by Deborah Percy

Created on: October 18, 2009

Shop bought baby food is convenient, ready made and ready to eat. Any thing which reduces the amount of chores a new mom is burdened with must be a good thing. It could be argued that ready made baby food, offers much more, that it is the best food for babies.

Parents will often see it written and hear it said that home made baby food is best, but what does best mean? There is a suggestion that home cooking might be more nutritious and may be cheaper than ready made baby food. These assertions are not backed up by evidence and it is quite plausible that shop bought baby food may actually be better,

There is a myth that shop bought baby food is packed with starch, artificial fillers and very little of what we would recognize as normal ingredients. This is because research some 30 years ago showed that, at that time, shop bought baby food was a low quality, stodgy, cocktail.

Today, in British supermarkets, the baby-food shelves are dominated by organic brands and the labels reveal the pure, natural contents within the little jars. There is a huge choice of wholesome meals, which genuinely taste delicious.

The jars of food have been packaged in commercial kitchens where food hygiene would normally be of the highest standard.

How does the food compare on price? For 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of organic baby food, which will contain pure fruit or vegetables, one can expect to pay between 40p to about 1.30.

The ingredients of a 40p jar of carrots and potatoes might only cost 15p to buy raw from the same shop. Those root vegetables must be stored at home, prepared, cooked and then possibly stored in the freezer, meanwhile pots and pans must be washed up. Not only is there considerable time and effort to achieve the same result at home, there is also real financial cost in the fuel bills used to prepare the food. The more expensive baby food jars usually contain a complicated meal with many ingredients, some of which may be quite exotic.

The jars are also excellent value for money because babies like them. They like the flavors, they like the texture. Industrial food processing achieves a consistency which is difficult to match at home, the perfect puree.

In conclusion, a summary of the benefits of ready made baby food bought from shops in little jars and packets:

They are convenient to take when out or traveling;

They have the perfect consistency, well blended or pureed;

They are perfectly packaged in small sizes;

There should be less wastage due to small portions and ideal texture;

The represent good value for money;

They reduce the amount of food preparation which must be done at home;

They are made from wholesome ingredients.

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