My friend had her baby a few months ago and she is just getting ready to start feeding her baby solid foods. She asked me my advice on jarred food and homemade baby food – and I was more than happy to give her some advice. I always knew I wanted to make my own baby food, but working full time and taking two graduate courses left me feeling a little less than enthusiastic about going home and steaming some veggies. Don’t get me wrong, my weekend routine consisted of heading to my local Whole Foods, stocking up on the fruits and veggies my little one would be eating that week, peeling, chopping, steaming, blending, and freezing. There were times that jarred foods were much more convenient, such as the very beginning when my little one was just trying out foods. Typically, your pediatrician will advise that you introduce ONE new food for 3-5 days without giving any other “new” foods. During this time you may learn that your baby has an allergic reaction to a food and you should discontinue it. With the amount of food I would make once I started to make my own baby food, I would be throwing out A LOT of food if my little girl ever developed a bad reaction to anything.
Another instance where jarred food is more convenient is when you are travelling. I ALWAYS had a jar of Earth’s Best dinner in my diaper bag for those “just in case” moments. You also don’t want to bring dirty baby food jars back home with you, so having disposable jars works best when you aren’t going to be home for some time.
My best advice is to stock up on Earth’s Best foods weekly when your baby is just starting foods. This way you don’t purchase foods that your baby may not be able to continue eating. Once feeding is established, then you can go on to either make your own baby food or purchase Earth’s Best in bulk. I always got an amazing deal at Babies R Us on the cases after using coupons. For organic food that contains no pesticides or hormones, you can count on Earth’s Best!
I just took over a gift basket to my friend that consisted of Earth’s Best Rice Cereal, Earth’s Best 1st Stage Food Jars, and some Earth’s Best Teething Biscuits. She loved the gift and I loved making it for her knowing that her baby was getting only the best! You can create your own Earth’s Best gift basket that is personalized for the baby receiving it. Baby food makes a great and very useful gift for any mom that is starting her little one on food! You can even order Earth’s Best Gift packs from their online store!
Check out Earth’s Best to see their entire line of products! You can connect with Earth’s Best on Facebook and the Earth’s Best website!
Disclosure: I am currently a member of the “Earth’s Best Bloggers” program and this post is part of my involvement in the group. While Earth’s Best provides me with material and necessary resources to serve as content for blog posts, all statements and sentiment are my own.