Baby Food: Organic or Not?

Once you have a baby the questions on your decisions are endless - breast or bottle feed, organic or non organic, store bought or make-your-own....it can be overwhelming to say the least. When asked these questions, although I'm happy to give my opinion, I always stress to do what is best for your family. Every situation is unique and there is no reason to feel like a bad parent over it.There are plenty more opportunities for that!

With that being said, I would love to talk about baby food. Your child is introduced to solids around 4-5 months (always check with your doctor before introducing solids into your baby's diet). During this time your options are limited due to the inexperience of the baby to chew and swallow their own food. This introductory process is a learned behavior - and that's where you, the mommy, comes in. It is your job to buy or prepare the food for your child and introduce them to a variety of different fruits and vegetables to nourish them with the proper nutrients they need to thrive.

When I introduced baby food, I didn't solely make my own. Easy mashable items such as bananas, pears, avocados & sweet potatoes are super easy do on your own. But alot of making your own baby food requires straining and adding water - which is great, just time consuming. What some people don't realize is the "baby food" stage doesn't have to be very long. Usually you start around 4-5 months and you first introduce rice cereal (although I always did oatmeal b/c it was better for you and kept their tummies full longer). As soon as I can I introduce real foods - right about 6 months. Once baby gets the hang of gnawing and swallowing the food, you can move to tiny cut up table food pretty quickly. Two out of three of my kids didn't love baby food and went straight to table food - with the exception of the Pouch and Bistro Bowls (See below). Typically, I stuck mainly with organic baby food from Earth's Best or Plum Organics. They have a great line of food options which are also sold at Diapers.com and Buy Buy Baby - and always on sale! 

The "Pouch" type baby food has become all the rage and I'm one of their groupies! It has been such a lifesaver for my little man (aka "baby #3"). During busy mornings or lots of on-the-go outings, the pouch has become one of the most convenient baby items to date. Plum Organics (and others such as Gerber) provide such a wide variety of nutritious options you really can't go wrong.  It enables your baby to try many different textures and flavors and even better, they can feed themselves - genius!

I'm not much of a microwave meal girl, but I have to say that these Bistro Bowls by Plum Organics are something I always have on hand for babysitters. My little one will eat just about anything my girls do but, when we're away I LOVE these Bistro Bowls for babysitters to give him. Its the perfect portion (maybe even a little more than enough) of a complete meal that is chopped up small enough so there are no choking hazards. I can leave in the evening feeling comfortable that he'll get dinner without worrying if the sitter cut the food up small enough. Its a great item to have on hand!

Once the teeth start popping through - and you'll know when that begins to happen. Sleep patterns change, drooling excessively, sometimes runny nose and fever. Some great food items to have on hand are frozen peas & carrots, blueberries, cut up bananas, diced sweet potatoes, corn, rice, and beans (love beans!). I live in terms of variety throughout the day. So I try to make sure there is at least one fruit and/or veggie with every meal.

Don't make it too hard on yourself. Kids can be picky and the best thing that you can do is provide them with the best options (i.e. most nutritional value) and you can't go wrong. There are obviously days when you can't go all organic or make my own food from scratch and that's ok - I'm certainly not 100% anything! I do my best where I can knowing that the majority of the time my kids are getting the best possible food they can. And I let the rest be.

For more on Plum Organics Baby/Toddler Food.

For more on Earth's Best Baby/Toddler Food.

For more on Gerber Organics Baby/Toddler Food.