canned v Fresh baby food

[bAaM]

Just curious on what people use/used for there bubs.
I use weetbix for breakfast jared fruit for lunch and fresh meat and veg for dinner but i do use jared meat and veg 2-3 times a week.

[Mamalicious]

my bubs isnt on solids yet but he'll be getting fresh foods as much as possible, if we're travelling i'll probably let it slide because it'll be easier to buy, but id rather have it ready in the freezer so i can just defrost it and heat it up.

[punkbaby]

I mixed it up used to either feed the baby cereals farax etc or weetbix etc for breaky, meals basically they had what we had for tea and i made a few fruity/custard dishes for lunch. I did give a few jarred foods as well prob 4 times a week as well :)

[BaDaBing]

It was fresh only at the start but then I would throw a few jars p/w in as he got older.

[canberramomma]

My bubs have only ever eaten fresh food. I don't like canned food myself, so I just don't think to buy it.

[punkbaby]

Prob should mention the only jarred food my bubs had were fruit of yoghurts :) or those jellies not the meat or vegie ones

[Samaras Mummy]

We used to use a bit of both when dd was younger... now she wont eat canned food.

[bel84]

My boys always had fresh food, they did have the odd jar of jelly though:thumbsup:

[Pixie]

I cook fresh for her everyday and she eats whatever we're having for dinner spicy etc but if we're I buy a jar as emergency food!

[OllieBear]

My DS only had fruit puree and custards in the jar. I actually tried one of the pasta and meat ones to see what it tasted like before I gave it too him and just about :barf: . It was gross, needless to say I never bought them again.

[SassyMummy]

At first I used jarred/canned because I was lazy... but then soon realised how expensive it was getting to feed DD 3 jars a day...lol.

I tried making my own when she was still eating purees, but she just wasn't interested.

The chunkier her meals got, the more I started to make them for her... which wasn't too long after I started giving her solids.

Next time I'd really like to just start off making it myself (except when we go out, or when I'm feeling especially slack or whatever).

[mini_me]

DD never liked what i put infront of her, so it was many a time she had pre-packaged food. Boost was her fav and i was ok with it

[mikaylasmummy]

We give Mikayla mainly canned but we also give her for dinner fresh made food

[Funkychicken]

I always subscribed to the theory that if I wouldn't eat it, why would I feed it to my baby.
I smelt a tin of vegies and ??? at a friends once and honestly thought, how could a baby eat that and then switch to real food. They are both soooo different.
I always did the big cook-up and freeze in ice cube sized serves until my babies could share our dinner. Oh, and the third baby goes onto 'family meals' so much sooner than the first!:laughing:

Also, I remember looking at the cost of tins and thought :eek:, now that would add a lot to a grocery bill.

[QTB]

We mainly just pureed up what ever we were having for brayden, but if we were having pizzavor something then we would give him a jar of food...

[Grizabella]

I USED to use canned foods as well as home made - but after eating some at a baby shower (one of the games :laughing:) No way will I force that onto my child! :D Bloody horrid stuff! I feel sorry for DS1 becuse he used to get fed it - this one will be much luckier :D

[majano]

For my 6mth old, once a week I puree veges and fruit for her, and freeze them in portions. (Veges I mix altogether pumpkin, sweet potato, squash, zucchini & corn; Fruit I do apple & pear.) But I always have a few tins of fruit puree on hand for if I've run out of homemade stuff, or if I'm going out.

[Seekrit]

Cobes had home made food.. only two tins (from me, at least, g'ma and daycare may have given him tinned stuff - although daycare have chefs etc :cook:)

It wasn't too long until I started giving him finger food and table food (a month.. maybe? I got lazy)

[Yummy Mummy of 5]

I made/make my own as I think canned baby food is to expensive.

[~mia&ryan~]

DD has had some canned/pre packaged food, more so at her grandparents.. Was mainly gels, custards, fruit etc... We have always preferred to cook for her.. She has basically always had we were having, and now is the same we just cut it up and she feeds it to herself...

[mum_inlove]

Lloyd mainly eats whatever we eat now, and i used to cook him fresh food when he was younger, just made a big batch and froze it. But we always keep at least 3 or 4 canned food in the pantry, in case of emergency..:yes: He doesn't like canned food though'

[BubbaNoogie]

All fresh except for jars of heinz organic golden vegetable mash (which is just pumpkin (65%), sweet potato and water) which I pour over her dinner like a sauce, because she is crazy about pumpkin and I am far to lazy to cut up, cook and freeze a whole pumpkin every week!:p

[salt water]

We only do fresh :thumbsup:
I'm not comfortable feeding something to my baby that I wouldn't eat myself and we are foodies here anyway, love fresh, simple food, prepared well :thumbsup:

[LG]

I use both. DS isn't really interested in any solids yet, but I do cook him vegies and offer them (with mixed success), and I sometimes mix organic fruit purées (the ones in jars) with organic cereals. When he gets older and I know what he likes I'll give him more of the fresh vegies, he'll probably eat what DH and I eat.

[Lollie86]

Only fresh here, :yes: but just used jars for the first time while travelling to sydney by train for a holiday.

[pookiesossige]

I use frozen portions of adult meals as convenience food- mashed or puree'd or missing a couple of ingredients when the kids were younger.

About once a week or f/n Ariene does have a can of something though- usually a main course for kids aged 1-3. Although saying that, it's been a month without any of that this time.

They do have tubs of yoghurt and the rusk/breadstick things.

