Heating up food

[MrsS1980]

We started weaning ds about 4 weeks ago and it has been going really well. I have been following Annabel Karmel's guide and making job lots of a recipe and freezing in ice cube trays. She says that purees must be heated thoroughly (piping hot) once defrosted and left to cool. Starting to quite enjoy meeting up with other friends with babies for lunch and feeding DS at the same time. Never had any problems in cafés getting food heated. Mixing purees with baby led weaning. Blah blah blah.
Anyway, I was out shoping with my DM yesterday and we decided to go for lunch. We went to 4 restaurants which refused to heat up food before we found one that would. Admittedly they were all chains (Café Rouge, Las Iguanas, Zizzi) so it could just be a company policy but they told me it was illegal for them to do this. We have never had this problem before and so I was wondering if others had had this problem? I am slightly concerned that we will have to always be at home now at lunchtime and we tend to go out most days, baby clubs and things and eat while we are out.
Just wondered if you have encountered this and/or could clarify if it is a legal thing.

I have no idea about guidelines but surely you can find things to take that are ok to have cold?

I didn't puree with mine so my suggestions might not be much good but what about rice cakes and cream cheese? Or a sandwhich? Or a little tub of plain yoghurt and some banana? Or the lazy arse method of not bothering to take any food, letting them steal a bit off your plate and filling up on milk if they don't eat much .

If your LO will eat finger food, why not just order off the menu for her? Thats what I do instead of faffing around with purees when out. I usually order an extra side or a starter. Also I pick a mains that DD can have a bit of.

Actually disclaimer is that my DD is BLW. So I've always feed her off my plate. I just pack a bib and a sippy cup when we go out.

Thanks ladies, will try that. Think I have been overthinking this. Sometimes I get a bit carried away with following these methods - don't get me started on how I nearly had a breakdown trying to stick religiously to the Gina Ford timetable!

Not sure on the legalities, but many places will heat up jars but not home made food. I always take something that can be eaten cold. Fruit puress, a banana and mash it there. A small yogurt.

I have a friend who was very, very routine based and stressed about doing everything by the book, I won't take the piss, we all do things differently. There are plenty of puree type things that will be fine though, cold soups do exist after all! If you defrost something overnight in the fridge and take it with you then I don't see why it would have to be heated up......am I being dim or is there a reason why you can't just give it cold?

Avacado is another good one if you want to stick to puree. Slice it open and there is a ready made tup of sterile mush.

I'm following AK too and have had similar worries - I started making some portions extra thick and then adding a drop of hot water (from say, a pot of tea, just ask for the teabag on the side) takes the real chill off, DD is pretty unfussy wrt temperature and it hasn't affected her appetite!

At all the restaurants I worked for we refuse to heat baby food unless we prepare it, but we would give a mug or tea pot of hot water not a giant jug
It is done for self protection, as we would have to heat the food to above 75 degrees, and it might burn the child , people ask us to warm it only creating a food poisoning risk , also all food into our kitchens are documented and we would be allowing undocumented food in and may cause cross contamination, Environmental Health advise us not to heat baby food and most importantly we are just to busy.
Surely you could have just given food at room temp it would be defrosted and ok to eat, I never killed mine by doing this

Oh and most industrial microwaves can be over and above the normal home microwave wattage and 20 secs to heat baby food would cremate it but try telling that to an adamant parent who always heats 20 secs at home

I microwave mine before leaving home and put in a thermos bag and usually by meal time it's just the right temp

Our debenhams cafe has a microwave in the corner for the public to heat baby food.

I froze the homemade purée in breast breastmilk freezer bags. They're long and flat, so you end up with a thin slab of frozen.

When we went out, I took a frozen slab, a lock 'n lock box the slab would fit in and a flask of boiling water. Put the slab in the box, poor on the water, and it goes from semi frozen to piping hot in not long at all When the portions got bigger, the slabs got thicker, and it took 2 small flasks with a trip to the loo to poor out the first lot of water in the middle.

Works a treat for Ella type packets too - I can heat two of the largest Ella's in my box with two small flasks of water

I wasn't explicit about it, but I hope you realised I meant for you to poor water in the unopened packet, then poor out the hot food once it is defrosted a hot! Don't poor the water on the actual food!

Bring a banana. Take of one strip of peel. Scrape out the banana and feed baby. Then give her milk. Next meal time it can be veg pure again :)

Thanks for all your advice. I do give him lots of other stuff that is easy to do without prep and alwys have fruit or give him something off my plate. I think I really posted as I was a bit shocked that so many places refused - seems sad we live in such a litigious society it has come to this!