My thoughts on what to feed my baby

Long before I had Emmett I knew I wanted breastfeed my babies.  It just seemed amazing to have that bond with my child and to give them exactly what God and nature intended for them to eat.  While I was pregnant I saw a book for homemade baby food am I became hooked.  I LOVE making Emmett's food!  There are so many wonderful fruits and vegetables that babies cannot get from a jar that I can make right at home!  By making his food myself I know that the food is in its most nutritious form.  Yes jarred baby food is nutritious too but during the bottling process nutrients are lost when the product is heated so the jars are less nutritious then what I can make myself.  Making the food is so easy.  All I have to do is peel, core and chop the fruit or veggie, steam it till soft then puree the heck out of it until it is the consistency I want.  The food is frozen in ice cube trays then popped out and place in freezer bags for up to 6 weeks!  Another benefit to making baby food is cost.  Jarred baby food is on average $0.25per/oz whereas I can do it for about $0.05per/oz.  Now I know that not everyone has the time or the desire to make their baby food and you know what that is perfectly fine!  Making baby food is just something I enjoy doing.

As Emmett is getting to the finger food stage I have been thinking about all the processed foods out there we all snack on and I started to freak out a little.  I really do not want Emmett having some of those things, at least not for a while!  My number one no nos for a long time are juice (unless sick I really do not see the purpose of it, empty calories to me), soda (why do we even drink the stuff?  Tasty? yes but full of stuff that is not so good for us.), crackers (have you seen the sodium content on those things and the preservatives!!!)  Now I know that in moderation or as an occasional treat these things are just fine but I do not want my kids having them as part of there daily diet.  Do I sound a bit paranoid?  Yes I am sure I do but seeing all the health problems kids have these days I am really worried!  I want to make as many homemade things as I can.  Something I have decided to do for the rest of the summer is try recipes for processed food I use on a daily basis (i.e. cream of chicken/mushroom soup, crackers, etc.)  and see how I like it and that is will not be all time consuming.  Also from now until school starts in August I am only going to drink water and see how that makes me feel.