Making Baby Food

So when I was pregnant I had decided that I was going to make as much of Ava's food as possible.  My reasoning? Well I thought it would be fun.... Will I make every pureed meal that will ever hit her lips?  Probably not.  I know I will buy a few jars here and there for convenience and/or lack of time.  Here's where it all began....

Ava was still on TM and a daily bowl of cereal when she became a little backed up.  I called the doctor and the doctor told me to mix some prunes with oatmeal cereal.  So off to Target I went.  I saw an aisle devoted to baby food...I have had no reason to explore this aisle because I have been making her food for the past 6 months....Needless to say it was kinda overwhelming.  Who knew that such a tiny thing could have so many meal choices. 

Anyways, so I picked up the package and read the back of the prunes.  The ingredients listed were: Prune Puree (Dried Prunes, Water) Simple enough, right? 

So I read the package of the Organic Prunes.  This is what the label read: ORGANIC PRUNE PUREE (DRIED ORGANIC PRUNES, WATER), TUNA OIL (SOURCE OF DHA), GELATIN, CHOLINE BITARTRATE, ALPHA TOCOPHERYL ACETATE (VITAMIN E).

My First Thought: Why are there so many preservatives and other crap in the jar of "Organic" baby food?

My Second Thought: What is in the "Regular" baby food that they (Gerber) don't have to list?

My feelings: Concern, wonderment, and just plain Scared.  I want the things that go into my child's body to be the best for her.  I want her diet to be pure.  I want her to have the healthiest options.

So I started making Ava's baby food.  So far I've made sweet potatoes and pears.  I'll post more on that later.... As for now... Ava's up from her nap!