But I love it that I can bribe my son to sit still in the trolley with a carrot from the bag we are buying :smiliedance: Now THAT is cool! I think that having overall healthy food choices is more important then whether it comes from a can or not.

[k2ma]

I used the canned or jarred fruit as this works out cheaper for us other than that it's all freshly prepared...they eat better than us sometimes. THough I am not 'against' jarred food, my kids just didn't want it.

[GeorgiaAnne]

Fresh only, I wouldn't eat that stuff so why should my baby?

[MissGrumpy]

Fresh i make and freeze my own

[gremily]

We fed our girls mainly on fresh food, but we did have jars for those "just in case" times. I fed dd1 with more jars than I did with dd2. I think with dd1 I just accepted that was what most people did. When dd2 came along I knew it wasn't acceptable, from my point of view anyway, for me to be giving her so much prepackaged food.

[PrincessofGod]

i used both for my girls, as we travelled alot at the time i used canned food cause it was more convienient at the time, but when we were at home i made home made food for them and they ate whatever we ate :thumbsup:

[Moorish]

We mainly used fresh food for our kids.
When they first started it was easy to puree some veggies or fruit & freeze in ice cube trays.

When they were older, once every few weeks I'd have 4 massive stock pots going on the stove with different foods (ie bolognaise; chicken, rice & veggies; apricot chicken; lamb or beef & veggies etc) and I'd freeze them in the glass food jars that my friend gave me. That way I could just pull one out and rotate the food for variety. And as they were frozen I could still take one out and take it with us if we were going somewhere.

Any jar food was mainly fruit purees or custard as a treat. I think the jellies are a real rip off when it's so easy to make your own with fresh juice (squeezed or unsweetened in a bottle) and some gelatin.

When the kids were old enough for "table food" we just munched it up a little in our mini food processor until they were big enough for normal sized table food.

[xxxDragonFlyxxx]

DD has the occasional fruit/custard/gel from a jar if i'm caught without anything else with me. But she has never, ever had veg/meat from a jar. The thought honestly disgusts me.

Meat in a jar!? I THINK NOT!!! Fresh meat and veg all the way! And msotly fresh fruit and things aswell! Jars = emergency only in this house!

[AngelZara]

Dd usually only has fresh homemade foods. However I do give her some "organic only" jars a few times a week when she is being minded by grandparents or we are out. They taste pretty good and I only buy the organic ones so they dont have any food acids or anything :thumbsup:

[Roxy76]

Prob should mention the only jarred food my bubs had were fruit of yoghurts :) or those jellies not the meat or vegie ones

that would be what i plan to use only also, in terms of jarred food - yogurts, jellies or pureed fruit. and even then, will still try and make those fresh if i can. but definitely none of those meat and vege ones!!!!!!!!!

[Roxy76]

I think the jellies are a real rip off when it's so easy to make your own with fresh juice (squeezed or unsweetened in a bottle) and some gelatin.



thanks for the tip!! :thumbsup:

[our little treasures]

Fresh only!! Much healthier and my children loved it heaps more than the canned, they wouldn't even eat the canned food!

[millismum]

Only started solids 2 weeks ago. She eats rice cereal, and I spent a day cooking food for her that I froze in little tubs ( the decor ones for sauces are the best, right size with a lid!) and ice cube trays. Doing it all at once makes it so much easier. She has had one jar of apple blackcurrant stuff, and I have jars ready in the cupboard for "just in case" and if we are going out!

[Noah_and_Elijah]

Both. Some days I'm too lazt to cook so he has jar food.

[jaydensmum]

My DD has both. :yes: She still likes the jar food so she sometimes has that.

[Mummy2Noah]

Noah has Farex with tinned apples for Brekky
Tinned Custard for lunch and I cook up veggies for tea!!!

[Milliner]

I voted fresh only. DS is now 19.5 months, he has never liked canned food, but we recently received a free tin of apple, pear and apricot puree in a show bag, now he loves it. It's the only tinned food that he has ever eaten, apart from bakes beans. :D

[*babygirl*]

i plan to make my own food...:thumbsup: but i suppose ill buy a jar of canned if i need emergency food lol... i plan to make a huge batch of meat/chicken and veges a week and freeze in portions.. ill also make fruit puree and buy maybe a jelly/sweet custard one p/w but we'll see.

[Muff1n]

My little one has mainly home cooked food, but i find the jar ones are handy for when you are going out.


Any jar food was mainly fruit purees or custard as a treat. I think the jellies are a real rip off when it's so easy to make your own with fresh juice (squeezed or unsweetened in a bottle) and some gelatin.

chenicimo:
Is gelatin ok for 7mths+ babies??? Cos' my girl loves it, but i saw in the ingredients list on the bottled jelly that they don't use any so I thought they aren't allowed to have gelatin

[OopsieDaisy]

I don't see a problem giving my lil ones canned here and there if need be, although fresh is best imo and I wouldn't want to live off canned food myself so wouldn't expect my babies to.

[Jeffy]

Always fresh food for meals but the creche set a precedent in giving him tins of fruit or custard for morning and afternoon tea. I only buy the fruit purees. I tried a jar of meat and veg once and it was horrible. My little guy prefers my noddles, tofu and mashed up goulash!

[proud_mama]

when at home fresh foods...even ones that were prepared and frozen into ice trays and stored in the freezer.

When we were out or stayed out overnight we bought tinned foods as they were easier.

[MummyCharmzy]

fresh only.. for zach it was canned only for bella it was mixed for sav only fresh and future baby only fresh...

[stellarella]

I've only ever used fresh.
Jars are too expensive. I have never prepared special food for Oscar. Much easier to baby led wean him and just give him bits of our food in appropriate sizes/textures.

