I have rediscovered a very important lesson this month -- I cannot do it all! Shocking, yet true. sigh.
In the midst of finding our first home and the shear torture of escrow, trying to pack -- and my baby's first birthday party (I won't cry, I won't cry ...) -- I digressed on my baby-making food duties. My poor kid has had peas and apples every day for almost a week. I think he's turning green.
I hate to admit it, but I have finally given in and bought a supply of jarred baby food. Sometimes this stuff actually comes in handy, afterall.
And, in my fretful sleeps I have come to the conclusion that life happens. I am still doing what I feel is the best for my now toddler and I promise to break out the steamer as soon as I can find it in the boxes.
I came across an article that may be of some help to other parents like me who can't even seem to make up my mind let alone some homemade baby food. "Cheating babies: Nutirtional quality and cost of commercial baby food report," by the Center for Science in the Public Interest took major baby food brands, including Gerber, Heinz and Beech Nut, and tested samples for additives and fillers. Ultimately the conclusion was making your own food was extremely cheaper and healthier, when you look at the various sugars, salt and starches added to commercial baby food. However, they did note that Beech Nut (and another brand that my store doesn't carry and I can't think of the name of at the moment) had less sugars, salt and starches than the powerhouse Gerber and Heinz.
Another article, "Making every spoonful count," relates when the various baby food manufacturers eliminated certain fillers in some or all of their foods (Gerber just announced last year that it would "reformulate" 42 of its products; currently, Gerber touts 121 products without added starches and sugar. Meanwhile, Beech Nut was the leader in removing salt from baby foods in the 1970s, and removed starches in the mid-1980s).
So, if you are finding your life a little more than frazzled as I have this month, please do not feel guilty for giving your baby jarred baby food (even parents who don't make baby food at all should not feel guilty that they are feeding their baby jarred food). Sometimes life happens. but do read these two articles so you will know which jars to pick up when you need to.
In the midst of finding our first home and the shear torture of escrow, trying to pack -- and my baby's first birthday party (I won't cry, I won't cry ...) -- I digressed on my baby-making food duties. My poor kid has had peas and apples every day for almost a week. I think he's turning green.
I hate to admit it, but I have finally given in and bought a supply of jarred baby food. Sometimes this stuff actually comes in handy, afterall.
And, in my fretful sleeps I have come to the conclusion that life happens. I am still doing what I feel is the best for my now toddler and I promise to break out the steamer as soon as I can find it in the boxes.
I came across an article that may be of some help to other parents like me who can't even seem to make up my mind let alone some homemade baby food. "Cheating babies: Nutirtional quality and cost of commercial baby food report," by the Center for Science in the Public Interest took major baby food brands, including Gerber, Heinz and Beech Nut, and tested samples for additives and fillers. Ultimately the conclusion was making your own food was extremely cheaper and healthier, when you look at the various sugars, salt and starches added to commercial baby food. However, they did note that Beech Nut (and another brand that my store doesn't carry and I can't think of the name of at the moment) had less sugars, salt and starches than the powerhouse Gerber and Heinz.
Another article, "Making every spoonful count," relates when the various baby food manufacturers eliminated certain fillers in some or all of their foods (Gerber just announced last year that it would "reformulate" 42 of its products; currently, Gerber touts 121 products without added starches and sugar. Meanwhile, Beech Nut was the leader in removing salt from baby foods in the 1970s, and removed starches in the mid-1980s).
So, if you are finding your life a little more than frazzled as I have this month, please do not feel guilty for giving your baby jarred baby food (even parents who don't make baby food at all should not feel guilty that they are feeding their baby jarred food). Sometimes life happens. but do read these two articles so you will know which jars to pick up when you need to.
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