# Baby food vs. fresh/frozen veggies



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I was just at the store tonight and bought a bunch more baby food for Lily...She's got quite a stash upstairs now! :lol: However, while trying to look for a container of mixed fresh veggies I could mix in with the food, I got to wondering...Do you guys think it's healthier or better in some way to offer fresh or frozen 'real' veggies rather than just baby food veggies? The only thing I could think that might be different was that real ones might fill them up more, but I'm not really sure. I've been mixing in chopped fruit with Lily's fruit baby food to get a bit more real food in there, but my family doesn't really eat a lot of fresh veggies.  Do you think frozen veggies would work just as well for something to mix in with the baby food?


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## SnufflePuff (Apr 16, 2009)

In my personal opinion, things are always healthier / more nutritious in their natural states, so I think adding some real fruits/veggies in could definitely be beneficial. 

The veggies do fill them up - I remember when I was trying to get Chloe to slim down a bit I would feed her broccoli (the only veggie she would eat). Fruit is mostly water so just don't give too much (or too many veggies) cause it can cause diarrhea.

Organic veggie baby food is still great and Lily might be more inclined to eat that over the "real thing" depending on how picky she is :lol: 

As for frozen vs fresh - fresh is always better but I think frozen would be fine too.

But I think adding more natural, whole foods in their diets can definitely be beneficial 


PS. tsk tsk I think Lily needs to teach her mommy some healthier eating habbits, dontcha know veggies are good for ya?  :lol:


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I use fresh and frozen, depending on what we have at home and so I always have some on hand. I have to say, frozen is great: the bags of Japanese Mix are awesome: so much variety! Who knew Snarf would like water chestnuts?


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I give fresh when I can and steam them if its something that can't be given raw. Frozen would probably be okay too. The one I never really wanted to give was canned cause they always taste so salty to me, I rarely eat it anymore either if there's an option.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

SP - Everything you said makes sense! I might get some frozen veggies or something for her, and some fresh veggies that we'll actually eat, like broccoli or carrots...I don't think carrots will go over well though, she's turned her nose up at baby food carrots and spat out crickets that were gutloaded with carrots. :roll: She LOVES pea baby food though, so I'll have to try and get some frozen peas or fresh ones, if I can. She's been less picky than I would've thought, actually. :lol: She loves apple, peas, and chicken baby food so far, and likes pear, sweet potato, and green bean baby food as well. She's less enthusiastic about bananas (real or baby food), though, and wasn't too keen on diced apple being in her pear baby food. I tried putting diced green pepper in her chicken baby food tonight, we'll see what happens!  

And thanks, MissC for your input! I thought I remembered that you use at least some frozen, but wasn't sure. I'll have to look and see what our local stores have. 

Oh, and SP...You don't even know the half of it! :?  I get yelled at by my friends because I forget to give myself real food... Lily eats SO much better than her mommy does! :lol:

Edit - Hedgieonboard, I agree, I definitely don't plan on using any canned! I'll have to remember to steam though, with the hard veggies that might be dangerous raw. Thanks for pointing that out!


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## lmg_319 (Oct 4, 2010)

Quick question for all you food experts, do you leave the baby food and veggies out over night? Do they dry out? Holden won't eat his when I offer it but maybe if I left it out he would.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I do leave Lily's out overnight, and just take it out in the morning. Some of the foods (peas, chicken...) she'll start eating as soon as I put her in the cage with it, but others she ignores and goes for her kibble instead. But if I leave it in the cage overnight with her, there's usually some gone in the morning. For example...I gave her chicken baby food with diced green pepper mixed in last night. When I went to bed, she'd only licked up all of the chicken baby food, but when I woke up...surprise! She'd eaten some of the green peppers too!


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