[Mell]

90% fresh foods, but every now and then DS2 will have custard from a tin.

[rowiechb]

Both. I only cooked DD food until she was about 9 months, then she refused it and loves cans:barf: I still cook her up some things, but hey she is eating vegies....:thumbsup:

[RainbowStars]

A bit of both, mostly fresh.

[SEA]

Fresh food, my daughter never liked the jarred food. Even going out I would have to bring freshly cooked food, but I never reheated in microwaves, I made sure they were still warm by they time she ate them. Sometimes I would give her jarred jelly or custard. Fruit puree I would do myself coz she didn't like the jarred or canned ones. If she did eat the jarred ones, I would prob give it to her occasionally if we were out but I'd prefer to give her fresh anyway.

[mandi24]

My ds has canned food as he won't eat fresh. I keep trying him on it but he just throws it back up so i'm sticking to the cans till he's ready for fresh.

[shed]

We use a bit of both. He doesn't like food that is too mushy so I buy the little frozen pots, dunno what they are called, but they are organic veges with pasta etc. They are better than what I could make.

[EskimoMumma]

Its a mix of both. DD2 just had her first vegemite half sandwich at 7months! So when she gets her chompers will offer heaps more stuff like what we have for dinner (now that I am not bedridden)

But other times she has the Only Organic range.

[sarahbelle]

DS would only eat fresh food. It was never a problem, I used to make up a whole heap and freeze it in containers and add sauces or whatever we were eating id possible, until I was out one night longer than anticipated and I tried to feed him jar food but he refused! Although he is and was always a piglet I could not get him to eat jar food!

[mum2derekandmia]

First child cans/jars only I was back at work when he was 8 weeks and could start or finish between 6 am & 6pm it was convienent. He only liked vegies and desserts if it was a meat meal he gagged at the flavour. Second chd fresh 98%of the time. I had a stick blender so she tried everything we had I too froze vegies to keep ahead. Cans were in case I didn't have enough or had run out. The clear winner was the fresh, still is.

[Nan]

Fresh food for my DD, with a few jars thrown in when we did a car trip across to Canberra or when I'd run out of veggies!

[TillieAndBug]

Fresh food from day 1 I just whizzed evrything to start with, and then mashed. She basically always had pretty much what we eat...minus the salt and pepper - didnt even have rice cereal...but when we flew to uk, she had a desert tin or 2 :) I did try once a can of food but she just turned her nose up......I think cos DD was bf all the flavours I ate went through and she found the can bland.
We do however buy occasionally if we going out the boost food meals...they actually taste ok to me too.

[littlejoy]

Fresh food all the way!!!!:thumbsup:

[Clareabell]

DS (8 months old) will have fresh fruit pureed sometimes but atm he has been having "only organic" jar food - which I must say taste ok and he loves it, which is the main thing. He also has yoghurt, toast and farex.

I will be doing fresh food soon though as you can only get a couple of certain meals in the organic range.

[luvmybubba]

My DS has always had fresh, I bought canned for convenience but he rejected it!!!!! So for me fresh all the way - you cook your own dinner every night so just do a little more for them.

[Beany]

I bought the odd jar of fruit puree when I didn't get myself together enough to stew some fruit but other than that, it was/is homemade.

[neostudded]

I know Julius isnt eating yet, but I will give him home made stuff for sure! (cheaper, yummier, I know what he is eating, saves money, more ecofriendly, funner to make) I love cooking.I think I will freeze them in cubes, so that way I wont have to make it when I dont feel up to it.

[kiki82]

We used both. I preferred fresh though.:)

[PrincessMJ]

i use both :D some days ill be really into givin my DD fresh food all cooked up and nice, then ill hav lazy days where it mostly consists of jar food, but i do like to give a few fresh foods a day, even if its only finger food :)

[NewMe]

We use both. If I'm being lazy then canned, and when DD was younger she went through a phase of canned only:banghead: but now she's usually just happy to eat anything.

[finallymum]

Blake ONLY eats fresh home cooked meals. he has a preservative free, sugar free, additive free diet. He isnt spoon fed anymore, isnt picky about his veges and is a champion eater.

[mollymoosmum]

At home Molly has homemade fruit/veggies but I have to say I am all for jar food when we are out!

She absoloutly loves the 'only organic' range, and it's all natural with nothing added...

[broncochik]

hey i will be starting bubs soon on solids i will prob do a micture as both as i dont have that many vegies and fruit but give him whatever i can and anything else i dnt eat il try and get it in a tin just to save time on cooking something that would only be 4 bub and he will only eat a teaspoon hehe

[supa_star323]

My DS (15 m) has weetbix for lunch and generally a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch. Sometimes I make dinner, but he is pretty fussy and eats a lot earlier than us so often he has jars of food. He only eats fruit out of a jar, but I am atarting to puree my own apples because it gets to expensive. I'd say if you added it up over a week it probably works out to about 50/50.

[sweetsugardumplin']

Only fresh for my DS who is now such a big boy, and only fresh for our next one who is due is nine weeks. Have you tasted some of the cheaper tinned baby food......OMG is awful ! I love cooking for my child, nothing gives me greater pleasure than watching my boy eat and enjoy food that I have made for him....and he is now at an age where he actually helps with making and cooking......he's such a foodie !

[mum2bubba]

Both, mosty jarred at the moment though.

