Comparing Gerber vs. Homemade Baby Food
As a parent, you want the best for your baby. You want to keep them safe and healthy and ensure they’re getting all the nutrients they need to grow. That’s why we’ve decided to compare Gerber vs. homemade baby food: two options for feeding your little one!
When you walk down the baby section of your grocery store, you will see lots of jars of baby food. Are these as good as homemade baby foods that you prepare yourself? The answer is yes and no. The significant advantage of commercially available baby foods is that they’re affordable and accessible. When I go on vacation or anticipate being out with my toddler for a long time, I always bring a jar of Gerber food. It’s a sure way of giving my child good food with little mess. The key word here is convenience.
Gerber vs. Homemade Baby Food – Who is the winner?
The short answer: it depends. If you’re concerned about the quality of the ingredients in your store-bought baby food, you might want to consider making your own. But buying Gerber can be a great alternative if you’re worried about the cost or just too busy with work and family life to spend hours making purees from scratch daily.
Remember that the FDA requires that all baby foods sold in stores meet strict safety standards. However, those standards don’t apply to homemade baby food. So, while there’s no guarantee that homemade baby food is safer than store-bought, it can be less expensive (and more nutritious) than what companies like Gerber make available. That said, Gerber has been around since 1928 and has been serving babies ever since, so they know what they’re doing regarding nutrition!
- Read also: Best Baby Slings and Carriers.
Gerber vs. Homemade Baby Food – Why Homemade Baby Food may be Better?
First, when comparing Gerber vs. homemade baby food, you need to know that homemade foods are more likely to contain bacteria and can be harder to store and prepare than their commercial counterparts. If you make your baby food, thoroughly wash all produce before cooking or blending it! So why are you doing it?
- No additives: When you prepare your baby food, you know what’s in it. Typically, you add a little water to help cook the food, and that’s all. Click here to learn how to cook baby food.
Do you know what’s in the baby food jars in the grocery store? This study determined that Heinz and Gerber (Stage 2) baby foods have added water and thickening agents (Stage 1 Gerber foods were not diluted with fillers). These additives do not harm your toddler, but they are not the best food. Plus, it’s not a cost-effective way to feed your family. Why pay for starchy thickeners? - Fresher: If you make your baby food daily, homemade food is fresher, more nutritious, and tastier than the jars on the grocery store shelves. Admittedly, most Moms prepare baby food in larger batches and freeze it in small serving sizes. So, some of the nutrients will be lost during freeze & thaw.
- Variety and Flavor: You can expect to find 20+ flavors of baby food at any one grocery store – that’s a good selection. But if you prepare your baby food, you will have more choices! In addition to a greater variety of foods, you can also flavor the food to match the flavors & ingredients you & your family are eating. This way, your toddler will gradually accept and incorporate the table foods your family eats. If you have been breastfeeding, your toddler might already be primed to accept table foods.
- Price: A jar of baby food is only about 70¢, so that’s pretty affordable. However, homemade baby food is even cheaper! The cost of the food itself is less than what you pay to buy prepared baby food. With homemade baby food, you only pay for the food itself; you don’t have to pay for labor, shipping, storage, and the cost of the jar itself.
- Environmentally Friendly:… what happens to the baby jar after your toddler eats the food? It goes into the garbage or recycling bin. Making your baby food is more environmentally friendly because you won’t need to dispose of all those baby jars.
Here are a few reasons why you might want to avoid making your food:
- It can be time-consuming, especially if you’re trying to make large batches of food at once. It takes time for babies to eat through their first year of life—and if yours is anything like mine, they’ll probably want something new every day! That means lots of prep work and cleaning up after each mealtime. Not only that but there are many other things that parents must take care of daily. You might not have the time or energy to make homemade baby food—and that’s okay! If you’ve tried it and decided it wasn’t for you, that’s fine.
- Commercial baby food is convenient and easy to use; some brands even come in individual packages ready to serve once opened.
- See Gerber Food Here
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