Suitable for baby -adult versions of the overpriced baby food/snacks

[Thandeka]

Right am getting a little fed up how if its labelled "Baby food" it attracts an extra premium on price. I appreciate the ingredients may be organic and they have been careful about salt etc. but I am not sure it warrants the extra cost. So I have decided to go on a supermarket mission to find supermarket stuff that is normal priced but also suitable for a baby (I mean obviously fruit and veg count anyway) but I mean snacky things like rice cakes- we are now giving my DD the giant grown up ones (at first she was so confused- I think she thinks she had shrunk) as sainsburys do a salt free one for about 90p.

Also sainsburys do a tube of mini breadsticks- 69p for loads instead of the baby version which is about £1.50 for not very many!

Also trying her on the fruit bars for school kids as she loves the baby fruit bars but they are much more expensive (but they are a bit tougher to gum on but she loves em.

Anyhow do you see where I am going with this thread?

Can anyone post their little gems of adult food that is suitable for baby? (I mean I know you could probably feed your baby anything adult from the supermarket but am thinking of healthyish non junky snacks that mumsnetters could help come up with a list)

and P.S don't even bother to buy Ella Organic baby rice and lentils- I don't know what possessed me to pay £2 or summat for 4 tiny boil in the bag packets of bloody rice and sodding lentils when I could have just got a flipping teaspoon out! Sigh.

soup pasta can just be normal pasta which you've bashed up into smaller bits....

(before cooking)

We have given DS squeezy pouches of fruit made by Planet Lunch instead of the Ella ones - seem to be the same ingredients but much less expensive! Look in the kids packed lunch section rather than the baby section.

Also plain Greek yoghurt insteadof ridiculously sugary Petit Filous or Little Stars or whatever, and grown up pasta - spaghetti broken in half or thirds beforecooking is a messy treat blw style!

cous cous is great, adds texture and carbs plus is super cheap and quick!
I second readybrek - the tescos own brand instead of expensive baby porridge.
Babybels ideally sized and packaged.

DH buys soup pasta in asian based shops (ie ones that sell halal meat). Its like superdooper thin spaghetti, DD loves it.

Good thread, another vote for Greek yogurt with fruit puree ( pound shops sell cheap) and ready break instead of baby porridge, mix with porridge oats for texture

Will be watching for further tips

Greats tips here. Have just bought Tesco own-brand ready brek peaky123 so will give it a go tomorrow!

OK not really from a supermarket, but for slightly older toddlers Popcorn is a brilliant snack, have yet to meet a kid who won't eat it. Very cheap and easy to make, no additives.

The only downside is the tendancy for kids to call it Cockporn!

LOL at kveta. I've often wondered exactly what proportion of plain rice cakes actually get ingested. Quite small, i think, though both of mine found the bigger ones easier to hold when they first started weaning.

Crackers, popcorn, crumpets, pancakes, tea cakes, potato cakes - with pure fruit spread from health food shop for an extra bit of oooh la la - popular carbs with my kids.

Sugar free banana bread, savoury flapjacks, cheese straws ditto when I can got it together to bake.

Tofu pieces, fruit and veg pieces keep for a few hours in plastic containers.

Never really bothered with 'baby' food, though dd (at nearly 4) thinks those Humzinger fruit bars pr Planet Earth smooties are a great treat.

Ps. I used quiona flakes for porridge for as long as possible - about a year before they both flatly refused to continue eating gruel!

Oooh, I love this thread. I have nicked lots and have a couple to add -

babybels are utterly fabulous for slightly older kids and a pack can last ages. Or slightly cheaper are own brand cheese stick things

we also buy smoothie pouches instead of all baby puree ones. You can (again for slightly older toddlers) get innocent ones in tubes, which aren't quite as worryingly gigantic. These are not so cheap, but are often on buy one get one free

asda do normal raisins in little boxes that are not branded up for kids in the adult snack aisle, with the nuts, which are much cheaper and organic, too

plain own brand crackers (around 20p in tescos) also always go down very well, and perfect from 6 months on. For older DD (3) we add peanut butter

Also (although not a snack) worth mentioning Kallo low salt stock cubes are much cheaper than the baby versions from boots etc for cooking

Brilliant tips on this thread. We've done 100% BLW with out DD 8 months.

We give her homemade flapjacks and banana muffins (sugar free) as snacks and breadsticks that I make.

I buy plain kallo rice cakes, oat cakes and the kallo low salt stock cubes

Big packets of raisins, we have little boxes. Babybel cheeses.

I deeply dislike the idea of buying foods in the baby range.
Buy a kilo of raisins and decant into a pot when needed.
Buy a big pot of mini bread sticks and decant into Tupperware. Ditto normal-sized, unsalted rice cakes; dried mango/pineapple/apple; oat biscuits; plain biscuits for cheese; whole pieces of fruit and veg sticks.
I cannot bear the thought of creating packaging rubbish every time a child has a snack. I also don't want my child to associate foodstuffs with distinct packaging iyswim. If they are hungry they'll eat a rice cake of any size without a character on the packet.
Eat normal pasta and use scissors to cut up once cooked. (I use scissors in the kitchen a lot since having a child.)
Also, porridge oats is porridge oats. Buy a big bag and everyone eat the same stuff. Hide a few of those raisins from the big bag in it for fun if you like.
That all said, I do like the small variety of bananas for children and am sold on baby avocados for being a good size.
I would pay extra for an unbreakable banana if someone were to invent it. It turns out that I can't fix broken bananas.

Great thread!

Soup pasta - I know tesco sells "orzo" pasta which is very small and great for little ones!

Also forgot to mention kallo do a great adult rice cereal too which tastes great which my toddler (and me) loves! They are called "Wholegrain breakfast puffs". One version they sell is with honey and one without. Very healthy and low sugar plus Cheaper than Ella's cereals!

I also second the kallo low salt stock cubes!

Looked in the supermarket yesterday...

Raisins boxed for children are up to £12/kg. 500g bag (decant into your own packaging) £3.40/kg

Supermarket brand cheese thins (like cheddars) 0.08g salt per biscuit.

3 months into baby led weaning with finger foods and not a single organix or ellla's purchase made.