[KarniF00l]

Only fresh make it yourself food here. My kids were fussy when they were babies. Not so much any more, they'll eat anything we make for them. No separate meals in this house :no: :chef:

I made everything myself when they were 6+months and going onto solids. From fruit jelly (Heinz baby juice and edible gelatine), custards (steamed and puréed fruit and custard powder), steamed and pureed veggies (pumpkin, potato, sweet potato, carrot, zucchini ect..) and added shredded softer meats like chicken and lamb. I made up big batches and froze them into serving sizes. Not only did they like it better, but it was cheaper than buying canned baby food and I felt better knowing what exactly they were eating. :)

[mumzdaword]

i will be using both but mainly fresh....canned ill only use for desserts like custard etc

[bambikins]

Fresh all the way at our place. And she has never had a jar or tin of anything to date. Even when we went to the snow I packed 8 dinners and 10 lunches all frozen in their little containers in the esky. Everyone thought I was mad but why would I give my kid dinner or lunch out of a jar when I wouldn't even put my lips on a commercial stir in sauce like dolmio or kantong.

[busymummyof4]

I use tins (and only the fruit) on occasions. I find them handy but my kids have only ever liked the fruit not the savoury. I dont blame them. It tastes like dog food :barf:

Even though I do like to use the tinned fruits, I find it more economical and self satisfying to make stewed fruit. Its so easy and really is that bit nicer.

My staple shopping item for the twins now would have to be yoghurts.

[ThomasMum]

Only use tins whenever we are on holiday

[Alekay]

I used fresh at home apart from custards and jellys and then jar when we went out

[Mummy_Johnno]

We use fresh food except for canned apple puree for DS breakfast ..... he has it still sometimes with banana baby cereal or sometimes as a sweetener with his weetbix .....

[SiLeNt_AnGeL]

I use a mixture of both.

brekky is wheet bix (usually she has hers n then mine, n then jaryds... not much of each, but gets a full brekky from all three)

lunch is either a vegimite sandwhich or fruit custard/ pureed fruit (its too hot now to eat much then)

dinner is either fresh cooked vegies that i have too, or frozen ones that i have made her, or bought. sometimes i give her the canned stuff but shes not to keen on it.

Snacks during the day are sultanas, milk arrowroot biscuits and frozen pieces of fruit maybe a custard if shes been good.

Drinks she has water in a sippi cup or juice in a baby bottle.

[mummymer]

Keenan has baby food for dinner still! GRRR Ive tried every other food I can think of and he turns his nose up at it.

He has weetbix for breakfast, sandwhich for lunch, plain crackers or arrowroot bickies/fruit sometimes for snacks

Water all day no juice or cordial

[mrsd]

I used canned / jarred food for going out with my elder children but usually made home-made vegies / fruit purees for their home meals which I froze in small containers and brought out when I needed to.

I got slack with the last bub - F - when I lost / mislaid the bottom sieve part of my baby mouli and he had pretty much everything canned until he was old enough to have what the rest of us had. He's turned out pretty bright so it hasn't hurt him too much !

[Lozie]

Fresh only here! I even make my own custards and puree's:thumbsup:

[jarrahsmumma]

my DD has never had a pureed moosh in her life...and she is 10 months

her primary nutrition is breastmilk with some food to play with. like chopped apple/pear/carrot. we are progressing to sultanas, melons, bread and hommus

she has a strong gag reflex and coughs up anything she cannot chew properly

i trust her to lead the way with food choice..as i do with my DS who is almost 3.

did cavewomen have a food processor??

[*Kimmy*]

Fresh ONLY here. DS has weetbix with mashed bananas for brekkie, homemade apple and pear mash with yoghurt for lunch, and is starting to eat 'table food' for dinner - ie pretty much whatever we have. He LOVES pasta - spaghetti meatballs, vegetable risotto, homemade canneloni, tuna mornay, and lots more. He snacks on sultanas, fresh and dried fruit, cheese and rusks which helps his sore gums.

When he first started on solids, he tried a few jarred foods, and wasn't keen, so it's been fresh ever since. So much so that when I was in hospital for an op, I had to pre-make all his meals, and freeze them so it was still homemade - he wont touch anything else. It can be a pain at times, never relying on bought food, but the pros of eating fresh food are too good to pass up :thumbsup:

[MummaBear03]

I had mostly fresh foods, but had a few jars of baby food in the pantry just in case. She refused the vege ones all her vegies were freshly made, but her fruit could be either jar or fresh, she wasn't picky. I think fresh is best but the times were travelling I found taking frozen portions of vegetables was enough, her fruit came in a jar except the banana which was easy enough to mash or finely chop while away. She also had the custards from the jar on occasion, but again that was rare. She was capable of eating vegemite sandwiches when she was about 6 or 7 months so she had that for lunch. I think fresh is best but it probably won't kill them to have the occasional jar of baby food that's there as back up, so long as it's not all they're having.

[Thadsmum]

He is now 1 year old and all fresh. Breakfast Weetbix and apple, pear, yohurt puree. Container of special K to pick at....Lunch banana, watermelon, grapes, cracker, cheese. Tea time pasta, shepard pie,loves chicken etc more meat.
Has water on his table and milk comes out of fridge after wakes up...:thumbsup:

When younger 6 months on had potato, pumpkin, yogurt puree. Apple,pear puree.
Took out with jars of apple,cereal.etc for filling up.....as mother rooms are hard to find in Tasmania...
Sonya hope this helps..
p.s. he hated tin pumpkin, chicken etc.....:thumbsdown:

[angel_one]

fresh!!! - homemade then frozen (for the younger babies - while they only eat a little) then whatever the family eats when they are at that stage (for us - when they have the teeth!)

my thoughts are - if i wont eat what is in one of those tins or jars, then im not gonna feed it to my baby! - granted there are a couple that are ok for once in a while feeds! (out and about ones) but that is about it.

thaat is of course except for the fruit gels! - my first 2 loved them and so i came home and made some with fruit juice and gelatine, work great - now number 3 dont like the home made gels! so he gets the jars! - occassionally!

