Gimme the Good Stuff

Baby Food Pouches

Maia James — Wed, 15 May 2019 21:34:44 +0000

1. Beech-Nut organic varieties / 2. Happy Baby / 3. Sprout / 4. Plum Organics / 5. Ella’s Kitchen / 6. Once Upon a Farm / 7. Peter Rabbit Organics / 8. Serenity Kids / 9. White Leaf Provisions

Soon after Felix turned one, he finally started enjoying foods other than breast milk.

Unfortunately, by this point I was pretty burned out from preparing and then throwing away homemade pureed fruits and veggies that he refused to eat. With Wolfie I was way chiller and basically did baby-led weaning.

But back to 2010, when I discovered squeezy fruit/veggie baby food pouches sold everywhere.

Baby food pouches are much easier to handle than jars of food, and both my kids still enjoy them in packed lunches on occasion. In addition, they are probably more nutritious than jarred foods (more on this below).

My Favorite Baby Food Pouches

I’m partial to the 100% organic White Leaf Provisions baby food pouches because they are biodynamic. You’ll read more about this brand below, under “The Good Stuff.”

$99.95 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Buy Now

A lot of you have asked about the recent studies on heavy metals in baby foods. Here’s the bottom line, in my opinion: If you avoid rice-based baby food and anything with fruit juice concentrate, you’ll eliminate most of the risk. Here’s a 2021 update.

The Problem with Baby Food Pouches

My only real issue with baby food pouches is that they are made of plastic.

All of the brands mentioned below use the same basic materials for their pouches, which is a combination of BPA-free polypropylene (this is the part that touches the food, and what the spout is made of) and foil.

Fortunately, polypropylene seems to be the safest type of plastic, and is probably non-toxic, but from an environmental perspective, it’s not ideal

Glass Jars Versus Plastic Baby Food Pouches

Safety & Nutrition

According to the companies that use them, plastic pouches “better protect flavor and nutrients, and require lower, shorter heat times, one of the effects of which means we can naturally preserve…products without adding additives and preservatives.”
Although pouches are free of BPA, substitutes for the chemical may be toxic as well.
While glass is always the safest material, the lids of jarred food may contain BPA.

Environment

Pouches are roughly ten times lighter than a classic glass jar, so they require that much less energy to produce and ship.
Pouches cannot be recycled, but they use more than 75 percent less materials than traditional baby food containers.
The spouts on the pouches are #2 plastic, which is recyclable.

Note: All of brands of baby food pouches dubbed “Good Stuff” below use 100% organic ingredients.

The Good Stuff

Beech-Nut Baby Food Pouches

Beech-Nut recently went organic, and I assume this is a result of consumer demand–so, nice job! Beech-Nut makes mixed fruits, veggies, and some that just one ingredient like organic carrots or organic sweet potatoes.

Happy Baby Food Pouches

Many Happy Baby/Happy Tot blends contain vegetables and grains, including salba (a type of chia seed). The salmon used by Happy Baby is wild Alaskan. Note that some other Happy Baby snacks contain sugar (the yogurt snacks and some of their frozen kids’ meals). Happy Baby food pouches are widely available in grocery stores as well as on Amazon.

Sprout

Sprout doesn’t use sugar in any of their pouches; and none of Sprouts products contain starchy fillers. I love that their grain blends contain actual whole grains (i.e., cooked quinoa instead of quinoa flour). Sprout also avoids all fruit concentrates. While Sprout offers a range of meat blends, they also have a Plant Protein line for those who prefer only vegan options, with vegetable-based proteins from organic chickpeas, lentils, and beans.

How to Get Some
Sprout pouches are available in many grocery stores, as well as on Amazon.

Plum Organics Baby Food Pouches

Felix always seemed to prefer the Plum flavors to all other brands, his favorite being the mango and pear. Some of the newer flavors include grains–such as oats and brown rice–or organic meat and dairy.

Water is often the first ingredient in Plum’s pouches, and it’s a little sneaky that the “grains” are actually grain flours (i.e., millet flour, oat flour, etc.) (One other bone I have to pick here: Some of Plum’s other toddler snacks contain sugar.)

