Daily Preparedness

By special request, here’s an addendum just for those with little ones in the house. Before proceeding, be CERTAIN that you consult your baby’s pediatrician as to current guidelines for the introduction of semi-solid, solid and finger foods. Let your physician know of any family history of food allergies. NEVER leave a baby or young child alone while they are eating!

Loving parents of Little Ones are the perfect targets for the savvy marketeer. The Ad Guys know that parents who want to do what is best for their baby are often chronically tired, over-worked and short on time. This combo plate of weaknesses allows those Ad Guys to convince you that you need to part with a greater portion of your hard earned cash to keep your baby well fed, happy and ‘in’ with the other babies. Ah, but you are smarter, aren’t you?

Let’s start with the littlest of babies, the beautiful little newborns. Newborn humans cannot tolerate solid food and must be fed with either breast milk or a formula designed to replicate breast milk. The health benefits of breast feeding are well established. However, have you considered the economic benefit? Conservative estimates are that the breastfed baby costs at least $1500 a year less to feed than the formula fed baby. The savings takes into account the added calories required by the nursing mother.

As baby progresses to semi-solid foods, the marketing gurus go into high gear! Buckle up your wallets and protect yourself from the slings and arrows of ads especially tailored to pierce your financial armor.

The first weapon in your self-protection arsenal is the knowledge that you can prepare at home nearly any baby food your Little Darling will ever need. The ingredients are easily accessible, quickly assembled and DO NOT have to come in cute packages with little chubby baby faces. Recipes abound on multiple reputable websites for everything from baby cereal (whirl some instant oatmeal from the adult grocery aisle in the blender, add hot water and you have ‘baby’ cereal) to combination meals for older babies.

Is your baby ready for applesauce? Purchase a large jar of unsweetened, all-natural applesauce from the ‘adult aisles’. Freeze the applesauce in ice cube trays for single serving portions. When frozen, pop out the ’sauce’ cubes and store in ziploc bags. Going out for the morning? Pop a frozen portion in a small bag or plastic bowl and allow to thaw. Difference in cost? ‘Baby’ applesauce is $2.18lb. ‘Regular’ applesauce in small containers is $1.32lb. In a large jar? 87 cents a pound.

Bananas? Smoosh a ripe one and you have baby bananas. Again, freeze the excess or eat it yourself for a healthy snack. Baby food bananas? $2.49lb. ‘Regular’ bananas? 39 cents per pound.

Veggies? Mash up a baked sweet potato. Purchase salt-free canned vegetables and smoosh them up! Canned lima beans, peas, green beans, sliced beets, asparagus and other soft vegetables become baby food quickly and offer you a huge savings. If baby can’t eat the entire can within a day or two, freeze the left-overs in ice cube trays. Baby food peas?  $2.18 per pound. ‘Regular’ peas? 45 cents per pound.

Fruits? In addition to bananas and applesauce, don’t forget the wide variety of canned (in juice, not syrup) fruits available as well as frozen fruits (without added sugar). Thawed frozen strawberries are mushy already! Canned pears are easy to mash or cut up for a baby ready for finger foods. ‘Baby’ pears? $2.18+ per pound. Canned pears? 60 cents a pound.

Proteins? Scrambled eggs, smashed up hard-boiled eggs, mild white fish (microwave a small piece), boiled or canned chicken can be reduced easily and quickly to a moosh that baby can swallow. ‘Baby’ chicken & noodles? $6.33 lb. ‘Regular’ chicken noodle soup? 76 cents per pound.

Carbs? Baked sweet potato, soft cooked pastas, canned beans, rice, quinoa, oatmeal and other grains can be cooked and pureed for your spoon fed baby. Frozen cooked carbs without added salts, fats or preservatives are a great alternative. Cooked items can always be pureed and frozen in individual-sized portions. ‘Baby’ pasta? $3+ per pound. ‘Regular’ pasta? As little as 69 cents a pound. ‘Baby’ oatmeal? $3.19 pound. ‘Regular’ oatmeal? 98 cents pound.

If you want to speed up the mashing process, purchase an inexpensive baby food mill. Many fresh fruits can be easily ground in the baby mill. Watermelon, blueberries, raspberries, ripe mango, strawberries, kiwi and any other soft fruit can be processed quickly and easily. AGAIN, CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR ABOUT FEEDING GUIDELINES AND HOW TO INTRODUCE NEW FOODS. BE ESPECIALLY ALERT TO REACTIONS TO HIGH ACID FOODS SUCH AS ORANGES!