[nayasmum]

I used Jars for the first month but after that i gave her fresh food because just the smell of the jar food made me wanna :barf: needless to say i wouldnt eat it myself after smelling it so why should my little darling.

[tamicah210]

I think both things are very good. My mum used to make her own food when we were at home and took canned food when she went out. As long as the food is natural and doesn't contain any sugar then i think it is fine.

[Jenko]

I think both things are very good. My mum used to make her own food when we were at home and took canned food when she went out. As long as the food is natural and doesn't contain any sugar then i think it is fine.

This is what I do. Sometimes I take my own home made food out, it depends on how long I'm out for though. I only use the fruit meals in a jar. I feel weird about meat in a jar.

I use sugar in some of the things I make DS. I think a little of bit sugar is ok.

[fozzie]

I've always made my own purees and then they have eaten what we have for dinner but I've always had a few jars in for if I was going out or in an emergancy say if I was sick and didn't have any left in the freezer. Usually only the fruit and vege ones though.

[chrissa28au]

For DD2 i gave her weetbix for breakfast and for lunch and dinner was tinned. and the same for DD1 and DS.:thumbsup:

[Tan-mumof3]

For my eldest 2 i gave them rice cereal or weetbix with fruit for breakfast, and tinned fruit or custard or yoghurt for lunch and fresh homemade vegies or meat and vegies for dinner. They wouldn't eat the tin vegies so i gave up trying and just made my own.

[loriemae]

My DS is eating only fresh foods. I can't let him eat any canned yet coz he's just 10 months. Maybe when he's older, I can mix his food and he can eat whatever we eat as well.

[Mokey]

Fresh. DD is sensitive to lactose and gluten, so we have to be careful.

[Pices_79]

My DD has a mixture of both...She has custard each day and I make her vegies...

I also have some jarred food in the pantry for when we are out and about and cant take anything...

[Taveon]

Both DS1 and DS2 have been raised on Fresh Meat and Veg whipped up in the mini blender straight from the cooktop.
Leftovers went into the freezer for days when I didn't feel like cooking.
We kept a few tins of food in the pantry for lazy days.

[keiaras Mum]

at the start i gave keiara can food but only for a week or 2 then i made it, and froze it in ice cube trays. fresh is best and we had vegies every night so i just put some away for her.

if i got stuck out i would get a jar but they taste really bad.

[l33thun3]

When my boy (not 2.5yrs) was still eating "mush" I bought pre made. It definately wasnt the standard "tinned" food tho. I found the stuff in the cold foods section at coles and occasionally at woollies to be really good. Real food just severly blended without the additives you find in adult food (no salt or sugar for eg). Things like tomato lasgne, chicken hot pot, sweet vegie mash (his fav). Supposedly these were gourmet food but the price was just a tad over the stuff you find next to the nappies!
Once he could hold a spoon himself we moved him to a toddler fork and offered a small portion of what we ate (minus the condiments) every other day until he started showing signs of rejecting the mash. Now he eats with gusto whatever we eat.

[mastermum12345]

Fresh :)

[lil'pixie&me]

dd first solids it was farex and breast milk, then as she started trying more food id make my own fruit or vege purees, now she pretty much eats what i do maybe more than i do...:D
but i do have a few jars on hand for going out etc but only vege or fruit ones i dont like the idea of eating tin dairy products or meats:barf: so i think why should she???
i have smelt the tinned meat ones when my friends fed them to their babies and it was disgusting!!!!

[pixietrix]

I chose fresh as I make all Andy's food but I didn't include yoghurt. I know its not canned but I buy the ready made baby packs and sometimes jars if I am going out or travelling.
I never buy the tinned meat or veg as they are a waste of money since he just spits them straight out.

[iamLilysmummy]

i use both,,,
i dnt give lily some jarred ones bcoz they smell like dog food.. lol..

she loves vegemite toast.
:P

[Nex]

All fresh except for jars of heinz organic golden vegetable mash (which is just pumpkin (65%), sweet potato and water) which I pour over her dinner like a sauce, because she is crazy about pumpkin and I am far to lazy to cut up, cook and freeze a whole pumpkin every week!:p

Try stabbing the pumpkin in the top a few times and baking it whole in a low oven until it is soft. The you can cut it up scoop out the seeds. Sure takes the drama out of preparing pumpkin! It's easy to puree or mash or make soup from this way too!

Roast other veg in with it in the last hour or two. Like potato and sweet potato!

[fra99le]

I used both, fresh whenever possible, but the canned and jarred stuff was great when going out. (also at home sometimes if verytired, wornout, been out all day and wanted something quick! lol)

[rinny2007]

I make up jayden fresh vegies for dinner. i cook pumkin potato carrot and bokchoy. mix in quarter of a teaspoon of vegiemite. and hell eat more of this then tinned or jarred baby food. i havnt yet mastered the fresh fruits mashed. but if we go out i will use the jars as when he is finished i can just throw out the rubbish. and it keeps better then the fresh does in the nappy bag.

[defa]

My dd eats both with both DH and me working full time she gets a bit of everything and eats anything i give her..
I made fresh tonight and now there is enough for weeks in the freezer...

