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: 

• is a great way to save money. 
• is easy! For tips on making baby food see our page, What Foods do I Offer my Baby First?  
• lets you change the texture to meet your baby’s growing needs. See our page on baby food textures for more information. 
• lets you control the ingredients. 

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 two 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 spoonfuls 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 three months. 

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 “toddler 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:
    • meat or poultry or 
    • meat or poultry mixed with vegetables (examples – stews) 
  • for up to two days:
    • jars of fruit or vegetables 
• Check your fridge temperature to make sure it is 4 C or colder. 

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

Adapted from Feeding Your Baby: 6 months to 1 year – Government of Manitoba

Resources

• Infant Nutrition – Health Canada 
• Feeding Your Baby 6 Months to 1 Year  

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.