The golden moment for many parents is when Baby is old enough to sit in a high chair and feed themselves. Hooray! You can now (hopefully) get a bite or two into your mouth while Baby is happily eating independently. Even better, Baby can be entertained and contained while you take care of nearby tasks. Independent eating is not only important for your sanity, but Baby develops eye hand coordination, fine motor skills and a host of other developmental necessities. Ignore the mess and let Baby have at it as soon as it is safe.

Nearly any food that you have been grinding for the spoon fed baby can transition into finger foods. Introduce new flavors, textures and tastes to avoid developing a picky eater. Eventually, Baby will be enjoying the nutritious, economical meals that you prepare for the rest of the family.

It is important to carefully watch your baby as they begin to feed themselves. The ability to masticate foods and swallow them is a learned behavior. Be certain that early finger foods are cut into small pieces, are easily mashed without molars and won’t choke Baby if they slide down without adequate chewing.

Finger foods are a Golden Egg for companies that want to separate you from your money. If smooshed baby foods are silly expensive per pound, ‘junior’ and ‘toddler’ foods are absolutely absurdly expensive!

Early finger foods that require nearly no preparation on your part could include thawed frozen peas (they are easier for baby to pick up than canned peas), small well cooked pastas such as alphabet pasta or ditalini, canned or cooked fruits in small pieces (fruit cocktail packed in juice is a good choice though some babies have trouble with the ‘cherries), scrambled eggs, any soft fruit cut into small pieces, canned green beans, other beans, etc. that are soft. Merely cut the food up into small pieces and put on a clean high chair tray. Remember that you can freeze meals and thaw quickly in the microwave or by immersing the container in hot water. ALWAYS double check the temperature of Baby’s food before serving.

Combo meal? Try draining a can of low-sodium, natural soup such as chicken noodle, vegetable or alphabet soup. This is a great way to transition Baby to the tastes and feel of table foods. Small size cans may be more expensive per serving, but are ideal for quick baby meals and meals out of your home. ‘Toddler’ meal? $3.25 per pound. ‘Regular’ soup? 50 cents a pound!

Meats and proteins? As soon as it is allowed, small pieces of canned chicken, fish, cheeses and tofu can be quickly chopped up into bite sized pieces. Canned meats will be soft enough for baby to chew without molars, are thoroughly cooked and easy to have on hand. Thoroughly cooked and drained ground beef in small pieces can be eaten by older babies. Eventually, Baby will transition to small pieces of baked chicken, turkey and other meats. ‘Baby’ chicken ’sticks? $8.90 per pound. (And do we really want to know what is in a chicken stick?) ‘Regular’ tuna? $1.75 lb. Boneless skinless chicken breast? $1.99 lb.

Carbs? Small pieces of lightly toasted bread, canned beans, pastas, cubed sweet potatoes, little clumps of rice or other grains are all easily eaten. ‘Baby’ pasta with cheese? $3.79 lb. ‘Regular’ pasta with some fresh cheese? $1. per pound.

Snacks?  Baby ’snacks’ are a relatively new and OVER-PRICED, OVER-PROCESSED, UNDER-NUTRITIOUS ploy to separate you from your money!  Everything that goes into their mouths should be highly nutritious, as minimally processed as possible and contain little or no processed sugar. Whole grain, unsweetened dry cereal is an easy snack on the go. At home, Baby may be a ‘grazer’ requiring many small meals throughout the day. Give Baby a small portion of fruit, cheese, veggies or other ‘regular’ food rather than an over-priced, nutritionally challenged ’snack’. Not only will your wallet thank you, but Baby may just grow up thinking that ’snacks’ are for healthy foods! ‘Baby’ snack ‘banana puffs’? $10.81 per pound. (What snack do YOU eat that is $10.81 per pound?) A real banana? 49 cents a pound and MUCH more nutritious! ‘Baby’ snack ‘blueberry yogurt melts’? A WHOPPING $47.84 per pound! Organic frozen blueberries? $3.75lb. Baby ’snack crisps’? $23.65 lb. Whole grain oat cereal? $2.27 lb. Difference in nutritional value? Every ‘baby snack’ item showed the predominate nutritional contribution to be SODIUM with a bit of fat. That’s right! Up to $47.84 lb for SALT!

Feed your baby healthy, simple, nutritious snacks and save your money for their college education!

And you will have MORE MONEY in your bank account!