To say 'Fuck you, Ella's Kitchen, I'll boil my own carrots!'

[missmillimentscardigan]

Obviously I get that those pouches can be convenient; I just don't understand the blind adherence to the Ella's Kitchen 'feeding a baby everything from a pouch' idea. Why would you pay probably ten times the cost of a carrot to buy a pouch of pureed carrot? I hate the twee packaging and the stupid baby talk on the packets and cynical marketing guff.

I think parents are led to believe that they couldn't possibly prepare something for their baby to eat themselves, and that it's better and somehow safer, to buy them a pouch of fruit or veg and feed them that instead. So many of my friends, when starting off on weaning their babies, have just bought a load of EK pouches and given them that, and only that. And I find that a bit sad, that parents think that they couldn't /shouldn't cook a parsnip / bit of broccoli for their child, and that the first flavours their baby tries are from a weird vacuum pouch that doesn't even need refrigerating.

I'm no Annabel Karmel, and my children certainly don't eat lovingly prepared homecooked food all the time (hello, beans on toast). But I do enjoy cooking for them and my DH, and so does he. Those pouches have a place, but not at the exclusion of everything else. It's satisfying to see your child eating something you made and that you know is nutritious.

I'm not criticising mothers and fathers for using them; I just feel a bit sad that we are losing and abandoning simple skills, like very basic and inexpensive cooking for children, because baby food companies want us to think that they know better than we do. And they don't!

On a marketing note I'm pretty sure someone would be fired if they used the tag line "don't buy our pouches they are overpriced shit, boil your own carrots much cheaper!"

bookbag40 to be fair, some of the "dessert" jars taste pretty good hipp organic banana yoghurt anyone?? but I guess that's purely because of the sugar content

Hotcross, while I think it's harsh to call it filler, I agree that the nutritional value would not be as good as home made.

I used the pouches in the beginning purely for convenience. I know plenty of people who use pouches and jars for every meal because they don't know how to cook, I also know plenty of people who just find it easier to use jars/pouches.

I think as long as the baby is fed and has their nutritional needs met then it really doesn't matter.

I used a lot of jars, and was under the impression that by doing so I was "doing the right thing" and "giving my baby the best". I still think I was actually.

Answer your question, bill?

If Ella's Kitchen are so evil & are actively preventing loving parents from accessing a kitchen to cook for their babies why do they sell a large range of cookery books?

Because they saw a market there too, obviously.

I just don't understand the blind adherence to the Ella's Kitchen 'feeding a baby everything from a pouch' idea

Nobody does that. And if they do, so fucking what? Nobody makes you. Do you want a bloody medal for being so clever as to have noticed marketing, or that its cheaper to boil your own carrots?
How about go boil your head and maybe wash the nasty judginess out of it?

bookbag40 to be fair, some of the "dessert" jars taste pretty good hipp organic banana yoghurt anyone?? blush but I guess that's purely because of the sugar content hmm

That would be the ones without any sugar in, yes? So yourself. If you are going to criticise, read the sodding packet first.

The thing is by making a range of cooking books they are saying that "this is really hard you must get a recipe to do it"

A weaning book saying" cook some carrot mush it up a bit" " mash a banana with a fork- don't worry if its not smooth" and baby led weaning- "give them a bit of banana. You eat the rest"

It wouldn't sell very well and would be very short.

I think its a bit odd that people are saying that using pouches saves them loads of time when they are busy. If you give a baby a bit of broccoli or whatever veg the rest of the family is
having, or a piece of banana is surely much quicker and easier than spoonfeeding puree

Not when you factor in the cleaning of the floor, chair, face, arms and clothes that go with just "lobbing them a bit of banana". No, it takes far longer when you add that in.

Hedda not a criticism - I gave it to my dd's! And the one I'm thinking of isn't a dessert jar, it's a breakfast jar - my mistake.
It contains 11.2g of sugar, which is a lot really, considering I could have given her mashed banana mixed with natural yoghurt and reduce the sugar content of that meal massively.

m.boots.com/h5/cat_hub?unCountry=uk&path=%2Fen%2FHiPP-Organic-Banana-Yogurt-Breakfast-4-Months-125g_954971%2F

yes but very very few of them contain any sugar at all, so its very easy to avoid jars with sugar in.

I think my baby is the only baby that will not eat a pouch or jar, much to my disgust 🙄

I find it hard to believe that dessert jars wouldn't contain any sugar even if they are just purèed fruit. Fruit naturally has a high sugar content does it not?

Not when you factor in the cleaning of the floor, chair, face, arms and clothes that go with just "lobbing them a bit of banana". No, it takes far longer when you add that in

BLW is messy, but babies aren't supposed to stay clean.

My DC who BLW eats far better than the one I spent bloody hours pureeing for.

It's sad for babies to be fed from packets? It's SAD????

Get a flipping grip! What's sad is babies dying from lack of food.

I'm not offended by the pouches but the weaning cookery books make me laugh. Surely they could leave out the recipes that are just boiling and blending fruit and vegetables. Who needs a recipe to do that?

Both of my children were weaned on jars and pouches

If I couldn't get them to eat what I had cooked, the pouch would be devoured every time

I did what was best by children

You are doing the best for yours

So yes you are judging

The peach makes a great bellini

BLW is messy, but babies aren't supposed to stay clean

Thats your opinion, but what has that got to do with the point made? Someone said its no quicker to spoonfeed puree than to give them bananas and broccoli. And thats just not true when you factor in clean up time.

My DC who BLW eats far better than the one I spent bloody hours pureeing for

Sample size of 2, meaningless to anyone else. But again, so what? Why does it matter what your kids were like, the only babies people need to know about are their own, and what they need/like.

I find it hard to believe that dessert jars wouldn't contain any sugar hmm even if they are just purèed fruit. Fruit naturally has a high sugar content does it not?

Sugar, as in added SUGAR. Not fructose. If you want to be arsily pedantic, then your own boiled carrots contain sugar as well. Milk too, full of sugar. 12grams in a 250ml cup! Definitely stay away from that....

Hedda I don't see why you're being so hostile and defensive in your posts
I said up thread that I used a mixture of BLW, homemade purèes and pouches/jars - I'm hardly high and mighty about jarred baby food

Hedda, you sound a bit defensive.

I'm defensive about the stupid, bloody minded criticising of other women. I'm defensive about people going on about jars full of sugar, that don't contain any sugar. I'm defensive about people talking nonsense and spouting opinions based on nothing and using it as a stick to beat others with.
It's the same old shit. Enough! Feed your own kid how you like, shut your trap about how other people feed theirs.