the actual processing of the food that gets sold in stores. The processing of the baby food and packaging of it causes it to lose alot of the essential vitamins and minerals that some of us are picky about wanting our babies to get the full benefit of.

Also, I find that for many families, it is ALOT easier for their babies to transition to the food the family traditionally eats at home when they have already been eating the pureed or ground up versions of it since they were infants, instead of the generic jars of bland baby food.

I did both. I would cook for my Daughter and make a puree out of it. I would add spices like garlic, nothing too crazy for a baby tho'. Now, she just turned five, she eats anything. She is not a picky eater at all. I think cooking for her helped. I did have jar food for her, but mostly when I would be out. Also, I did give her the fruit on a regular basis. It's just more of a preference I suppose. I don't know if one is better than the other.

I found it to be way less expensive, plus I wasn't wasting money on little jars. I used ice cube trays and freezer bags. It was an opportunity for ME to control the consistency of hte food. My son had serious vomitting issues, so we did a very slow start to solids, bt once he got going, we upped the consistency quickly.

Also, my ds is allergic to sweet potatoes. So, I could control what went into each meal by making it. I knew everything was fresh as well.

And, for what it's worth, I'm not convinced color isn't added to the foods. I could never get out jarred carrots from his clothes. But I always got the fresh stuff out.

for me, definitely it was a peace of mind that everything was fresh when it was made and when he ate it.

I used both , but now my daughter is 10 mths with a mouth full of teeth so she eats the food I eat .

J., I just wanted to reply to your question about baby food. I wanted to try it out since it was the new thing to do and I found that if you don't get food that is in season, it's actually more expensive to make it yourself. Apparently, it's supposed to be more nutritious because you aren't cooking out all the nutrients that they do when they put them in jars. However, when I am exhausted and tired, opening a jar is just so much easier than popping a few cubes in the microwave to let them thaw. Especially, when your baby is screaming in the next room. So it comes down to this, if you have time and have fun making the food, then by all means make it yourself, but I don't see any major difference in the kids that have home cooked foods and jarred foods. My two boys had jarred foods and they eat very well now. Good luck.
Jenn

I'm a mother of one and took care of three and i could of never of found the time to make homemade baby food i think jar food is just fine and wouldnt of done it eny other way. but certin baby foods i would spice up little(green beans)or if i was eating something they could eat i would give them some. but all in all i'm for jar food make life just a little more easier!

My daughter is 5 months old and I make her food. To tell you the truth it costs me NOTHING to make her food. If you are eating a well balanced diet yourself then there is not reason that they can not eat what you are. Just know that there are some things to avoid. Beets, spinish, greens, fish, eggs, abd chili. When we eat these things that is the only time that I get her a jar of baby food. Also if you think about it, homeade they will be more likely to eat the food you cook for her later on, because they will be used to it. And most babies go through anywhere from 2-3 jars of food at each meal. That can add up to a lot of money. Much more than you would spend on a discent blender.