[noniwaldron]

DS is 10 weeks so obviously not there yet but i'm planning to go fresh as much as possible. i've just bought a mini food processor which i'm sure will come in handy and hopefully i'll be organised enough to make big meals and do the ice cube tray thing. i like the idea of ty eating everything that we eat as my worst nightmare is for him to become a fussy eater. DH & i are both 'foodies' so we eat lots of different stuff; the only thing i don't eat is tomato sauce and DH doesn't like mushrooms, but apart from that i love to cook and concoct new recipes and things, so hopefully DS will show a love of different foods when he's ready.

so fresh is the go for us, probably canned as a back up or when we're on hols or something.

i must say though i love the heinz(?) canned pear & peach puree; i've been eating it as a snack for years :)

just a thought - would some of the gourmet canned soups (as in adult soups) be suitable for an older bub? like the velish and very special brand ones - or are there too much additives / salt?

[*Amethyst*]

I alternate between both.. one fortnight she will have real fruit for lunches and jar food for dinners, the next she will have real vegies and meat etc. made up for dinners and jar fruit etc. for lunches. I dont have the time or patience OR freezer room to make up all fresh all the time lol.
She has weetbix, baby cereal or porrdge for brekky so her diet it pretty good. Also when I use jar foods (I never use can) I only use the organic stuff.

[mummy2james]

i was using only tinned and jarred foods for dinner up until about 4 weeks ago when i decided to ditch them for good and have james eat the same as us at dinner time (i think him being 20 months is too old for the tins and jars JMO). we are having trouble with it because he loves his jars of food, but were being persistent.

as far as breakfast goes, he eats weetbix or toast and for lunch he'll have sandwiches, fruit etc. he still on occasion has the tinned custards.

he loves his food, its just getting him to eat dinner thats proving to be a difficult task :(

[sockpuppette]

I admit I did use predominantly canned/jarred during the first few months because I work fulltime and had problems cooking food in bulk and storing it for my LO for later use.

So he got little fresh food when he first started eating. It was mainly rice cereal, tinned apples/fruit and jarred veges for dinner. But as he got used to thicker consistencies I introduced more fresh foods. Like mashed potatoes and vegetables.

My son is now 17mo and still occasionally eats a small amount of jarred food. Only during dinner and maybe once or twice a week. Otherwise he eats weetbix or porridge for breakfast, a sandwich and piece of fruit or muesli bar for lunch and if it is not tinned - either mashed potatoes and steamed veges, steamed rice with a topping or whatever else I have handy.

He has no attachment to a "certain" type of food. He just eats like a garbage tip lol.

[cheekybumz]

:no: i feel so bad now reading that most of the mums feed fresh food only. i've been giving my lil boy mostly jars rather than fresh since he was about 4 months the only time he has fresh food is when we were at grandmas but now that he turned 1 i am definately gona start making fresh food for him !!:chef:

[cassie]

hi im a mum of two they only eat fresh stuff. I have a two yr old and a five month old. My two yr old wont touch canned baby food when he was a baby . The only canned thing eats is bake beans. I have plenty of time as im a full time stay at home mum. when i used work in child care the working mums made all their baby food. its not about time you have to be well organised.
cas

[Leisa21]

I voted both but really its fresh. When I first gave him food it was rice cereal with EBM but his poo went hard and green so I made poridge after that. ANd I have some jars of pear if I'm in a rush other that that its home made vegies and fruit. If I dont eat it nor does he:yes:

[Kazamataz]

Asher has all kinds of trouble when we feed him anything from a Jar.

He doesn't react to the baby food in the cold section tho, you know the stuff in the vacuumed sealed packets.
Sometimes we will use them if we have to, but fresh food is just as easy.

He usually eats whatever we do, he love Mexican food and he loves it spicy :eek: :laughing:
I don't know where he gets that from I love Mexican but I don't eat it really really spicy.

I once accidentally made some enchiladas that were smoking and he ate 4 of them and wanted more :laughing:

[cinnamonbear]

i dont like jar.. i make all my own food and freeze it..DD tends to eat what i eat at dinner.

she get the occasional jar, if im being lazy..but rarely happens...i got grossed out when i saw that heniz had a product recall cause some bug eggs in their food:barf:..atleast i know my food is icky free.

i was buying fruit of forest jelly..but now i make my own with gelatin and juice..very easy to do and alot cheaper..still just as yummy.:yelclap:

[epiphany]

Why does everything in the jars taste (& look & smell) like pumpkin?!

Wee Man sometimes has tinned food if we're in a rush or out & I haven't been able to package something up...but on the whole, he doesn't really like it. Of the prepackaged foods, he prefers the "fresh" stuff from the fridge section in the supermarket (in the sealed packets, rather than tinned or in jars). However, one brand I'll never use again after I had *two* revolting instances where the seal on the packaging had been compromised just slightly (hadn't been sealed completely) & the food was rancid. Have never had any problems with any other company.

Wee Man is going through a fussy phase at the moment. He has gone off a lot of food. And I've found one of the few ways I can get veges down him is by giving him soup - he *adores* chunky soup...so it's an easy, quick way of giving him what he needs. He's also a taste fiend. Loves highly flavoured food - especially curry & garlic (not necessarily together).

Kids are so funny.

[*mumof4*]

Although cooking your own fresh food is best, I do think it's good to be able to give bubs both. My 1st bub was home cooked food only and he (even now @ 9) is just such a fussy eater...even gagged on everything because I pureed things soo well!.
My other 3 bubs got fed both and I never worried about the lumps with them either and they are much better eaters.

