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Waiting to Eat
Store Nature's Baby Foods for Your New Arrival
By Heather Johnson Durocher
Hope Ward liked saving money and knowing exactly what her now 8-year-old and 6-year-old children were eating.
"It's cheaper than commercial baby foods and the fact that I know what goes into their food helped a lot, too," says Ward, of Massey, Md., whose mother taught her the finer points of canning and freezing fruits and vegetables when she was a teenager. "I grew the produce, knew there were no chemicals used during the growing season, and put no additives for color preservation in them. Also, I like the sense of accomplishment when putting together a meal that I really started from scratch – by growing it."
Perhaps you have a green thumb and grow numerous vegetables and fruits in your backyard. A garden certainly is an excellent source of nourishment for your baby, but visiting area farm markets as well as the grocery store also can offer a variety of produce options.
Wherever it comes from, experts advise parents to use high-quality products, meaning those that are fresh and free of nicks and bruises. Some parents also encourage buying – or raising – certified organic produce whenever possible. And, knowing what foods to introduce to your baby is important.
"The decision of what foods to offer my children, and in what sequence to be able to tell if they would have an allergic reaction to a certain food, was provided by my pediatrician," says Ward, who offered what she calls her "kids' cuisine" to son Seth at 5 months and daughter Cara at 6 months. "The pediatrician told me to offer cereal first, then introduce applesauce, then pears, then some bland vegetables, then the more complex veggies and fruits such as bananas or broccoli."
Cleaning vegetables and fruitsunder cool water, and possibly with a produce brush, also is critical, says Jennifer Berkey, a Michigan State University Extension home economist based in northern Michigan.
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