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Seven BPA-Free Baby Food Alternatives
They say you are what you eat, so what parent would chance feeding their tot toxins? Just as American states have begun to pass legislation banning the use of BPA in plastic baby bottles and toys, a Canadian survey found the toxic compound in 84 percent of the glass-jarred baby food containers it sampled. The BPA is believed to have entered the baby food through the liners used on metal jar lids.
The Wean Machine: Kid Friendly or Are You Kidding?
Would you carry an extra gadget to press your child's lunch? For parents on the go, the Wean Machine ($25) is a portable tool for creating nutritious pureed meals. The BPA, phthalate and PVC-free gizmo can be filled with soft, ripe fruits and cooked veggies before it is squeezed to create foods for babes beginning their solid feeding.
Homemade Baby Food Straight From the Grocery Store
While homemade baby food may be back en vogue, mamas know how much time and effort it takes to steam and puree baby's first solid foods. Baby cookbook authors claim that the purees take just a little more forethought than their store-bought counterparts, but factor in the prep and cleanup time and it's easy to see why many busy parents and caretakers turn to jarred goods.
For parents with limited time and cooking skills who still wish to give their lil one's the freshest and most healthy first foods, we've rounded up some of the best mass market chilled and frozen baby food available.
Delilicious: Homemade Baby Food Is Back in Vogue
While past generations of parents had no alternative but to make their own baby foods, the introduction of jarred food changed the way American mamas fed their children. Pre-made food gave parents the flexibility to grab and go, and boasted certain health benefits that made moms and dads feel safe, so it makes sense that it became the mainstream method for feeding tots. But the organic movement and concern over the foods we give our children are changing the pureed food trend.
Simple Recipes to Start Making Baby Food at Home
You don't have to be a treehugger or a gourmet chef to whip up fresh food for your wee one. Last year, more than 40 percent of lilsugar readers told us that they made their own baby food. The process of steaming and then pureeing fruits, vegetables, and eventually meats is quick, easy, and incredibly satisfying.
Babycakes: Bake Sweets With Baby Food!
Once your baby has outgrown pureed foods, what's a mama to do with her stockpile of jars in the pantry? Well, Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown found a winning dessert in one mother's cupcake recipe. Made with pureed baby food, the moist and delicious pecan-laced treats satisfy a sweet-tooth of any age.
Do You Make Your Own Baby Food?
Many new moms fancy themselves the younger and hipper version of Martha Stewart. Wanting every morsel their tot eats to be fresh and nutrient filled, more moms are opting to churn out their own baby food. I tried my hand at it a few times and found that the grocer's supply of sweet potatoes was tastier than my own.
Delilicious: Tasty Baby
Baby food sometimes gives me the heebie jeebies. Not one to venture out and test the foods myself, I was convinced by Tastybaby's packaging and website that the infant food would be desirable for adults, too. The company prides itself on blast–freezing their organic recipes at peak flavor — giving the fare farm freshness and nutritional value.
Junior Jetset: Packin' Smart
Aside from lugging a carseat, carry–on bags and other items of entertainment with you for airplane travel, a savvy mom knows to cover her bases on the food front, too. The challenge is keeping all the necessary items in one easily accessible place so when the tot starts to amp up, you can settle him down with a quick fix of raisins or Cheerios.
The Packin Smart ($20) stacking tower makes it a cinch for moms on the go.
Delilicious: Beaba Baby Cook
For parents, who like to cook all of their tot's tasty meals, the Beaba Baby Cook is a heaven–sent product.
Hugely popular in Europe, Americans are now privy to the convenient meal–maker.
To learn more about this Beaba, read more
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