Once I knew that I was going to have a baby I couldn't help but notice all of the "food" marketed for infants and children. They start with the formulas and move onto to the purees and cookies, and veggie sticks, etc, etc, ad naseum. What ever happened to the idea of feeding your children what you eat?
Now, a 4 month old child should probably not be fed the fajitas you are eating at your favorite local restaurant. However, a one year old with enough teeth should be eating table foods that the rest of the family eats. We did the jar food thing until RetroKid had enough teeth to eat what we were eating. We also gave him some of the things we were eating before he had teeth. Things like baked sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, soups, you get the idea. Problem with RetroKid is that he still only has 6 teeth and he's roughly 16 mos old...
I began buying into the idea that I might be a bad Mom if I wasn't going to purchase the sundry of food items that were available at my local store. I began voraciously reading labels and comparing prices of the various brands and types. As I started to load my cart with these items, something dawned on me: none of the garbage existed when I little....
This brought me to a realization: I was being sucked in by the giant tractor beam known as "marketing". I immediately put everything back on the shelf and proceeded to the other sections of the grocery store. There are so many inexpensive and healthier options to feed your children that are located outside of the Infant section. Not to mention most of these things do not have nearly the amount of preservatives and dyes and sweetners that processed food do.
Bananas are always a great snack, portable and come in their own sealed bag, apples are good for kiddos with teeth, but apple sauce is now sold in individual containers that are super easy to store or transport. Baked sweet potatoes are easier than you might think, mashed potatoes are terrific and don't always have to be home made. Animal crackers are a classic and have always been a favy of mine. They are low in fat for the grown ups in the house and terrific snacks for the tri-cycle motors and super cheap!!!! Green peas are the perfect size for kiddos just learning to eat, rice is good too as well as some green beans or corn. Boiled or scrambled eggs for the kids over one year and without dairy allergies, oh and yogurt too! Those live, natural cultures are great for kids and help them replenish all those good bacteria in the digetive tract after a round of antibiotics. ( I am not a doctor, just a mom)
So many things have been made easier for us now. So for RetroParents who want to feed their kiddos two veggies at dinner, pop two different microwavable bag vegetables in the microwave. Super fast and easy!
I wanted to see what you all thought about this. I know one of my favorites growing up was Peanut Butter (creamy for me please!) with grape jelly, cheetos and some red Kool-Aid. I know that health nuts today probably cringe at the idea, but it's tasty and a summer time favy to this day.
Whatever happened to PB&J?
- by , on Mon Jun 2, 2008 6:07pm PDT
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Posted by Mon Jun 2, 2008 9:09pm PDT
Report AbuseWhen my oldest was little she was munching on biscuits, shredded turkey or chicken, and mashed potatoes even before she was a year. Like you I am a firm believer in feeding regular food early on. I don't go overboard and feed them things theyt couldn't possibly chew or swallow at a younger age but they all were introduced early on to rice, cooked beans and green beans, finely chopped fruit and veggies, and meats that were shredded fine enough for them to chew. Other options to baby foods early on are certain yogurts and custards, breads, and noodles chopped up on the plate. My kiddos did fine with this after about 10 months. My oldest however was 7 1/2 months her first Thanksgiving and I have pictures of her downing that biscuit and turkey.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 7:09am PDT
Report AbuseMy oldest is nearly 5 now and we are expecting another baby in a few weeks. When my son was small I was broke, so I got a manual food grinder and when we sat down for meals he got what we were eating. Toss in nearly anything at all, turn the handle and there ya go! You have baby food. No more buying the jarred stuff thats been overcooked, preservative added, sugar added and color added. Not to mention super expensive. My son had a big appetite so the times where I would pack a few jars (long car trips) he would eat 2 of the big jars easily. If I had fed him the jarred food on a regular basis I would have been spending more money than you could imagine. If you want to feed your child whatever you are eating then get a grinder. It grinds fine enough for the smallest babies and you can get them manual or electric. And BTW I LOVE pb&j! Creamy for me with strawberry jelly :) YUM!
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 8:09am PDT
Report AbuseLove the PBJ myself, also creamy with strawberry jelly. :) But, can't eat them at school next year, as we're getting a kiddoe with severe peanut butter allergies. BTW, these are on the rise (why? don't know!) So, if introducing peanut butter to a toddler, consult a pediatrician on the safest way to do it. Apparently for a lot of these young ones, this treat is deadly.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 8:16am PDT
Report AbuseAt 16 months, my daughter doesn't eat anything that we don't eat. We stopped going to the infant section once she started eating solids. Most of the stuff that they sell there you can make yourself in larger quantities for a lot cheaper. As for the PBJ, they are no recommending that you hold off on the PB until 2 years old because of problems with peanut allergies. I tried giving my oldest a PBJ at about 1 year old and she broke out in hives. It was very scary! She seems to have out grown it now at 3 but I have been too chicken to try the PBJ again. As for teeth, it is amazing how many things they can eat without the teeth. You just have to cut it up smaller.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 10:57am PDT
Report AbuseMy daughter, who is now 7, refused to eat anything she could not feed to herself. So she pretty much just breastfed until about 15 months or so. Then I fed her eggs and cheerios and mashed fruits and veggies. Baby food wasn't even an option. Anytime I made something spicy like tacos, I would just take out some of the meat before I added the seasoning.
She was fine and she is willing to try new things a lot more than kids who have been fed baby foods. Baby food does cost WAY too much for what you get anyhow.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 11:17am PDT
Report AbuseNot only is the baby-specific food unnecessary, it's also overpriced versions of food you can find in the "adult" food aisles for much cheaper.
For all the money spent on jarred foods over a year's time, a mid-line food processor does the same job. Teeth or no teeth, babies don't usually chew their food well, anyway. As long as it's cut up or shredded small enough to go down the hatch and not get stuck on anything along the way, it's good enough.
I started all of my kids on PB&J around 8-9 months. There are no peanut allergies in our families so I wasn't worried so much about that. PB is a staple in our house...esp with HONEY AND BANANAS!! MMMM!!!
I digress.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:17pm PDT
Report AbuseI am a teacher in a Daycare I have the 18 to 24 month olds, The smartest most advanced child in my class was the one who ate leftovers from the night before for lunch, She never ate baby food her mom breastfed until 15 months and she ate what ever mom and dad did. I don't know if tht means anything but thought I would share.
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Posted by Tue Jun 3, 2008 12:46pm PDT
Report AbuseI did the same as Beth R with my little one. I just ground stuff up in a food grinder. As an added plus, I froze it in little cubes in an extra ice cube tray, in case we were eating something not easily digested by little ones, or if you were going somewhere and not sure what was being served. I saved tons of money and very rarely bought jars of baby food.
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