If you have a young baby, you know how important good
nutrition is. Regardless of whether you start out by feeding
your infant breast milk or a quality formula such as SMA, at
some point you are going to wish to start the weaning process
and begin offering a variety of foods. There are so many options
for baby nutrition it can be confusing to figure out which way
to turn. Some good sources of nutrition information include
other parents, doctors, books, and baby websites like Bounty.
Many parents opt to purchase pre-made baby food; there are many
quality brands from which to choose, including Heinz, Cow &
Gate, and Holle. However, even with coupons, this can be an
expensive choice, which isn't nearly as cost effective as making
your own baby foods using recipes from online or cookbooks.
There are numerous approaches to preparing baby food yourself;
whether you are using a food processor or baby food mill, you
can opt to either share the food you are eating for your own
meals with your young toddler or prepare separate food that can
be frozen in cubes for multiple portions of just the right size.
Manual food grinders provide the advantage of portability. They
are so small that they can be conveniently brought to
restaurants or dinners at other people's homes, where you can
share whatever you are eating by simply grinding it smaller so
your baby can easily swallow it.
If you're interested in preparing large quantities of baby food
all at once and freezing it for future use, you may find that an
electric processor is a better choice for you. With this sort of
baby food mill, you can make a large batch of puree and then
freeze it into individual portions. That way, the portions can
easily be thawed one at a time as they are needed.
One obvious advantage to making your own baby food is the
monetary savings. There are other advantages which are often
overlooked. Making your own food is certainly more
environmentally friendly, as it avoids all the excess packaging
of prepared foods. Another factor that many people fail to
consider is the quality of the food. By preparing all of your
child's own food, you have complete control over every
ingredient that goes into it, whether you want to avoid
additives or allergens or use only organic ingredients.