How to Get Some
Plum Organics pouches are widely available in grocery stores, as well as on Amazon.

Ella’s Kitchen Baby Food Pouches

I like that the cardboard outer packaging (when you buy Ella’s in bulk) is 90 percent recycled and 100 percent recyclable. Some newer varieties include grains, yogurt, vegetables, and/or meat–honestly, pureed Vegetable & Lentil Bake in a pouch sounds pretty gross to me, but it’s definitely healthful! I love that even Ella’s cookies and biscuits for older kids are free of sugar.

How to Get Some
Here in New York, I can find Ella’s Organics in my neighborhood grocery store or at Whole Foods. They are also available on Amazon.

Once Upon a Farm

You’ve probably heard of this one, since it was co-founded by Jennifer Garner. I’m happy to say that Once Upon a Farm is legit Good Stuff!

What makes these blends unique is that they are cold pressed to lock in the nutrients, which means Once Upon a Farm pouches are always refrigerated.

How to Get Some
You can buy Once Upon a Farm pouches in select grocery stores and on Amazon.

Peter Rabbit Organics Baby Food Pouches

These were Felix’s favorite baby food pouches, and the apple/grape was his favorite flavor. Peter Rabbit never dilutes its purees with water, but some flavors contain juice concentrate in addition to fruit purees.

How to Get Some
You can buy Peter Rabbit Organics pouches in select grocery stores and on Amazon.

Use code GIMME15 for 15% off.

Serenity Kids

This new line of Paleo-inspired baby food. They use organic vegetables and grass-fed and pasture- raised meats. All blends are free of hormones, antibiotics, GMO’s, gluten, fillers, grain, dairy, corn, allergens, eggs, and nuts. I personally don’t think babies need to be eating meat at all but if you disagree, this is probably the best line there is! Use code GIMME15 for 15% off.

Buy now from Serenity Kids

2021 update after the recent news about heavy metals in baby food: Serenity Kids is verified by the Clean Label Project, which has a very thorough and transparent vetting process. They even publish a 165-page document detailing the exact methodology they use for testing and the thresholds used. Dr. Hopkins verified that Clean Label Project sends all samples off to third party lab sites for testing.

White Leaf Provisions

White Leaf Provisions is my favorite line of baby food pouches–and the only brand we’ve chosen to carry in our online store. The reason?

White Leaf baby food pouches are even better than organic (although it IS organic), because they’re also Biodynamic. Biodynamic farms are built to integrate every living organism within the system, and aspires to transform and maximize the health and vitality of the farm’s every aspect. A biodynamic farm aims to produce everything on the premises, including seeds, fertilizers, natural control agents for pests and even feed for livestock.

Choose from a range of fruit and veggie blends–all of which are free of concentrates and fillers.

$99.95 — or subscribe and save up to 5%Buy Now

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The Bad Stuff: Less Healthy

Gerber is maybe the only brand that makes a non-organic version, so I’m calling that Bad Stuff. (Note that their organic pouches actually are fine!)

The Sneaky Stuff

Earth’s Best puree pouches, while appearing equal to the Good Stuff above, are not as clean. Even their simplest flavors (pears, for instance) are fortified with all sorts of stuff, including zinc sulfate, and citric acid. The yogurt varieties have fewer ingredients than the plain fruit/veggie blends.

Baby-Led Weaning

Proponents of baby-led weaning argue that babies should skip purees all together and go straight to “real” food as soon as they are ready to begin eating solids. There are tons of resources on baby-led weaning, and one good place to start is here.

Read our review of
frozen baby food.

Read our review of
jarred baby food.

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The post Baby Food Pouches appeared first on Gimme the Good Stuff.

Best: Frozen Food

Maia James — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:35:52 +0000

If you don’t make homemade purees for your baby, store-bought, organic frozen baby food is the next best thing. Frozen baby food has a higher nutrient-content than shelf-stable food (such as purees in jars or pouches), and the flavor is generally superior as well.

What Happened to All the Organic Frozen Baby Food?

Despite the superiority of organic frozen baby food, there are no longer many options available. Several brands of organic frozen baby foods have been discontinued (such as Petite Palate and Tasty Baby).

