19Jan
| Pros of Buying Jars of Baby Food | Cons of Buying Jars of Baby Food |
| Super convenient | Some baby food in the past has contained high levels of toxins |
| Less mess | Creates more waste for landfills |
| Less time | Your options are limited |
| Won't have as many leftovers | It is expensive |
Our little girl turned four months old, and I was ecstatic to give her food. Like all parents, I faced the decision to make or buy pre-made baby food. After thinking through the pros and cons, I decided to make my baby food. I hope this list will help you choose what is good for you and your baby.
Pros of Buying Jars of Baby Food
- Jars of baby food are super convenient. These are great on the go. No need to blend, refrigerate, heat, or cool.
- Baby food in jars allows you to avoid the mess. It isn't fun to use the blender to create a few Tablespoons worth of food.
- Bought baby food takes less time. If you decide to give your baby butternut squash, you have to cut, boil, cool down, and finally blend before serving.
- You won't have so many leftovers. Your baby will probably only eat 4oz of that squash you cooked up. I hope you like squash!!!!
Cons of Buying Jars of Baby Foods/ Pros of Making Baby Food
- You may be feeding your baby toxins. Recently several news articles have mentioned discoveries of high levels of toxins in baby food.
- Buying Jars creates more waste. After the food is out of a 4 oz. jar, the jar or plastic is discarded only to contribute to the overflowing landfills.
- Jars of baby food are limiting. By five months my baby had had blended tacos, blended chili, and blended pasta. This type of baby food isn't offered at the store.
- The cost is outrageous. Using the Walmart prices, I calculated the difference in cost between jars of baby food vs. homemade (see chart bellow). The homemade prices are higher than they should be, as I didn't include the needed water to blend the food in my calculations.
How much Does Jars of Baby food cost vs DIY Baby Food?
| Baby Food Brand and Flavor | Cost/4oz. | Food for DIY Baby Food | Cost/4 oz. | How much do you save by making your own baby food? |
| Parent's Choice: Banana | .48¢ | Fresh Banana | 15¢ | 33¢ |
| Gerber's Butternut Squash | 71¢ | Fresh Squash | 30¢ | 41¢ |
| Gerber's Pear | 81¢ | Fresh Pear Bottled Pear | 37¢ 25¢ | 44¢ 56¢ |
| Parent's Choice Apple | 48¢ | Fresh Apple Apple Sauce | 34¢ 21¢ | 14¢ 27¢ |
| Beech-nut Carrot | 98¢ | Fresh Carrots Canned Carrots | 12¢ 16¢ | 86¢ 82¢ |
| Gerber's Carrot | 68¢ | Fresh Carrots Canned Carrots | 12¢ 16¢ | 56¢ 52¢ |
| Gerber's Mango | 81¢ | Frozen Mangos | 62¢ | 19¢ |
| Beech-Nut Green Beans | 98¢ | Canned Green Beans | 14¢ | 84¢ |
| Gerber's Green Beans | 81¢ | Canned Green Beans | 14¢ | 84¢ |
"Our goal is to help the world make decisions with a list of Pros and Cons. We invite all to add to our lists to help others make the most educated decision possible. We are all in this world together to help each other and learn from what others have learned from their lives journey." - Pros and Cons Team
Written By: Kristen
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