More Bang for Your Buck

So, since Baby Gray’s arrival, I have been grocery shopping a little smarter than I used to, which is absolutely necessary when your not-quite-nine-month-old eats more than you do for dinner. I wanted to share a couple of things I have discovered in my new grocery adventures. I am sure I’m not the first person to notice these trends, nor will I be the last.

Do your best to stay out of the “baby food” aisle. Most of the products that are marketed for babies are highly over-priced and packaged in really small, single-serve portions. A Gerber two-pack of applesauce is $1.10 or so and doesn’t actually serve my kiddo two servings. Head over to the canned, dried fruit aisle. You’ll have to read some labels, but you’ll save BIG. A 46 ounce jar of unsweetened applesauce (apples, water, absorbic acid–keeps it from turning colors) is about $1.75 and lasts us a week and a half or two weeks! Need individually packaged servings? Six servings (a little larger portion than the Gerber) is still only about $1.50.

While you’re in the fruit aisle, check the diced fruits. You will really need to read the labels here; please don’t use the fruit cocktail or anything packaged in “syrup”. A little reading will quickly tell you what has added sugar and what doesn’t. I use mandarin oranges and diced pears (both packed in 100% juice or water) to pack in Baby Gray’s lunch box when we’re not eating at home. They aren’t as good as fresh, but they’re much cheaper than baby food, and if you check the ingredients, they have less added a lot of times as well.

Another place where the “baby” look and packaging will get you big time is with yogurt. A four-pack of YoBaby yogurt is about $2.50, and if you read the ingredients, it contains added sugar (it’s organic sugar, which is a buzz word to make people feel like it’s OK, but it’s sugar nonetheless). Gerber’s yogurt isn’t even in the refrigerator section if that tells you anything. I buy a 32 ounce container of plain yogurt (it needs to be full-fat, made from whole milk) for about $2.00 and add various fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc. to it for different meals. Baby Gray loves it–he hasn’t missed a beat.

These are the main areas I have found that saving money is really easy when shopping for Baby Gray.

*Disclaimer: all of these thoughts and opinions are my own. I wasn’t paid for any of the above statements. I am not a doctor; please check with your child’s pediatrician for any dietary questions you may have.*

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