Jar food or home-made?

[Meggymoose]

Ok. I know the answer - fresh is best, but jar food in moderation is fine too. I have 2 DD's 2.5yrs and 8.5 mnths and have applied this principle to both. Both were breastfed until 5.5-6 mnths, DD1 mix fed, DD2 exclusively. I have a good friend who is a GP who also has 2 kids 5yrs and 5mnths. She breast fed 1st child until 11mnths and intends to breastfeed youngest child as long as poss too - which is obviously fab.

So why the question? - My GP friend (on extended mat leave feeds/fed her kids jar food - can't understand why I go to the hassle of cooking food especially when I work full-time. However, she is a very strong advocate of breastfeeding and sometimes (unintentionally) makes comments that I didn't breastfeed for that long. In fact she is a very strong advocate of everthing that is right for a child (and is usually right). Yesterday as she was feeding her youngest jar food she was commenting on how by giving formula milk I had introduced dairy too early therefore increasing my DD's risk of intolerance in the future. Fair comment I suppose, but this is as she is feeding her 5.5 month old jar food?!

Is it me?!
So suggestions on how to respond to comments about my decision to predominantly feed my kids home-made food, without being rude offensive or overly defensive needed please! Thanks!

All very interesting and some excellent ideas about how to politely respond next time - thanks !

JandJ - I have noticed that the Babylicious I have bought is very pureed. At nearly 9 months we're doing lumps and chunks?

definitely home made - out and about I used to give DS avocado or banana and kiwi often instead of jars (although did use the organics jars sometimes). Thing that most worried me about the jars was when you read the labels (and I don't know about babylicious, as didn't have those at the time), most of the jar is often water, with maybe 8% meat, 10% veg. How can that be filling or nutritious?? I had a drawer full of frozen cubes of all kinds of stuff for ages - every time I cooked for me and DH, I just kept a bit to one side and whizzed it up.

Does your friend always feed her children from jars, or is it just that you see her out and that's just what's easiest on those occasions?

I have done a mixture of both. I never express an opinion on what other people are doing or not, unless asked. My motto is - you do what you want love its not my business. Since you are asking I would smile sweetly and not take her on, but if she pushes for a discussion on he subject just tell her that this is your decision and you find it easier (if you do thatis) to give your children food that you eat.

hi thekidsmum

\link{http://www.halalbabyfoods.com/catalog/catalog.asp\jars

i saw these at my local asian shop last week. the seem to have less bulking out ingredients than heinz, cow & gate, etc. none have gluten

jars

I still believe that home prepared food cant be bettered. None of my 3 ate jar food. On the odd occassion I was desparate enough to offer they refused anyway. Well, cant blame them, I wouldnt touch it, it tastes and smells yukky. Now they eat anything and everything, certainly a much widre variety of food than a lot of their peers who come for supper.

I personally don't see what all the fuss is about jars.
I am a SAHM. My kid gets jars. They are all organic. I don't have a big freezer for loads of pureed stuff/babylicious cubes.

Sorry - been away for a bit. Yes, the Babylicious stuff is fairly well pureed. But I find I can make it slightly lumpier by adding a few other bits and pieces - like cous cous, small pieces of pasta, peas etc and use the Babylicious meal as the base. Also, I sometimes spread some of the puree on fingers of toast and use it as a finger food.

Clairemow - she always uses jars. Never anything else. Obviously her eldest (nearly 5 now) eats normal food now.

Think I will just get over it. Her kids are healthy and developing so she's obviously doing something right. Mine are healthy and developing too, so I'll carry on with what I'm doing too!