Parents today have an overabundance of options for their new babies, from designer clothes and strollers to infant gyms, music and language classes. But when it comes to feeding their babies, many parents see the meager offerings on the grocery shelf and figure Gerber organics is the best they can do. Few parents realize that making baby food is neither complicated nor time-consuming. If you can boil water, you can make fresh, homemade baby food!
I love to cook, and became convinced of the importance of eating organic food while pregnant, so it was only natural for me to decide to make my son’s food. There is also a family history of diabetes so getting him off to a healthy start was very important to me. Studies show that children’s food preferences are formed by 2 or 3 years of age. When the average toddler often lives on a diet of pasta and PB&J, it is easy to see how so many kids grow up “picky” eaters. Today, with the prevalence of processed foods, more than half of children under the age of 3 do not get the recommended daily amount of necessary nutrients. Exposing your baby to a wide array of healthy options from the start is the best way to encourage healthy eating habits.
For me, the proof came at a friend’s baby shower. The “name the baby food” game featured a typical selection of jarred baby foods. Not only was it disturbing to see how hard it was to identify each flavor, but the participants were literally gagging at the taste. If grown adults can’t stand the taste of commercial baby food, why would they feed that to their babies?
Up next, tips for making your own homemade baby food.
