Baby

Check the cupboards of the average family with a baby, and you'll find at least one shelf loaded with little glass baby-food jars. Not at Gillian James's house, though.

James, a chef by trade, bought very little commercial baby food for her three children, now ranging in age from 18 months to nine years. "It's cheaper to make your own," she explains, "and I just think that fresh or frozen produce is better than canned - for babies, too." James also wanted to avoid the fillers, like starch and tapioca, that are sometimes added to commercial baby foods. These fillers, which are especially common in mixed vegetable or fruit purees and in "dinners," add calories while diluting the food value.

Karen August found another reason to make her son Liam's first foods: less waste. "When you're starting off with solids, the servings are tiny at first. So you only use maybe two teaspoons at a time from the jar, and once it's opened it doesn't keep forever. I found I was throwing a lot out. Whereas when I made a batch of my own food, I would freeze it in one-tablespoon-size servings, and hardly waste any."

James and August both say that preparing baby food doesn't take much extra time or effort: "I'd do it at the same time I was preparing meals," says James. "Usually I'd just steam extra of whatever vegetables we were eating, then puree them in the blender with a little water and freeze in a couple of ice-cube trays."

"I used a hand-blender for the puree, and froze the food in plastic sandwich bags," says August. "At mealtime, I'd just pull out a selection of fruits and vegetables and put the bags in hot water to thaw."

Even parents who rely mainly on commercial baby food may want to make some of their own when their baby is ready for more variety. Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and zucchini all make good baby foods but aren't available in the stores. "Liam really loved roast parsnips," recalls August. Ripe avocado, mango and papaya don't even need to be cooked - just mashed or pureed.

November 1997