As adults, we place a great deal of consideration into what we consume then have we thought why make baby food at home. The majority of us typically prefer home cooked meals over store purchased readymade foods, but not just because it tastes better, but as consumers, we’re realizing that we’re exposing ourself to additives, high salt, fat as well as sugar contents by rather making the meals at home from scratch.
More often than not, however, we forget to use the exact same caution with regards to picking store-purchased over homemade baby food. Infants can consume an average of 600 jars of baby food from the time they’re a year old.
Four out of five infants rely on tinned and jarred food. Home cooking should always be encouraged over utilizing commercial infant foods. The effects of added preservatives and absence of nourishment of many pre-bottled baby foods may have on infants are not to be overlooked, particularly when compared to the possible goodness which is available in food which has been made in the home from scratch. Eating shouldn’t be limited to adults and older kids.
The first phases of development are crucial to the health and well being of babies, and also the movement towards solid food presents the ideal chance to introduce little ones to food which are rich in natural goodness to help with this.
There are also lots of excellent tools on the marketplace to simplify the procedure for cooking baby food at home – from infant food refrigerator trays to blenders, food thermometers, small individual glass containers along with other useful gadgets which make food preparation faster and easier.
Why then are mothers all around the world continuing to buy infant food at the supermarket?
Are store brands really that bad, and can organic brands be any better?
Read on to find out why homemade is obviously better.
Home Made Baby Food versus regular baby food. Among the biggest problem with food which was designed to be stored on shelves at grocery stores and supermarkets is that this particular food has a long shelf life of up to 2 years.
To make food stay fresher for longer on the shelves, food has to be preserved and sterilized, organic as well as non-organic brands. Which implies that even when no additional preservatives are added, the food has to be heated to a maximum temperature to ensure it isn’t contaminated following months on the container. Along with this heating process nutrients and all vitamins are killed off too.
Non-organic foods also have any number of additives and preservatives added to improve shelf life and once the food’s natural flavouring has been killed off throughout the heating process, artificial flavourings are frequently added as well to improve the taste.
Unhealthy fats are added instead of natural oils, to further extend the shelf life, while exposure to plastic containers increases the potential risk of toxins like BPA.
To cut costs the food is also often replaced with water or thickening agents/starches like refined rice, refined corn and refined wheat. These substances are devoid of the outer layers of the grain, with preservatives and bleach, usually added during processing and the refining of any grain reduces its vitamins, proteins and roughage.
The end result?
Baby food that is as far from natural as it gets, even with an organic label. With regards to homemade baby food however, all the above can be avoided.
Food is either cooked, cooked, boiled or blended raw, then frozen in a matter of hours.
All of the natural nutrients found in fruits, veggies and meats are kept intact, with the tastes, colour, texture and aroma. As many fruits and some vegetarian food can be ready without cooking, children can also benefit from completely raw foods as well, without losing any nutrients during preparation.
Here are a few reasons to consider changing over from store-bought to home cooked baby food.
Fruit and veggies are amazing in their capability to deliver nutrition. From the anti-oxidant rich goodness of brightly coloured veggies to the good source of fibre found in the root fruits and vegetables, vitamins, proteins and minerals found in each type of fruits, vegetable, seed, legume and nut, these nutrients are essential to your kid’s development.
Children that have most of the nutrients they need to learn faster, grow stronger and have far less risk of common illnesses. Preparing simple, but healthful meals in advance will make sure that your baby gets the goodness she or he deserves, without all the extras which are so frequently found inside pre-made food from the shops.
You Decide and know what happens inside the Food
If you’re worried about feeding the baby additives that you could hardly pronounce, you’ll likely take comfort in knowing that you’ve full control over what goes into your baby’s food.
Other than healthful herbs and spices, you don’t need to worry about added sugars, salt, flavourings, thickeners, colourants along with other frightening ingredients that have no place in baby foods. Instead, you’ll have food that’s 100% pure at all times.
Think about the cost of a single serving of a store purchased jar of baby food. Then, multiply that by the number of meals in a day, and the number of meals in a month. It soon begins to add up. Purchasing bottled food in addition to buying food for the rest of the family frequently ends of costing a lot in the long term. With food that’s made from scratch, you just need to purchase the food that the rest of the family will eat. You might choose to invest in some useful tools to make preparation easier, but even a one off purchase of the few tools which are needed won’t cost just as much as endless bottles of store purchased food.
Believe it or not, making your very own baby food may end up saving you time as well. Shopping trips will be reduced without needing to read labels, decide on flavours and compare products.
Feeding time will become much easier because the baby will enjoy the food far more when it’s fresh with delicious, various healthy ingredients. You can cook a full week of meals in a single mid-day, store in your refrigerator and just pop out a perfectly sized portion to warm up in no time at all. You’ll feel less stressed, the baby will feel less stressed and feeding time will become much more fun.
Last, but definitely not least, another major advantage of making baby food at home is that it enables you to introduce flavours which are natural and tasty.
Many store purchased baby foods are bland and unappetizing, with a limited variety of combinations and flavours. Spices and herbs are seldom utilized in bottled food either, leading to food that’s less than thrilling for your baby. Keeping the 4-day wait rule in mind and exploring with a few gentle spices and herbs, will enable you to add flavours that expand your baby’s tastebuds.
From sweet spices to aromatic herbs, natural sweetness and delicious combinations that mix fruits, veggies along with other foods, your child will discover a world of taste sensations as new foods and flavours are sampled.
The introduction to Solid Food needn’t be traumatic and difficult – for the baby and parents. Experimenting with the tasty kindness fueled by nature will turn feeding time into something which everybody will enjoy and for this reason especially, there are few things which may match with homemade baby food.
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