Ready made baby food vs homemade, which is suitable for you? Is ready made baby food healthy? Is the packaging OK? In this article, you can get all the information about ready made baby food.

Your infant will soon reach the age where he needs complementary foods in addition to breast milk or formula, and you need to know the amount and ingredients he needs, the types of foods you can prepare at home, and the way to store them. You may also have questions about some ready foods for children like organic food or ready made baby formula.

Home made baby foods are better. You can prepare all your baby’s food yourself. This is healthier and cheaper than buying ready made baby meals. You can easily puree cooked vegetables, fruits, grains and other suitable food and mix it with breast milk, formula or a little water to achieve the right concentration. You can also puree some of the food you cook for yourself before adding lots of seasonings. Storage containers or ice trays also help you to freeze leftover baby food more easily, although it is much better to feed your baby fresh food and avoid freezing food.

When starting complementary foods, keep in mind that the baby does not added need salt and sugar in his food in the first year of his life. Adding it to the infant’s diet can become one of the causes of problems such as obesity, diabetes and heart diseases in childhood or later, in addition to creating bad eating habits. Therefore, it is better to avoid adding salt and sugar to the baby’s food until one year old.

How to Choose ready made baby food

If for any reason you want to use ready made foods to feed your baby, you can find different types of complementary foods, including soup and puree, in stores. To choose the right complementary food for your child, you can consider the following.

Considering the age of the child when buying Ready made baby food

Infants have a sensitive digestive system that will grow over time. Therefore, at any age, some foods may not be suitable for them. The appropriate age for introducing it to the child is listed on the packaging of each complementary food, so make sure that the food is suitable for your child’s age.

Separation of foods

Until you make sure which foods your baby can eat and tolerate easily, give your baby only foods composed of one ingredient, then you can use a combination of it with another ingredient. For example, first, give your child pureed peas and after a few days try pureed peas and potatoes.

Product expiration date

Check the expiration date on the package carefully so that you don’t buy expired food, and ensure that the glass containers of these foods are completely sealed. The container door should have a slight depression in the middle, and when you open it, this depression should rise.

Food allergy

Some children may have an allergic reaction to cow’s milk protein, lactose in milk, or gluten in grains. For each of these allergies, special foods have been produced that do not contain these substances. So, according to your child’s condition and the doctor’s opinion, you can prepare food without gluten, lactose or other allergenic substances.

Additives

Pay attention to the ingredients on the packaging of ready meals. You might think from the names of some substances that they are dangerous chemicals, but that is not necessarily the case. For example, ascorbic acid is the same as vitamin C and cyanocobalamin is the same as vitamin B12. They are safe and essential.

Salt and sugar

It is emphasized again that children up to one year old do not need salt and sugar in food and the food you choose shouldn’t contain these substances. Although salt is not added to most prepared foods for children, it is not bad to avoid foods containing sugar and modified starch.

Preservatives

Although it is better for baby food to be free of preservatives, remember that food without preservatives spoils very quickly. Therefore, the presence of some preservatives in most ready made foods with a long shelf life is inevitable. If you want to prevent this, you should not use ready made foods.

Preparation instructions

Pay attention to the instructions on the package and follow it for use. Using more than the said amount may harm your child’s health.

Packing

Prepared foods are available in different packages, including glass, metal cans, and cardboard boxes. Some of them have a drinking straw and your child can suck the liquid or puree inside with the straw. When using this type of packaging, make sure that the habit of eating it does not prevent your child from practicing eating with a spoon and glass.

Finally, remember that when you have the opportunity to prepare fresh food and cook for your child, it is better not to use ready made food.