It seems that most people–myself included–are still going for jarred purees. The ubiquitous pouches of baby food, which Gimme the Good Stuff has also reviewed, are so convenient and portable, which is of course the major drawback to frozen food–you can’t prepare and serve it while riding the subway or at the playground.

Where Can I Buy FRESH Baby Food?

In 2005 and 2006, there were a dozen or so fresh baby food brands on the market, but now almost all of them have been discontinued. You may be able to find local companies making fresh baby food in your community, however. Surprisingly, New York City options are limited–Evie’s Organic Edibles delivers baby food that’s made to order at predictably outrageous prices.

The Good Stuff: Organic Frozen Baby Food

Bambino’s Organic Frozen Baby Food

Bambinos was created by Zoi Maroudas, a mom with a medical background who wanted to create better baby food. She uses fresh, organic ingredients, and she has an eye toward allergy prevention.

The Good
Bambino’s offers a wide variety of baby and toddler foods. They have frozen purees, including some with grains, fish, and meat, and Zoi also created these cool peanut cookies geared toward preventing peanut allergies–as the mom of one peanut-allergic kid, this is especially intriguing to me. I like that when her blends contain oil, it’s extra virgin olive, not soy or canola.

The Bad
You will have to purchase Bambino products online. They aren’t available yet in stores, but your can request that your local Whole Foods or Sprouts Farmers Market stocks Bambino’s in the future!

How to Get Some
You can purchase Bambino’s online. Zoi has kindly offered my readers a free gift–just use coupon code GIMMEGOODS to receive it with your purchase.

Happy Baby Organic Frozen Baby Food

(Read our review of Happy Baby pouches, too!)

The Good
The cardboard box contains 40% recycled content and is recyclable, as are the plastic trays, which are made of BPA-free polypropylene. Happy Baby offers more varieties than other brands, and I like the inclusion of whole grains in many of their meals.

The Bad
I’m skeptical of all plastics, so I’d remove the cubes from the tray before heating in the microwave.

How to Get Some
Happy Baby frozen purees are available in select grocery stores.

Yummy Spoonfuls Organic Frozen Baby Food

Update: Yummy Spoonfuls Stage 3 has been discontinued.

The Good
Certain flavors–banana, blueberries, papaya, mango–are raw, and the rest are heated minimally. The BPA-free plastic that Yummy Spoonfuls uses for their cups is recyclable. I’ve been in touch with their founder, Agatha, and she is genuinely concerned with the health of babies and kids. She’s happy to share her recipes with parents who are motivated to make their own.

The Bad
The cups are made of polypropylene, and I try to avoid plastic of all kinds when possible (it often isn’t). Yummy Spoonfuls founder Agatha says: “As a mother I personally don’t heat anything in plastic, even though Yummy Spoonfuls cups are microwavable safe.”

How to Get Some
Available at Whole Foods, Dean & Deluca, and on Amazon.

Note: Agatha sent me samples of Yummy Spoonfuls, but this did not affect my review.

Square One Organic Baby Food

The Good
Square One Organics frozen baby food is made from organic fruits, vegetables, and grains. Their products contain no added sugar, are dairy and soy-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, and are made in a nut-free facility. The packaging is BPA-free. The website is a great resource for parents.

The Bad
The cups are made of #5 polypropylene, which is recyclable and considered non-toxic, but still plastic!

How to Get Some
Available on Amazon.

The Bad Stuff

Happily, I haven’t been able to identify any Bad Stuff!

The Sneaky Stuff

Happily, I haven’t been able to identify any Sneaky frozen baby food!

Why Should I Get Organic Frozen Baby Food?

I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here, but feeding your kids organic food is important. Babies and children consume more calories per unit of body weight than do adults, and research shows that children have twice the pesticide levels (measured in urine) as adults eating a similar diet. Kids’ have developing organs and immature filtering systems (as the immune system is not fully formed). Finally, some types of organic produce and dairy has been shown to be higher in antioxidants and other nutrients than food that’s been sprayed with pesticides. Oh, and then there is the major benefit to the environment and farm workers, too.

