Your Baby’s First Foods: Make it Homemade
As a Mom and holistic Health Coach, my goal is to make informed decisions on anything that I believe will improve my kids' health. Nutrition has always been of utmost importance to me, and since the moment I had my first child, I never questioned whether or not I would make their food. It was simple to me: In a world where food is full of additives, toxins, and heavy metals, I wanted to be more in control of the first solid foods they ate.
This was both a choice and a preference of mine. Many parents choose to purchase premade food because it offers convenience and a sense of ease, which I understand. I always say that balance in everything – is everything – so every parent needs to do what is best for them.
If you do decide to buy baby food, it’s crucial to stay informed. After all, it’s now a billion-dollar industry, with marketing departments in control of what we see and read – meaning that what companies – from Cerebelly to Gerber – may promise to offer isn’t necessarily what’s delivered. There are loopholes that many brands jump through to further mislead consumers into thinking that their products are healthier and cleaner than they really are. This is a tactic called greenwashing, and it’s become increasingly common in the world of baby food. For instance, you’ll find “Clean Label Certified” stamped on many of today’s popular baby food packages, which indicates that they are free of metals, pesticides, plasticizers and chemicals. However, the “tests” these companies go through to ensure their products are safe – aren’t actually available to the public. Moreover, here are two examples of baby snacks produced by “clean” brands that still contain dangerous levels of toxins:
Cerebelly Smart Bars tested positive for 23 ppb Cadmium & 28 ppb Arsenic (5 ppb Cadmium & 10 ppb Arsenic in food are unsafe levels for kids).
Serenity Kids Grain Free Puffs tested positive for 24 ppb Lead & 18 ppb Cadmium (5 ppb Lead & 5 ppb Cadmium in food are unsafe levels for kids).
This isn’t to say that all packaged or store-bought baby food is junk – or that cooking baby food is entirely free of toxins. It’s hard to trust where so much of our food comes from today. However, for many, like me, it boils down to exposure. And at the end of the day, home cooking reduces your child’s level of exposure.
When starting your baby food journey, there are two simple questions you can ask yourself:
Would you eat a pouch filled with fruits and vegetables that typically require refrigeration, but has been sitting on a shelf?
Can you say with confidence that you trust how these ingredients are sourced and prepared?
For me, the answer I always came back to for both was no.
Here are the three main reasons why I advocate for integrating home cooking in your child’s first year as much as possible:
There’s a higher risk of additives in packaged food. Baby food is mass produced and pre-packaged, and in many cases, there are preservatives added to make it shelf stable. The only preservative we should see is Vitamin C, but some contain a variety of unlisted preservatives. How else would food survive in packages? How else could purees be exposed to variety of conditions when shipped? In addition, contaminants can make their way into store-bought baby food, even through the water used to make it. Lead, arsenic, cadmium are common, even for some of the food that is tested for these same chemicals.
Cooking is more affordable! People tend to think that eating healthy is too expensive, and then they opt out of buying certain produce or forego cooking altogether. However, it’s simply not true! While a pound of wild-caught salmon may cost $20, once you mix and puree it with two other ingredients (like a whole sweet potato and a cup of peas), you’ll now have 7-10 servings to store and freeze for later use.
To break it down further: The average cost of a baby 4oz food pouch in the U.S. is $2. Say that pouch consists of two ingredients: carrot and mango. For $2, you can buy an entire bag of organic carrots at Trader Joe’s. When you blend that with an organic mango that costs $1.70, you have now spent $3.70. After steaming and pureeing these two ingredients, you’ll have five 4oz servings. Five homemade veggies blends can cost $3.70 while five baby food pouches cost $10 (or more for organic brands).
You are in control of what you buy. When you cook your baby’s food, you can look at packaging, scan ingredients, and see which states your produce comes from. You can also choose to buy local at a farmer’s market or through a CSA. You aren’t relying on packaged food that is sourced and mixed by a company – or really, a business entity. It’s important to remember that even the most promising baby food companies often add labels solely for marketing purposes (i.e.: brain-boosting, science-based). It’s like eating our or ordering takeout – as soon as you choose this path, you’re relinquishing control and putting your trust or faith in a business. While some may feel totally comfortable with this, others like me, prefer to question everything and proceed with caution.
