Baby Food: Making or Buying?

Your baby’s food can be homemade, store bought, or a combination of both. Homemade baby food is easy to prepare, inexpensive and stores well. While store bought baby food can be convenient, it is more expensive and may contain extra sugar and salt.

Homemade Baby Food

Making your own baby food:

Hot parent tips:
  • Homemade baby food doesn’t need to be bland. You can add herbs and spices to make it flavourful. Avoid adding salt, sugar or other sweeteners. This helps your baby get used to the nature flavours of the food.

Storing your homemade baby food

  • Don’t leave homemade baby food at room temperature for more than two hours.
  • Vegetables and fruit prepared for your baby can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days. Check your fridge temperature to make sure it is 4°C or colder.
  • Meat, poultry, fish and eggs prepared for your baby can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours
  • You can either freeze homemade baby food in ice cube trays or drop spoonful’s onto a cookie sheet.
  • Once frozen, store in freezer bags. Write the type of food and date on the freezer bag. Frozen baby food can be kept in the fridge freezer for up to 3 months.

 Adapted from Healthy Child Manitoba, Feeding Your Baby: 6 months to 1 year

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Store Bought Baby Food

There are many different kinds of store bought baby food. To choose and use store bought baby food:

  • Read the ingredient list.
    • Look for whole foods as the first ingredient. For example, squash, carrots or chicken.
    • Avoid baby food with added sugar, salt, margarine, butter or fillers (starches like corn or rice).
  • Organic and non-organic baby food generally have the same amount of nutrients.
  • Some products are marketed as “fun food” or “toddlers snacks.” They often have added sugar and salt which your baby does not need.
    • If you are looking for easy, on-the-go snacks you can grate cheese, chop up fruit or try bite-sized nut butter and bread pieces (keep foods fresh and safe with an ice pack).
Food safety tips:
  • Don’t buy or use baby foods after their “best before date”.
  • Make sure the baby food has been properly sealed:
    • Jars should make a popping sound when first opened.
    • Packages are sealed.
    • If you are not sure, throw it away.
  • Feed your baby from a bowl and not directly from the jar. This will prevent your baby’s saliva from spoiling the whole jar. Throw away any food in the bowl that your baby does not eat.
  • Don’t leave opened containers of store bought baby food at room temperature for more than two hours. Store them in your fridge.
  • Cover opened jars and store in fridge:
    • for up to one day, if baby food has:
      • meats and poultry or
      • meat or poultry mixed with vegetables (examples – stews)
    • for up to two days:
      • jars of fruit or vegetables and store
  • Check your fridge temperature to make sure it is 4°C or colder.

Adapted from UnlockFood.ca , All About Store Bought Baby Food

Adapted from Healthy Child Manitoba, Feeding Your Baby: 6 months to 1 year

More Information:

Questions?

If you have a nutrition or food question, call Dial-a-Dietitian Manitoba at 204-788-8248 in Winnipeg or 1-877-830-2892. The Dial-a-Dietitian phone number is currently redirected to Health Links-Info Santé. You can leave a message with a nurse and a dietitian will return your call.