do you cook?

heather38

i've just been having a debate on another forum, and have been slated for refusing to give my DD jars of baby food and cordial.
so i was wondering how many people here cook from scratch and how many use jars.

beefcarrot

homemade

When weaning our three, we've moved from using jars with number 1 to cooking everything. from scratch for my youngest son It wasn't long before he was having the same as we were. We used ice cube trays to hold the food at first and simply defrosted as many cubes as needed for the meal.
In some ways it was good for all of us, as we had to think about what we were eating too! It's better because we know exactly what goes into the food we give him. There's also the cost element - it saves a lot of money not buying jars
What was interesting was when we tried to give him a jar when we were shoppping one lunchtime and he turned his nose up at it!

AnnieH

mix of both

I don't have babies now but I've used baby food jars in the past - in fact all my DD2 would eat was Heinz Organic jars but she would only eat them cold _pale_

At home I would cook for them and puree but sometimes it's more convenient to use jars

I also give my kids cordial :eek:

Becles

mix of both

I'm planning on a mix when I wean my 3 month old baby, as I did with my boys.

I found it easier buying ready made breakfasts as I'm not a morning person!

I'll puree most home made meals for baby so she gets used to the food we eat. However jars are handy when you're having something that can't be pureed, like we're having fish and chips tonight.

Jars are also conveinient when you're out and about, as they last and you're not worrying about keeping them cool in case they go off.

Ishtar

mix of both

I used a mix of both jars and homemade food. The jars were only used when we were away from home for a couple of days as I could be sure they wouldn't be off. I always used Hipp Organic and never bought cordial - DD only ever had milk or water.

If we went away for a week or more, then I would cook and puree food as normal.

emmajon

I think if you have the time then it's best for baby to have freshly/home made foods. I gave my little one all home made food but I basically gave her the same as us only slightly adapted so it wasn't such a pain to be making seperate things. A friend of mine has just been on a baby weaning course and although they promote fresh is best but for emergencies etc a lot of jar food is much better now and is nutritious in value. I just think that if you start them on home made food they get used to your cooking and will adapt better when they're older and don't turn out so fussy. Another friend had a little boy and gave him lots of jars/packet food but as he got older he became so fussy that when she had twins she made their food from scratch and hence they had no fussy eating habits. My own little one will eat everything in the world except mushrooms so I can't complain. My mum used to puree her a roast dinner every sunday and she loved it. As for the cordial, I only gave my baby water or milk and now she doesn't mind having juice but more often still drinks water and milk and she's 8 now!

Delilah

homemade

I did stay open minded about using both but now we only give DD home made - it just tastes nicer, i dont think she would mind but it's easy enough to do and we did try cordial but DD didn't like it - she likes water so i didn't bother trying again. It's personal preference some people like to know what their children are eating.

aurorahelios

mix of both

The only time I gave my daughter jars was, when we were out or she was being looked after by her grandparents. At home I always fed her home cooked food. Generally she would get whatever we were having blended tho I also used to batch cook variations of foods similar or the same as what we eat and and freeze in ice cube trays for the times when having the same as us wasn't practical.

She has only just started getting cordial at the age of 3, prior to this she had watered down fruit juice.

ukbandit

homemade

a bit of both is pratcial. the reason people dont like the jars is the unknown elements, which is not the case with pre-purchased. i think the best option is a bit of both really, with more an emphahis on homemade if you have the time and inclination.

its les of an issue now because many babyfoods are moring towards more organic E number free anyway.

Curious_George_2

aurorahelios wrote: »

At home I always fed her home cooked food. Generally she would get whatever we were having blended tho I also used to batch cook variations of foods similar or the same as what we eat and and freeze in ice cube trays for the times when having the same as us wasn't practical.

same here,
although DD did sometimes used to have breakfast from those 'just add milk' packets... porrige and banana etc
but her proper meals were home made and frozen into handy ice cube tray portions,
she only ever had water and milk as a baby, then fruit juice and eventually cordial as she got older
and just to prove im a drinks nazi, she is 7 now and has had coke all of twice

heather38

my DD has only ever had 3 jars of food in her life, the last one was a plum foods jar that i had a coupon for so thought i would try and it gave her the most awful nappy that i threw the other one in the packet in the bin. and she's only had water or milk, but the other website i was on mums were giving jars at least once a day, and baby juice, plus skips and watsits!!