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!

[Angelico]

The Ella's pouches are v nice! I always taste them first and they really do just taste of fruit and veg. But as Journey says they are a stage (in this case stage 1). It would cost me far more in both money and time to go and buy weird and wonderful veg, wash them, peel them, cook them, puree them, freeze them etc etc than just squeeze a blob into pot and serve! It also doesn't seem to stop DD trying bits of mash from our plates and bits of toast, bagel, banana etc. Once she is eating more they would get too expensive but for now the pouches are pricey but will do her for 4 meals.

[scottishmummy]

I really do not agree some punnet fruit mashed more pricy than pouch
It's not a faff,it's not weirdy,it's quite straightforward

[yellowhousewithareddoor]

I think it must be psychological (clever marketing) that makes people think pouches are better than jars. Reassuringly expensive?

[MyShoofly]

I did not find making my kids food hard or expensive - just steam veg, blend/mash and batch freeze in ice cube trays. Shred whatever meat we were having with small cheese grater. Easy.

It may be judgey but I don't get jars of banana, avocado etc. How hard is it to peel and mash a banana? for me jars just don't seem to have much in common with what real food looks like, tastes like, feels like and so forth.

[saycheeeeeese]

I used fruit pouches and tried DD with the toddler meals but stopped because her nappies were really bad!
She got what we were having, I had to mush it down because unfortunately she just didn't do BLW despite my best efforts(wouldn't eat just choked).
She's 18 mo and I wouldn't even consider a jar or pouch now, that article is shocking!

[vvviola]

DD2 eats pretty much what we eat (more than her sister did at similar ages) partly because I had a bit more time, a lot more confidence and then partly because she has food allergies so finding option without dairy or egg was tricky.

But, I still (at 19 months) buy the occasional jar. One lives in her nappy bag for those days we end up going for a meal unplanned and they can't accommodate her allergies. I also usually have a few pouches in the cupboard - they work quite well as a basic pasta sauce when seriously pressed for time or when we're travelling.

Honestly don't see a thing wrong with them except they're expensive and maybe a bit blander than I'd like. Hasn't harmed either DD as far as I can tell. DD1 will eat anything and DD2 isn't far behind although if anyone can tell me why she refused a sausage roll the other evening before begging for, and devouring, a leaf of lettuce, I'd be very grateful. Odd child

[Fairylea]

You can't compare ready meals to baby jars. At all. If you read the ingredients in a jar or pouch of baby food there is nothing bad in them whatsoever.

Personally I use a lot of pouches as I think ds eats healthier eating them than eating what I eat!

Do whatever suits you and don't worry about all the anti jar propaganda out there, a lot of it is led by baby led weaning experts and not necessarily true. Most parents do a mixture of puree and finger food. It's fine to do both.

[YellowandGreenandRedandBlue]

Fairylea there is loads of crap in jars.

I didn't think about it but when I read that article, it pointed out some of the food has a shelf life of years! That is not going to be healthy food.

[ChasedByBees]

There's nothing wrong per se, as long as they're not used exclusively. The flavours tend towards the sweeter end of the spectrum so you might get your baby used to sweet foods. Also they are very mono-textured so it can be harder to introduce lumps.

I just found it easier to share what we were eating and do BLW. The odd Ella's pouch was quite useful but I was shocked to find one which was called chicken something only had 8% chicken. Once DD's tiny appetite was taken into consideration, the amount of protein she had was virtually homeopathic.

[Throughgrittedteeth]

That article is so biased, not all patents who buy jars or pouches are gullible. It's a matter of convenience.
We would save a few portions of whatever we were having if it was suitable and substitute any other meals with a jar. But FWIW we started on the chunkier jars because we know so many fussy children who don't like textures. I'd say DS ate 4-5 jars a week and now (20mo) demolishes anything we give him.
Although I'm not smug enough to not realise that this will probably change.

[Throughgrittedteeth]

Oh and just to add DS loves strong flavours especially garlic. That might be because, as someone up thread said, the blandness of the jars has made him crave food that is more exciting.

[Flisspaps]

They're not bad, I just didn't bother with purée or mashed food - I'm too lazy to spoonfeed anything especially as my two (and pretty much any baby of weaning age) could feed themselves

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

Ithat article is truly shocking, I have never been too keen on jars/pouches, and the article confirms what I kind of sudpected, only worse

I don't think there's any harm in the occasional jar, as long as they get lots of fresh food. They still have lots of growing to do, they need all the nutrients they can get!

Pureeing food is not necessarily a hard job, we eat lots of veggies/soups so babies' meals often came from that, when I cooked specifically for them, I'd make loads so I could freeze it.

