Homemade baby food has really hit the headlines this week!
Tori Spelling, the actress who is now a huge reality TV star in the US, silenced those who might think she has a pampered lifestyle when she told People.com that she makes her own baby food.
In the interview, she explained how her first child was given jarred baby food – but with her second child, 11 month old daughter Stella, she started out with commercial food but switched to homemade. Tori said the difference was ‘immediately apparent’ and that she now encourages all parents to make their own baby food “…Because it’s such a huge difference for them”.
And if Tori’s endorsement didn’t have Mums reaching for the food processor, then perhaps today’s reports that infant weaned on homemade baby food grow up leaner will do the trick!
Scientists in the UK gave questionnaires to the parents of 536 children, which recorded the consumption of specific foods and the ages at which they were introduced. According to Dr Sian Robinson from the University of Southampton, who led the study,
Children with higher quality weaning diets including fruits, vegetables and home-prepared foods had a greater lean mass at four years of age.
The study was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. It revealed that the children who were fed a diet including lots of fruits, veggies, cooked meats and fish – plus other home-prepared items – had less body fat than those given commercial baby foods.
Separately, they also found that breastfeeding for a longer duration also led to a lower fat mass at 4 years.
We hope that putting the benefits of homemade baby food in the spotlight like this will encourage even MORE parents to get cooking for their little ones!
Because the reward isn’t JUST a healthier start for baby…
There’s really nothing to compare with the beaming smile he can deliver with a tummy full of Mummy’s tasty home cooking!