The Easy Way to Feed Your Baby Without Resorting to Gerber

By Josh Day

Hey there, health-conscious parents. Have you tried making your own baby food, complete with fresh produce pureed in the food processor, then mixed with water to freeze in ice cube trays? If you're as busy as we are, you probably learned fast this was not the way to go!

We began feeding our son solids at four months. At three months he began to show a keen interest in what was going into our mouths. At four he was all but trying to snatch the food out of our hands. We knew it was time to introduce solids.

We tried making our own and quickly gave up on that. Too much time, too much mess, too many dishes. No thanks!

Ultimately, we turned to Beech Nut baby foods. But baby food is expensive and mass produced.

We decided we'd buy fresher -- and cheaper -- ingredients.

Here are some of the things we feed our baby:

1. King Oscar sardines in olive oil. Despite many people's initial yuck reaction, sardines are extremely good for you and contain more calcium than milk. You'd be surprised what your baby eats and enjoys, especially when you mash it and mix it with another favorite food. Sardines are small fish, so there is no worry for mercury contamination.

2. Goat milk. Unfortunately, we don't have access to raw goat milk, which has the most nutrients, so we have to settle for pasteurized. We buy goat milk at our local grocery store.

3. Canned vegetables like green beans, peas, carrots, and beets. We open a can, mash a small amount up with a fork, and often mix it with a meat.

We mix canned peaches, pears, and applesauce with rice cereal for breakfast.

No matter what canned items you choose, be sure to buy products with the least amount of additives -- no sugar, as little sodium as possible, with the fewest amounts of preservatives. You also want to avoid "heavy syrup" which is found in many canned fruit items.

Josh Day is a work-at-home dad who enjoys spending time with his son James. He and his wife Leah have written a practical guide to parenting for realistic people called Moderation Parenting. Learn more about their book and parenting method at http://moderationparenting.com

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