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Good: Jarred Food

Maia James — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 22:32:43 +0000

Predictably, I had big plans of feeding Felix only homemade food when it was time to start him on solids. We first tried when he was six months old, but Felix had no real interest in anything besides the ultimate good stuff, AKA breastmilk, until after his first birthday.

I ended up throwing away a ton of homemade fruit and veggie purees that I’d whipped up in the Beaba. Pretty soon, I was buying Earth’s Best jarred baby food for the rare instances when he’d accept a tablespoon at meal time. This experience prompted me to write this guide for other moms looking for the best jarred baby food.

A lot of you have asked about the recent studies on heavy metals in baby foods. Here’s the bottom line, in my opinion: If you avoid rice-based baby food and anything with fruit juice concentrate, you’ll eliminate most of the risk.

What’s Wrong with Jarred Baby Food?

–Jarred baby food is cooked at extremely high temperatures so it can sit for years (check the expiration date on a jar for proof!). This processing removes a lot of nutrients, and also affects the flavor of the food.

–Jarred baby food often contains flour or other starches (such as maltodextrin), which serve as thickeners.

–Additives and preservativesmay be included in jarred food–ascorbic or citric acid are commonly found in organic baby foods.

–BPA is often used to coat the lids of jars of baby food, although it may not be present in the food itself.

Bottom line: I think it’s fine to carry a jar of baby food to use in a pinch, but it’s better to make your own (says the girl who totally bailed on making her own). Homemade baby food is cheaper, better for the environment, healthier, and tastier. If you want to find the best jarred baby food, I hope this guide will help.

Great Books on Baby Food Making

Starting Solids, by Annabel Karmel

The Best Homemade Baby Food on the Planet, by Karin Knight and Tina Ruggiero

The Everything Organic Cooking for Baby and Toddler Book, by Kim Lutz and Megan Hart

The Good Stuff: Best Jarred Baby Food

When it comes to jarred baby food, I found only one decent brand, which of course wasn’t the one I purchased when Felix was eating purees.

Healthy Times

The Good
Healthy Times jarred food contains no starches, is 100% organic, and the founder of the company, Rondi Prescott, says she uses local fruits and vegetables and cooks her food in small batches to preserve flavor.

The Bad
The company has been unresponsive to my messages asking about BPA in the lids of their jars.

How to Get Some
Available in select grocery stores and on Amazon for less than a buck a jar.

The Bad Stuff

Beech Nut jarred baby foods often contain salt, they are not organic, and the jar lids are coated with BPA. Moreover, Beech Nut is rated significantly below average in its impact on society as well as the environment. (Source: GoodGuide’s scientific product rating guide).

AlthoughGerber seems to be a better company than Beech Nut in terms of societal and environmental responsibility, most of their purees are not organic, and there is BPA in their jar lids. Some of the Gerber Graduations Little Meals even contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil (otherwise known as trans fat, which is illegal in several countries as well as in New York City restaurants). Gerber defends its use of BPA on its website, but when I called I was told they do not use BPA in any packaging. Gerber adds substantial amounts of water and thickening agents (flours and chemically-modified starches) to many of their baby foods.

The Sneaky Stuff

Felix ate lots of Earth’s Best baby food when he started on solids. Earth’s Best jars lids contain BPA (although they claim that independent testing showed no BPA in the food itself). While some flavors are just fruits or veggies, most contain a lot of water, and many contain rice or corn starch as a filler. Earth’s Best Yummy Tummy Instant Oatmeal, Apples & Cinnamon, even contains sugar.

Del Monte’s Nature’s Goodness jarred baby food contains all sorts of gross stuff, like mannitol, casein sodium, soy protein, sugar, and glucose syrup solids. Del Monte’s social policies, practices, and performance place it among the bottom 20 percent of companies rated by GoodGuide.

NurtureMe dried baby food packets seem like a great alternative to traditional jarred foods. NurtureMe uses dried fruits and veggies to make powders, to which you add milk or water. Unfortunately, some flavors contain non-organic sunflower lecithin, which may contain trace amounts of hexane, as well as (organic) maltodextrin.

Read our review of baby food pouches.

Read our review of frozen baby food.

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