Why are baby jars of food bad?

[WeeSooty]

I'm just about to start weaning my DD. Planning to do home cooked meals ect. However I have been given free samples of baby rice, a purée baby jar of food and a purée pouch of fruit. One of my friends in particular is horrified by this but can't seem to properly explain why other that not good for baby apparently. Are they really that bad and why are they so bad?

Thanks!

[lyndie]

Have you tasted them? They are disgusting, bland, textureless......

[LastOrdersAtTheBra]

I bought a jar of baby food for DS1, it was some sort of bean casserole and contained pineapple purée. They're generally made artificially sweet using 'natural' ingredients (so they can claim to have no artificial additives), but all the savoury ones I looked at contained fruit purée sweetener.

I don't think a few jars every now and again are going to do any harm, but it seems very obvious why children raised entirely on jars won't eat real meals which don't have the sweet flavour.

[agnesf]

Guess its like the difference between you eating a plate of fresh salad and home cooked veg and a tin of peas/ potatoes. The tinned stuff issn't really bad for you but not as good as the fresh stuff

[girliefriend]

I think people are very quick to judge and be snobby about baby food in jars, they are not that bad and as long as they are not all your baby is eating then I don't think they are a problem.

[nannyof3]

Try ella's pouches.. They are great!!!

[sittinginthesun]

I don't think they're "bad", but they're pretty tasteless. If your baby gets a taste for them, you may struggle with real food later. It would be like eating ready meals every meal.

I made my own meals, but used the odd organic jar on long journeys etc. the puddings were handy sometimes.

[Blessyou]

This article was an eyeopener for me!
www.thealphaparent.com/2013/02/the-truth-about-baby-food-jars.html

[agnesf]

Disagree with last poster. Having pureed like mad for DD she only ever wanted to eat one particular brand/ flavour of baby food but now is happy to gobble down home made everything including chilli beans and veg curry

[yellowhousewithareddoor]

I'm not sure why people think the pouches are any better than jars? You get it a lot in naice circles where people of course wouldn't use jars - but still use a pouch as if that's better. What's the difference?

[jkklpu]

I think there is a spectrum of quality. The standard jars of orange goo taste pretty minging, once you get beyond plain fruit and veg, and quite samey; it's also pretty texture-free. Anything preserved needs additives to stop it from going off, so you need to consider that. Fresh stuff (or fresh stuff that you've frozen yourself) tastes better and has nothing extra in it, so you can be more confident of what you're putting inside your child. All that said, the odd jar/pouch here and there isn't going to harm your child and can be helpful during long journeys and other occasions when you're not near your freezer/a kitchen.

[ceeveebee]

They are not "bad for baby" but are seen as the height of laziness by some mothers (and yes I am being sexist but I've never come across a father who held any opinion on this). Agree they taste of nothing nice though, and may be a risk that baby gets too used to the texture / peculiar processed taste and refuses proper food later on

I never used jars myself but did and still do use fruit pouches (twins are 16 months), very easy way of getting babies to self feed.

[diddlediddledumpling]

They're not bad. They don't fit in with blw, but they're perfectly fine and nutritious. (Maybe not the baby rice, which seems to be just powdered starch with some vits and minerals added. But you can add some to a fruit or veg purée to make it more substantial).
It's interesting that your friend can't tell you what's wrong with them. Has she maybe just adopted someone else's opinion on them without thinking it through for herself?

[WeeSooty]

Haven't tasted the stuff myself although I will and wouldn't feed her it if I wouldn't eat it myself.

I just wondered what was so wrong with them as all the stuff that came with them, designed by the company so obviously biased, makes them sound great!

I'm happy to make my own food for DD but just overwhelmed at the moment by the other baby food items out there! Is the Ella's kitchen stuff better? Or is it just expensively packaged but really just the same as the others?

[agnesf]

Agree with the cost thing

[WeeSooty]

Oops millions of cross posts there.

Thanks everyone :) the friend in particular is so confident with everything baby related I often feel a bit insecure around her! But from
What you are all saying so far nothing shockingly terrible with the baby things, just not great for very single day.

O and yes to the person who said pouches are seen as much more acceptable than jars, very strange!

[RC1234]

When we started weaning I tried making purees of normal food that tasted very nice until I put them into the blender and then they tasted bitter and yuck. DD hated everthing I made and I can't blame her. I was so keen I made huge batches of everything in advance. I suggest you look for a baby puree cook book before even attempting to go down that route - there is definately an art. I was too demoralised for a while so I can't give any tips on purees.

However once she got to being able to eat mashed food (bye bye blender) - home cooking was back on the menu and she loved my cooking.

The health visitor said that jars were bad because baby would get used to something always tasting the same and not like variety. I got round that by not using one type of jar more than twice a week.

[WeeSooty]

Blessyou that article is eye opening! And really interesting, thank you.

[tilder]

There is a whole load of judginess that comes with weaning. Whatever you do someone will be horrified. Seriously, their tastes change all the time and so many children eat anything at 2, 3 or 4 and then just get fussy.

Pouches and jars aren't the height of culinary delight, but the odd one or more is really not going to turn your child into a junk food addict.

FWIW. Ds1 was full on home made organic pureed. Very healthy and varied. Now is happy to eat protein, carbs, the occasional veg and no fruit. Ds2 had a lot of jars and now eats pretty much anything and I have to limit his fruit intake. Dd is blw and so fussy its unbelievable.

They are all different, if some jars or pouches work then great.

[Posterofapombear]

I don't eat ready meals. They taste funny and they have stuff I can't pronounce in them.

I didn't feed DD jars or pouches because they taste funny and have stuff in I can't pronounce.

If you are happy with processed factory food then feed the same to your baby. It really is horses for courses.

[agnesf]

Axtually the things that DD did like that weren't from jars were not pureed. She liked things like bits of bread or chewing on a bit of cooked carrot. When DS was a baby the advice was to wean at 4 months but for DD it was 6 months and honestly think when they are a bit older they enjoy solids more.

The nutritional value of all that pureed stuff must be almost nil. I would hold off if you can - after all what did mums do before belnders and jars?

[pinkpudding]

my friend has weaned 3 children exclusively on jars. i thought she was mad as i have always spent hours making annabel karmel batches for mine. but her kids eat anything and everything and love exploring different flavours. maybe all the blandness gave them the incentive to discover better stuff.

[YellowandGreenandRedandBlue]

That article was very interesting! It's the idea of a jar having such a long shelf life that seems most wrong to me, can hardly be the most nutritious.

Plus the cost!

[Blessyou]

I did a combo of mostly home made but some jars for DC 1, then BLW for DC2.
I didn't see much wrong with the occasional jar either, but having read that article I wouldn't want to use even 1 jar or pouch for ghe third child I won't be having

[WeeSooty]

Yeah I must admit that article is making me look at the free samples in a whole new, and not very good, light! Ah well it also came with a free spoon, least I can use that!