For most first-time parents, the arrival of the new “bundle of joy” comes with many questions and no manual.
“Why is the baby crying?”, “When will it sleep?” and “How to satisfy the growing appetite of little humans?” It’s all a great mystery and every parent has to solve theirs for themselves.
Luckily, there is a lot of information available these days. All you need to do is to pick and choose what is suitable for your particular case.
Baby food – where to buy it
By the 6th month with the baby, you probably feel like a parenting expert. But suddenly, you are at the weaning stage.
It is an important milestone which will lay the foundation for your child’s relationship with food. Improper nutrition can cause serious harm to young children. Therefore, this subject has to be approached with the utmost care.
When it comes to feeding, visit your local store. Or better Farmy! Here you can discover colourful jars and pouches. Or boxes with special baby rice and cereal, various snacks both sweet and savoury.
The right baby food for your ‘bundle of joy’
To help you navigate this wonderful and confusing world of baby food, manufacturers have added a key! They marked their products with numbers, which suggest the age (month) from which the food is safe to be consumed by your little one.
As long as the lid is sealed and the baby food jar is within “sale by” date, it’s good to eat. The standards for baby food are generally very high. Therefore, there should be one less worry for you as a parent.
Furthermore, jars and pouches usually contain only 3-4 ingredients. It’s easy to spot and manage possible allergies.
Certainly, this convenience comes at a price. Still, a visit to the special baby food category on our website might give you inspiration and guidance when you make baby food at home.
Prepare your own healthy baby food
If you have a masher and some silicone ice cube trays for freezing baby food, you can save money and reduce waste.
Boil or steam butternut squash, sweet potato and carrots. Mash it all together, add a bit of liquid, pour into ice cube trays and freeze.
Another easy and nutritious combination is boiled or steamed broccoli, courgette and spinach.
Also, start introducing spices into baby food, making it more flavoursome. A pinch of turmeric, cumin and ground coriander, cinnamon and nutmeg will lift the flavour of any boring mash. But avoid adding excess salt and sugar.
Give your child more independence by eating baby food
Would you like your child to be more independent when it comes to eating? You might find baby-led weaning to be a more suitable option.
Good news for you: forget mashing and spoon-feeding your little one.
Let your child pick up its food by itself and put it in its mouth. From soft, boiled vegetables, pieces of bread or cheese sticks to halved grapes.
As a part of healthy development, children learn by tasting. Turn lunches into a sensory experience that way. Many swear by this method, which results in less picky eaters at a later stage.
Still, if you think baby-led weaning is an easy option, think twice. More often than not, at least 50 % of food would be dropped on the floor for you to clean. It’s certainly a more wasteful method, despite the clear benefits.