[Ffrenchstar]

I occasionally bought the jars but only the organic ones and NEVER ones with meat in them:barf:

We didnt really do the baby mushy food thing....they have always mainly just eaten what we do and were on finger food pretty much straight away.

[totalbabe77]

We always made it ourselves for DS. Now that we have DD as well, we generally puree our own meals, or buy frozen baby food. It is much more nutritious than jars or cans, and even more nutritios than store bought fresh food..and I've just found a new brand which tastes like homemade too..yummy!!

[NeonPink]

I only feed Dante fresh, it takes next to no time to cook up and mash some vegies, although I will admit I have brought Rafferty's baby food as a solution for holidays etc as there are NO ADDITIVE S or preservatives or anything nasty! Which gives me peace of mind!

[totalbabe77]

hey everyone. just wanted to let you know that there are no artificial preservatives in any baby food in aus.it is against the law for them to contain them..how do they get the long shelf life on jars/tins/pouches you ask?!? the heat treat them before and after packing to sterilise them, but this also destroys most of the vitamins/minerals..so anything that is sitting on a shelf, not fridge/freezer or homemade is not actually that nutritious..just wanted to let you know as the marketing can be quite misleading!!

[May1806]

For my son he only had home made fresh food but my daughter well who has the time to make ll the foods with a toddler around , so she has a bit of both , i dont mind the canner stuff for her and neighter does she.

Its a matter of convenience for us.

[Louise1172]

I only used fresh for my son til he was a toddler when its not so easy! But then if you work I can imagine what a nightmare this would be... :ecomcity:

[mummymg]

With a history of intolerance and allergies in our family, it's fresh all the way for baby number 3.

The older two have their share of packaged foods though, mainly breakfast cereals.

[EvangelinaOne]

We eat mostly fresh food so thats what DD gets. Other foods include porridge, yoghurt and rye bread, oh and good old vegemite of course:thumbsup:.

[PiercedDoll]

I used both Jars and Homemade...Jars were mainly for if i went out for the day

[onemummmy]

When I start solids, fresh all the way. :)

[mumtojoshandsam]

With Samuel I made fresh food but always had canned or tinned just in case.

[muffincheeks]

I give my DD Fresh as Fresh is Best :yes:
And also my two boy's when they where younger..
At first my DD didn't like my cooking..:laughing::chef:
I didn't like to give her Jar/Tin food's but what else can you give them if they don't like Mum's Cookking???:confused:..:hair:
I ended up trying her on "Rafferty"s Garden", much yummier and does taste Mmmm yum!( One for you and one for me)..
I give it to her when out and about, or when you have the odd lazy night...:sleeping:

[mama2jandh]

I always make fresh food for my DS, but we have things like jars of fruit, etc for emergencies or something different:)

[Tinydancer]

I answered fresh as I probably use those jar things once a month/fortnight when im really busy and she is really desperatly hungry even then i mix in some frozen fresh veg. I tend to not feed DD anything I wouldnt eat myself and jar baby food is gross!

If im having a lazy day ill just peel a banana and give her some yogurt, it meets her nutritional needs and is easy.

[spoon]

I only give my children fresh homemade food that I have cooked from ingredients I have chosen. No tins or jars.

I am a great cook.

[MissSookyLaLa]

I give my DD Fresh as Fresh is Best :yes:
...:sleeping:

i agree, we have fresh 99% of the time..

but i dont agree that fresh is always best...not when we know that fresh fruit and veg can sit in fridges in coles for 6 months before it gets put out for sale...

as opposed to tinned/frozen food which tends to be packaged as soon as it is picked, so often has far more nutrients than fresh...

and tinned baby food doesnt have preservatives etc in it anymore...

anyway, we tend to go fresh anyway, but i thought i'd put another perspectvie on it!

[Baby86]

DD1 has always had both, though eats pretty much what i do now. Some can food or Raferty's Garden (i agree with muffincheeks, it also looks like REAL food) when im lazy or eating something she cant. She used to have more can than fresh though. Especially when she started solids.

[NibbleCurlynBun]

I did used to do both.

But since neither are on mush or baby bites any more its pretty much whatever I eat.

Fresh is easier in the sense that mashed potato and peas are EASY. Making fresh food the same as canned though is different.

I am not going to roast a whole pork and veggies to make mushy food. :no:
One or two kind of vegies steamed and mushed have plenty of flavour as it is.

[mischief79]

I picked both but I really only use fresh. I make all her food from scratch..... vegies, fruit and meats. However, when I puree steak and chicken breasts I add a packet of Heniz Cook at Home sauces so its not 100% fresh!
She only has cans or jars if I'm on the run and I know there will be nowhere to defrost her cubes (I cube everything up separately in the freezer and just mix and match at each meal).
Yoghurt is the proper natural yoghurt (not the baby yoghurt which still has heaps of sugars and stuff) and for cheese I use ricotta or cottage cheese cos the processed stuff has HEAPS of sodium.
She barely has any sugar and has never had juice or lollies. Some say I'm being too strict but if she's never had it, then she won't (hopefully!) want it for years.

[troyandtaliahsmum]

Taliah has farex for brekky, jar food for lunch & fresh for dinner

[madlaina]

I started off with homemade purees of all sorts, then, once DS was established on solids, I'd buy the odd jar for when we were out and about. DS can't have dairy, so we were a bit limited in the choices. Also I found, having started DS on real food with taste, he didn't actually like most canned baby food, as its all really bland.(Funny, by giving him real food, I made DS a 'fussy' eater in that he doesn't tolerate blandness)
Basically, the only thing he would eat were the Rafferty's packs, so we used those until he was good at eating basically what we're eating, which was around 10 months. Now I don't bother with babyfood anymore, as he has plenty of teeth and knows how to use them, so no need (he's 15 months)

[Langgymummy]

I use fresh as much as I can though there are times when having a few spare cans in the cupboard come in handy!

