Managing The Cost of Baby Food

Here are some tips on managing the high cost of baby food, while providing baby with a healthier diet. When you have a baby in the household, there’s no question that the cost of baby food has a huge impact on the family food budget. The baby food available in the one or two serving jars ranges from about $0.65 to $1 per jar. This can add up fast. Moms have a built-in guilt complex when it comes to taking the best care of their babies and this feeling permeates everything that concerns the health and well being of baby. So it’s not surprising that many Moms assume that the baby food companies offer a superior nutritional product over a homemade baby food. However, many others are embracing the idea of making some of their own baby foods. Why? Let’s take a look at some of the facts to help you make the best choice for your child.

A recent government sponsored study compared the merits of commercial baby foods, including the newer organic baby foods. The criteria covered nutritional value and the cost of baby food, comparing the cost per pound and nutritional merit for home made foods versus commercial products. What they found may surprise you.

The commercial brands of pureed fruits and vegetables were found to be diluted, with water and ‘fillers’ by as much as 50%! Thus, the nutritive value was similarly diluted. This also therefore increases the cost of baby food, on a per pound basis against a similar quantity of the fresh produce, cooked and pureed. Applesauce was one fruit they made particular note of – they found that adult applesauce products were differentiated from baby food applesauce only by a slightly finer consistency and the dilution – resulting in less nutritive value – found in the baby food. The study concluded that feeding baby adult applesauce was less costly, nutritionally superior and that many babies preferred the adult product! Similar conclusions were reached on baby fruit juices.

Using fresh organic produce to puree in a blender is the most cost effective and nutritionally superior solution. One good solution to managing the cost of baby food is to puree a large batch at once and then freeze in ice cube trays. Once frozen, you put the cubes in a zipper freezer bag and use as needed. This method also allows you to have several fruits and vegetables on hand for a variety of menus ready to go. You can do the same thing with bananas. Add a teaspoon of lemon juice to each pureed banana, freeze in trays and bag. The lemon juices prevents discoloration.

If you have a food processor, you can use the same strategy with meats. If you’re cooking chicken tonight, just puree a portion for baby. Some parents feel that they cannot achieve the same fineness of texture as the commercial products and therefore feel it’s safer to just buy the meats, despite the cost of baby food meat products. Others choose to make their own.

Some people find that the convenience of baby food in ready-to-serve portions suits their circumstances best. Talk to your pediatrician for advice and you’ll be able to confidently reach a mix of how to best nurture your child, manage your food budget and the cost of baby food.