There are three simple rules I live by when it comes to preparing, cooking and feeding my kids’ their first solid foods:
Plan and prep ahead.
The thought of “being stuck in the kitchen” can feel tedious and daunting, and even more so if you’re a busy parent of multiples. But I can say from experience that it is 100% easier to do it when you have a game plan.
Before you go to the grocery store, write down exactly which foods or blends you’re planning to give to your baby for the week. Then, choose one or two days that you’ll prepare these foods. For me, I did everything on a Sunday afternoon during my kids’ nap time. Usually, an hour or two of prep time provided me with enough meals to feed my baby for five full days (this was when they were on three meals/day). Then on Thursday evenings, I would only need an hour to make meals for the weekend. When you mentally prepare and split your time this way, it feels more approachable and manageable.
The same goes for traveling. When I took my kids to Mexico, I had to make and freeze 30 meals for my eight-month-old son. But the same rule applied here: I created a plan that involved making 3-4 4oz servings every few days leading up to the trip. Once you create a plan that you can commit to, it no longer feels like a burden. Time management is key to creating better balance. There are enough hours in the day to tackle things that are important to you - it’s more about setting realistic expectations ahead of time, so you don’t get overwhelmed or stressed in the process.If you eat it, then your baby can too.
I use garlic and onion in nearly every meal I make. I also add a range of spices since it’s common for big Italian families like mine to enjoy rich flavor. So, why would I be afraid to season and add flavor to my baby’s food?
In the early stages, it’s best to keep it simple. Especially if you introduce solids at four months like me, you don’t want to shock your baby with a heavy dose of garlic. However, as they get older and become more adjusted to solids, it’s important to integrate flavors or seasoning that you use regularly. For instance, when I cook broccoli, I prefer to roast it with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. The same goes for my sweet potatoes. I always try to make extra of what I’m cooking (again - planning ahead helps here, too!) that way there are leftovers for me to blend for my baby. From a young age, my baby receives exactly what my husband and I eat – it might just look different as a puree. This helps reduce any added stress of having to cook two different meals for you and your kids. Allowing them to eat what you eat helps expand your child’s palate, it opens their senses to new textures and smells, and minimizes the future possibility of having a picky eater!
Cultivate healthy habits, starting at a few months old.
Creating and instilling healthy eating habits is probably one, if not, the most important thing you can do for your child. Too often, I see children who are picky and who can’t tolerate a wide variety of foods. Or children who can’t sit still during a meal and prefer to get up from the table. Of course, kids will be kids, and we can’t expect them to behave all the time. But some of it is also learned behavior. Today, our culture tends to prioritize convenience over structure and quick meals over togetherness. Similar to how we should encourage our children to eat the colors of the rainbow, we should also encourage them to adapt healthy routines, especially around mealtime. Baby food pouches teach our children to suck food down, which is often much faster than spoon feeding. A baby might eat one pouch and then immediately cry for another because they didn’t have time to process and enjoy the food they just consumed (not to mention that sucking isn’t how food should be eaten, period). In addition, babies can hold pouches and feed themselves at an earlier age. While this may sound appealing to parents, spoon feeding fosters a more social environment around engagement and bonding. Remember that food is about meant to be enjoyed, together.
On the other hand, we shouldn’t shy away from trying all types of veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein. If your baby doesn’t like squash the first time, then try again. If they spit it out a second time or have a bad reaction, it might be best to wait a few weeks before re-introducing squash. Encouragement and consistency are the building blocks of developing a healthy relationship with food – for good. If you want your baby to continue to have an expansive palate as they grow, then you should introduce real food as early as you can. Babies learn what they live, so it’s truly never too early to start.
If you read this and don’t know how or where to start, don’t hesitate to reach out! As an experienced Mom and passionate health advocate, I refer to starting solids as a journey because that’s exactly what it is – one that takes time, effort, research, and trial and error before you get it right. No matter what you decide to do, your journey is yours and I hope some of this information helps guide you along the way.
