Nannies/Parents: do you make your own babyfood?

[thenewbornnanny]

I got talking to a few other expat Mum's from various countries and we were talking about weaning and baby food. I make my own from scratch, always have, most likely always will. I'm a self confessed purist and I like to know exactly what I am feeding my charges. I will use jars if travelling abroad and kitchen facilities/food isn't easily available, and don't think there's anything wrong with them as such, I just like to cook meals from scratch. Most of the other Mums were shocked and said that they use jars as then they know "precisely the nutritional content". This led to a 3 coffee debate on how you can tell the nutritional value of home cooked versus jarred baby food! A couple of the Mums said I was wrong to home cook food ...

What are all of your attitides on this? Is society getting too label driven, in that if you home cook something you don't know its fat/calorie/protein etc content? Do you use jarred or home cooked? And for a 6 month old (or any child come to think of it), as long as they get a varied and age appropriate diet does it matter there is no label telling me what's in it???!!!

Totally off topic, but frakkin, are you a Battlestar fan?!

Erm, might be. Whyyyyyy?

Does the nickname give it away a bit?

The other day someone said frakkin and then looked at me blankly when I mentioned Admiral Adama. She was just using it as an alternative to the eff word.

So say we all!

I make all mine from scratch for my youngest - in fact for all my charges.
Even things like fish fingers. I like to cook though so it isn't a problem and if you're organised it's not a question of time. I like to know exactly what's gone into what I'm feeding my charges.

I don't know which country OP lives in but my personal experience is that in some European countries is less common to use jars mainly for economical reason. You have variety of cheap fruits in local markets and the --imported - jars are costy. In UK jars are cheaper and fresh fruit costs more so is not very practical to puree fruits (and i agree with blondes about pears ).
When it comes to savoury i always prefered home cooked. As long as you have freezer is easier and cheaper.

I always had this idea in my head that if babies eat many jars they get used to the synthetic taste and they 'll not appreciate real food later in life. However many of my friends's babies had jars and are now very good eaters. So maybe my fear was irrational, i don't know...

When caring for babies sometimes I make things - usually based on what the other children are eating, so it's just something put through the blender. Jars/Tubs however are also used as they are very convenient, especially when out and about as they don't need refrigeration. The Plum Baby range are wonderful, if a little bit more expensive than other brands. It also helps support a small (12 person) local - based in Hampshire - company, rather than a large multi-national.
Carrot, Lentil and Cheddar is still a favourite of the nearly 2 year old I care for - handy when he refuses to eat anything else, such as when he's feeling poorly. Could I make it myself, probably - all the ingredients are listed along with percentages used (apart from percentage of water). Can I be bothered though... no. Time is better spent with the children, rather than slaved over a kitchen stove.

Babies vary, some are easy, others are very demanding. When baby finally has a nap, the last thing some parents/carers will be wanting to do is to slave over the kitchen stove. Jars/Tubs are convenient, they free up more time for you to spend with the child. Thus I feel there should be a balance between making food at home and using Tubs.

I thought, when I began giving the baby proper food, that I would give him a bit of home-made and a bit of jars, so that he would be used to jars when they would be needed. But in fact I find I've hardly used jars and have made most of the food - what small impulse to motherhood I have I've channelled into knocking up AK recipes, page by page, I think

The real loser has been my DH who, pre-baby, who I used to cook lots of exotic (and time-consuming) recipes for - now he gets a baked potato whilst the baby dines on salmon a la gratin or whatever. I've decided that I'd better get some non-exotic cookbooks (Delia, Tana Ramsay or something) so that we can all start eating the same thing.

And to the OP - it seems self-evident to me that home-cooked is better - fresher veg, higher quality ingredients etc. But I like cooking (so do you by the sound of it) and the baby (at the moment) seems to like eating it. What I am saying I suppose is that the human psyche is a wondrous thing - maybe those that defend jars on grounds that 'you can see what's in them' (rather than convenience) are in the 'don't really enjoy cooking' camp... Just a thought...

Ironically, giving babies jars does mean the nutritional content is highly regulated, as the laws surrounding the production of processed food for this age group are so strict. I tried to explain this to my nanny, who was giving Felix lots of bread (i.e. high salt content) yet being sniffy about jars (no added salt, high vitamin content as fruit and veg have not been lying around for days and days). It's counter-intuitive.

However I do balk at paying 50p for some little bit of apple puree in a jar when there is invariably a bit of yoghurt in the fridge somewhere, which with half a grated eating apple in it makes a lovely little snack. Likewise a bit of baked potato and cottage cheese with chives for lunch is relatively effortless. Pureeing is a bit of a faff admittedly, but it's not long before things can just be mashed up with a fork a bit. That's my approach.