[Throughgrittedteeth]

I definitely agree also with someone further up who said that jars are too puréed have you tried to get food like that?! You have to cook it for ages!
Fliss as soon as my DS could comfortable feed himself it was bliss, he was around a year I think.
He's so territorial with his food now I'm always surprised he doesn't growl at me like a dog when I try to help or take his plate away!

[FamiliesShareGerms]

Nothing wrong with jars (people fretting about the shelf life need to go and look through their cupboards at how long you can keep a tin of baked beans, for example). But they are too expensive for one thing to use every day, as well as limiting your options for introducing new tastes and flavours.

I found the pudding ones the most useful, before the DC moved on to yogurts.

I agree with the poster who likened this to the BF / FF debate - whilst one method is "better", the other isn't "bad". But a bit at a 21 month old still eating jars on a regular basis (sorry)

[AuntLucyInPeru]

The hipp jars seemed to have in them exactly the same stuff as I was painstakingly steaming and pureeing, and DS liked them (unlike my food, which he mostly spat out ). And the Ella's pouches were great 'on the go' at weekends - lightweight and easy to pack. Other times they just had a mashed up bit of what we were having. All of it was organic and additive-free. Not that I would have bothered me unduly if it wasn't. There are bigger parenting-fails then allowing a tablespoon of non-organic meat to pass your toddlers lips

[Mooshbag]

For me it was mainly the taste and a bit of PFBitis. DD never really took to purées...I don't think she liked the texture.

Is there any evidence to show that jar fed children have problems eating when older?

[MakeHayNotStraw]

I never used a single pouch or jar for either of my two, and having read that article I am very pleased. It wasn't really for any particular reason (although I prefer to cook from scratch rather than ready meals), so I wouldn't recoil in horror from a friend using one.
However, I just don't get the spending hours steaming/mashing/pureeing - BLW is soooo much easier! Never pureed a thing!

[Fairylea]

Dd is 10 years old, was fed largely on jars until 9 months old and now eats anything and everything and mostly fresh cooked meals, including lots of fruit and vegetables. Never had any issues with food. Ds is the same. I use mainly pouches with him as he prefers them to the jars. I just don't have time or the inclination to cook a proper lunch for him for example and we all eat at different times to him so rather than give him some of my egg sandwich / soup full of salt / pasta in sauce from a jar etc I give him a baby pouch. If I can save him someo what we have for a main mealgl then I will. He does have fresh fruit, egg etc.

That article is scaremongering. Yes there may be fillers and such like in baby jars but they are ok as part of a balanced diet with baby milk and fruit as well. No one bats an eyelid giving older toddlers cows milk and legally that is allowed to contain a certain percentage of pus (I used to be strict vegan and did a lot of research into the food industry).. so allowing the odd well cooked maggot in something isn't going to do any harm at all. In fact in lots of societies they are considered good sources of protein. Controversial? Yes.

People are so upset about jars and pouches for babies and yet once they become.toddlers it all seems to go out of the window and they don't even have the breast milk or formula milk to supplement the diet a lot of the time.

[Blessyou]

throughgrittedteeth what is the other side of the debate that the article is not balanced with? Genuinely interested, because it really shocked me.

I don't consider myself gullible at all, but there's a lot in there that I didn't realise.

[Mooshbag]

I'm pleased I read the article because I fell for the AK biscuits (even though I think her recipes are bonkers). I work in marketing so I should know better!

[Blessyou]

Xposted fairylea

I think most people are under the impression , like I was, that jars are quick and easy (true), nutritious (much less so than I realised!), safe and clean (generally true but I would be at insects in my food, let alone my baby's)

Agree, having done both traditional weaning and baby led that BLW ticks all the boxes for convenience, nutrition, cost etc

[Khaleese]

I can be rarther smug after reading that article. None of mine had baby pouches, jars etc. They also didn't have any of the posh processed snacks ( organix etc) i was mostly concerned with the preservatives.

I did blw, but felt they are a complete waste of money. It's never cheaper to buy them over cooking your own.

[tilder]

That article is alarmist and biased. You do need to add water to anything to make a puree, I know I did so am not surprised there is water in baby puree. There are also incredibly strict rules on babyfood.

Totally agree with the shelf life comparison upthread too - tins etc have a long shel life as the are produced and packed in a sterile manner. The reason home produced and frozen food has a shorter shelf life is because it wasn't sterile.

I bf all of mine but am also aware that they will take in lots of undesirable things that way too. I don't have an organic diet for example. Children won't have a completely chemical free diet and like all thing food its about balance.