Homemade vs. Store Bought (a fight to the death)

I decided to embark on an experiment to compare homemade baby food to store bought baby food. Is it really worth the effort? Is it really better? In this highly scientific experiment, I will compare 4 different foods in 4 different ways: Color, Smell, Taste, Cost (tax not included). Unfortunately, because my science lab is just my kitchen I am unable to compare these items in nutritional values.

So here is the experiment (in photos all homemade food is on the right...just think REAL-RIGHT):

PRUNES: 

Oh wonderful prunes, guarantor of poo! I did not buy organic, I bought Gerber Nature Select (whatever "nature select" means) because the organic has lots of additives like tuna oil for DHA because someone convinced us that without DHA we all will become complete morons, but I digress)

Color:

The color discrepancy here, I think, is because the prunes I used to make this were unsulphured prunes.

Smell:

Both had a similar smell, though the homemade was a little more potent.

Taste:

Major after taste on the jarred, and the homemade wasn't as sweet.

Cost:

Store bought: Gerber Nature Select $1.49 for 2-2.5 ounces (about .30/ounce)
Homemade: Unsulphured Prunes $7.98 for the bag got 20 ounces  (.39/ounce)

Mango: 

Jack's favorite part of when I make him mango? After I cut off the "meat" he loves chewing on the "bone" as we call it. He sucks off anything left on it, and it keeps him busy for an hour...always followed up by a bath.

Color:

The difference is obvious. The homemade (on the right) is certainly more vibrant.

Smell:

Both smelled about the same.

Taste:

There was a little more of an after taste with the store bought, but not much. Mango is always yummier fresh. I generally use the frozen mango to mix in things, like with chicken or beans.

Cost:

Store bought: Happy Baby Organic Pouch $1.39 for 3.5 ounces (about .40/ounce)
Homemade: 2 Organic Mangos $5 (2/$5 on sale) I got 22 ounces  (.23/ounce)
Organic is hard to find, but mango is not one of the dirty dozen so I generally do buy regular. I get organic when I can.

Blueberry: 

One of Jack's favorites! Because organic blueberries are so expensive I couldn't find store bought that was ONLY blueberry. So I am comparing an Apple and Blueberry mix, which I mixed Jack's Blueberries with Applesauce to have a good comparison. The issue I ran into was what was the ratio? See my explanation under color.

Color:

The top left is the store bought. I was interested to figure out what the applesauce to blueberry ratio was since organic blueberries are expensive. The top right is a 50/50 ratio of homemade...WOW! Still no where near the color of store bought. On the bottom I did 80% applesauce to 20% blueberry, still more vibrant and blue. I am not really sure how much blueberry you are getting with store bought, which is a shame since it is so good for brain development.

Smell:

Obviously the homemade had a more blueberry smell to it.

Taste:

Not sure what was done to get the store bought the constancy that it is (straining), the homemade is without a doubt more grainy. The store bought tasted pretty much like applesauce with a light blueberry flavor.

Cost:

This is hard to figure out since I don't know the ratio so I am going to show you JUST the blueberries..obviously it will be much cheaper with the apples as they are not expensive.
Store bought: Earth's Best Apple and Blueberry $0.80 for 4 ounces (about .20/ounce)
Homemade: Organic blueberries 2 baskets $9.98 for the bag got 30 ounces (.33/ounce)

Chicken: 

Jack LOVES meat: chicken, lamb, salmon, tilapia oh my. The store bought is not organic as I could not find plain organic chicken baby food to compare.

Color:

I am assuming the store bought is white meat, this particular batch that I made is organic dark meat. Don't underestimate the good in some healthy oils and fats that come with meats.

Smell:

I know I may be partial, but I almost threw-up when I smelled the jarred one.

Taste:

The jarred, which took a lot of guts for me to eat, was gelatinous and bizarre in texture...I felt like I was eating gefilte fish, no meat should come from a jar. The homemade was a little dry (I usually mix it with mango or apples) but tasted just like the chicken you lightly blend for chicken salad.

Cost:

Store bought: Beech-nut Chicken $0.95 for 2.5 ounces (about .38/ounce)
Homemade: Organic Boneless Chicken from Costco $16.20 got 48 ounces (.34/ounce) cheaper and organic.

Last but not least....the TRUE test of the chicken situation, my dog, Murray, who does not have a descriminating pallet at all. The homemade was on the left here. He actually left the store bought and walked away until I called him back and pointed, "Take it!" Eventually he ate it:

Other benefits to consider

Shopping and Cooking
I don't know if this is more of a parenting concern, or a nutritional concern, but part of the great thing about homemade is the child's involvement in what they put into their body. Sounds weird, when my son is only 7 months old. However, when we are shopping he gets to sniff the fruit I buy for him. I am often holding him while I am cooking and he can taste as we go. I look forward to him helping me cook as he grows.

Absorbic Acid What?
I must note that I noticed EVERY food that I bought, except for the chicken, had absorbic acid in it. Although this is ultimately vitamin C, because it is not naturally in the food, I consider it an additive. There seems to be a lot of controversy about whether these levels of absorbic acid found in jarred/pouched baby food can contribute to increasing reflux. Regardless, my opinion is, if it is organic and natural, why is it in there?

Going Green
As I have said before, most of what I do isn't because I am "green", it is for my son's health and well being, but there are some "green" reasons to make your own.

• Less Waste (reusable storage container, no jars or plastic waste)
• Local Grown Food