Sainsburys organic food pouches v fresh

[Lottle]

Hi

I need to start weaning my baby. Its giving me all sorts of anxiety. Dont know why.

I was wondering if anyone knew if steamed veg, pureed, frozen and defrosted at home was much better (health and nutrition wise) than the sainsburys Little Ones organic purees. I like the look of them as some are all veg eg just parsnip. Some are just veg mixes eg brocoli and kale but no fruit which I think would be a good start.

Anyone know if fresh delivers much more nutrition over pouches like these?

Thanks

Nutrition-wise, pouches are probably fine, but because they have to have a long shelf life, they are processed and heated in ways that give them a specific "commercial baby food taste" that is not like the taste of home cooking. There's nothing wrong with this, but it does not really prepare babies for getting used to the flavors and textures of home cooked food, and I hear a lot of stories of babies who are stuck on pouches and won't eat anything else. So I personally think it's a good idea to try and use home cooked food where possible, and just add in some pouches for convenience sake.

We actually use jars not pouches whenever we use commercial baby food--it's the same food and pouches are crap for the environment as they cannot be recycled.

I remember the HV said pouches are fine but you never know how long they sat on the shelves. From my personal research, I find them all too sweet. Even those with veg they normally have either a fruit in or a sweet veg. That doesn't really help developing little taste buds.

However, I am using a mix of both to be honest. Baby goes to nursery full time and eats home made food there. At home I have a stash of puree food in the freezer and I also mash some fresh fruit or give yogurt. I am planning to start blending the same food we eat soon. However if out and about or feel lazy I give pouches/jars. The thing I noticed is that baby would literally always eat the food from the pouches, while other foods are hit and miss.

I'm not sure about the nutritional value of the pouches but we used them for quite a while with my DD (now 1) but have recently switched over to making her food at home. She really liked the pouches Sainsbury's sell and never refused to eat them but she's suffered with constipation since we started weaning. It got quite bad recently so we decided to alter her diet and see if homemade food was any better, which so far it does seem to be.

I think homemade is much cheaper and not as big a headache as I seemed to have worked it up to be in my head. I use recipes from Annabel Karmel as they're quick and easy. I'd still give her a pouch if we were out and about though as they can be convenient. As a PP has said, my DD rarely refused the food in a pouch but has been pickier about homemade things!

We bought jars (environmental impact worry) and used them when we were out/short on time but mainly did home made. I had a steamer blender thing which would steak and blend in one which made it very easy to do home made.

Thanks everyone. Going to try a bit of both. He seems to prefer finger food so will have to do a lot of that myself. What a mess though!!

Homemade is best. Pouches are convenient especially for out and about. I suggest a mixture!