[gentlemama]

Well it's been a fairly long time since my kid (now 4) started on solids but we did baby led, which means I only offered fresh whole foods that he could pick up and eat himself. No mush. Personally I think when they're developmentally ready to put hand to mouth in a coordinated fashion, they're ready to eat. Seeing little babies who can't even sit up yet being spoon fed mush seems really counter-intuitive to me.

[KaidensMum]

Seeing little babies who can't even sit up yet being spoon fed mush seems really counter-intuitive to me.
:iagree:


I chose Both, As a mum of an 8 months old son, I dont have the time to make/defrost his food for every meal, so he usually get Rafferty's Garden brand baby ceral, mixed with fruit, and lunch is usually jared food, but he gets all fresh snacks, and dinner is fresh!

[maorimama]

My children ate freshly prepared food when I was at home. If we were out I would get them a jar of fruit just for convenience.

[ButterflyMama]

My DD only ever had freshly made food. I don't see why she should eat the jarred stuff if I refuse to - it's revolting!

Plus we did Baby Led Weaning so it was kind of a non issue.

[Lil Mamma]

My boys both had fresh food as much as possible, I would take a can/jar if we would go out though so the food didn't spoil. I wouldn't eat from a can regularly so I wasn't comfortable giving my kids canned food.

[emily445455]

I will hopefully be using mostly fresh baby food when the time comes...but when that time actualy comes, we'll have to see :chef:

[Sarahg]

We made fresh food for DS1 until 12 months then we added cans of fruit. The only time jars were opened was when we travelled - 5 days in a car does not allow for freezing or microwaving!

DS2 has started on fresh food unfortunately there's not much chance of travel in the next 6 months so it'll all be fresh!:laughing:

[zoe20]

I use both for my kids and i think its great :yelclap:

[lachys_mama]

i tried to do both but my fussy boy would only eat home made stuff, it was a pain in the butt sometimes but we managed LOL

[acemum]

Fresh only (I think) but no baby jar food. when first on solids I would steam and freeze,:chef: now my DD mostly eats what DH and I have. DD usually has a sandwich for lunch, wheet bix for breakfast. mostly fruit and cheese for snacks. oh and yoghurt. I feel like I am cheating when I give her a biscuit. She also loves sultanas.

[chab]

fresh here, has been since she started.ive had rafferty's garden sachets in the cupboard, but have only really started using them now, when we go out, as shes at the stage to be past pureed food(hers is slightly chunky), and with the weather getting so hot, i think its safer to take prepackaged stuff, instead of running the risk of feeding her spoilt food.(must add here, before it started getting so hot, i took frozen homemade stuff with me), and when we go out i take chopped apple sticks, pear, sugar snap peas(raw), etc for snacks.the only premade stuff she has is baby pasta, yoghurt/custard(NOT THE TINNED CUSTARD!!!!!!!), rafferty's garden baby cereals, and rusks, although when this pack of rusks run otu, i will start making hjer some with wholemeal bread.
the one jarred food i tried her on, she very relucantly ate, and looked at us like we were eveil the whole time, lol-so yeah no jarred anymore.
as for fruit gels, fruits in jars, well i see it this way, when i cook her veg/meat/fruit, etc it doesnt take me sweet naff all time to do it-i can generally chop and get it done while she sleeps, then just wait till it boils down enough to mush roughly up.and the plus side i have freezer full of food for her-besides what jarred/tinned food has fresh beetroot/silverbeet etc in it?:chef::yelclap: besides my baby girl loves homemade,so why deny her of it?

[hayley90]

hey all
my 9 month old DD will eat anything. i feed madison homemade food for at home time and i take jar food if were going out somewhere, just makes it easier for me. but i usualy try to feed her up well on homemade food before we go out. only because jar food i find doesn have enuff nutriance in it.
Madison will eat
breakfast: weetbix and piece of toast/cruppet
Snack: yougurt/custurd ( not can stuff)
bottle
lunch: homemade food ( usually veggies and meat)
snack: tuna, fruit or some toast
dinner: home made food ( a different one from lunch)
snack: youghurt/ custard
bottle
bed.:sleeping:

[Cades]

Well it's been a fairly long time since my kid (now 4) started on solids but we did baby led, which means I only offered fresh whole foods that he could pick up and eat himself. No mush. Personally I think when they're developmentally ready to put hand to mouth in a coordinated fashion, they're ready to eat. Seeing little babies who can't even sit up yet being spoon fed mush seems really counter-intuitive to me.

I agree with this, and did the same, however a baby feeding herself roast pumpkin ends up with mash anyway :laughing:

Fresh food here (obviously from the above); it seemed to me to be the only logical choice. Although some of the processed baby food (eg fruit puree) is mostly fruit, the meals aren't healthy for babies at all. As a PP pointed out a lot of the nutrition is lost in the processing, and a lot of them only contain 50% food - the rest is tapioca starch mixed with water, which is what gives it that thick, jelly like consistency. Unfortunately, there's no nutrition at all in tapioca starch, and the ones with meat contain less than 10% meat (and many of them <5%) so the baby isn't getting a balanced meal. Too many carbohydrates, too much fructose, and not enough protein in them to make a healthy meal choice.