Wholesome Baby Food

My sister-in-law Lisa made a comment on an earlier post saying that she was looking into wholesomebabyfood.com to make Wyatt some food at home when he is old enough for solid food.  I got a cookbook from Williams-Sonoma not too long ago all about cooking for babies up to 12 months old.  I love to cook and naturally wanted to make something for Kennedy as well.  As I have been researching homemade baby food, I am really starting to believe in it.  I am all for the convenience of store-bought food, so please don't think you're a bad person if that is what you give (or gave) your children.  That is what Kennedy has been eating for the past week, and will continue to eat next week since there is no way for me to make un-stringy green beans at home.  But I am going to attempt to make her some pears later today and freeze them for next week.

What I have found out is wonderful though.  First of all, I know exactly what is going into her food.  Yes, yes, I eat processed stuff too, but I have been realizing lately that I don't really want that in our diets as much as it has been.  It is also so much cheaper to make your own baby food!  And it freezes for up to 3 months.  You can also re-freeze food, so it doesn't get wasted nearly as much.  When I saw the picture of the homemade green peas and compared the color to the stuff in the store, I was sold.

As great as all of the nutritional and financial benefits are, one of my favorite perks is the variety that I can introduce her to.  I don't want her to be a picky eater and I want her to be willing to try new things.  It's ok if she doesn't like them as long as she will try.  Canned baby food only offers a small amount of choices.  For example, did you know that avocados are one of the best foods you can give to your baby at first?  But they don't sell avocado puree at the store.  When she gets a little bit older I will be able to introduce her to spices and herbs and many other foods that are not available to her in a can.  So while I probably will continue to buy convenience foods from time to time and during travel, I think that homemade baby food will be a fantastic option for us.