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!

[AlbertaCampion]

Arrrrgh, that damned article again! (The one from AlphaMommy or whatever it's called, to which people are linking on this thread.) Someone sent it to me last month. As a mum I'm used to being made to feel bad/guilty by smug know-it-alls, whatever decisions I make. But even so, that article irritated me to all heckers!

As far as I'm concerned it's a sanctimonious diatribe written by and for the benefit of the holier-than-thous. All the outrage about jars being mostly water... Um, so is most puréed / BLW food! By the time I got to the blown-up stock pictures of insects, I was rolling my eyes. Are people on here really taking it THAT seriously?

(And if you are, you have to admit: you can't complain about lack of protein in one sentence and the presence of maggots in the next )

I expect I'm like a lot of mums: my DC ended up on a mixture of homemade purées, BLW and the occasional jar or pouch. And it was fine. Jars/pouches had their place, and I was pleased to have them. When I was too ill to cook, or when we were on long journeys or doing the family rounds at Christmas, they were a lifesaver.

If you can't bear to feed your precious little one jars, then fine. But seriously: it's a jar of baby food, not a pot of pestilence.

[AuntLucyInPeru]

I wanted to put that article through the Ben Goldacre 'Bad Pharma' test because it read like a load of inflammatory bollocks to me...

[Figgygal]

There's nothing wrong with them once in a while IMO

[Flisspaps]

There's absolutely no need for a 21 month old to be on jars. Not even for the odd meal, or top-ups.

Chewing food isn't just important for nutrition, it helps with speech (strengthening the jaw/tongue).

Why do you not dish up the same meal as you eat?!

[ClairesTravellingCircus]

I think tge bottom line is that anything that is mass-produced will never be the same quality as home made.

To me it's not about the probable fussyness later (they all go there), nor do I think they're dangerous, but they are just not as nutritious as fresh food is.

[ThePigOfHappiness]

£6/?9 would buy enough meat to feed me dp and 2 kids for 3 meals. No way is it more economical. At 21 months your dd should just eat what you do? Would half a jar even be enough at a meal?
The article doesn't say anything that you couldn't find out by reading the labels carefully I don't think.

[MousyMouse]

they are not too bad, imo. but not suitable as sole source of food.
they are mainly starchy and lack protein and fat, so the least you should do is mix in some good fat (extra virgin olive oil) and make sure that baby has enough milk for protein.
some are better than others, though. I think hipp and rachel are pretty good (and organic).
and best not rely on them completely but see tham as a treat and for convenience.

[StealthPolarBear]

Soery not read whole thread but surely it's the difference between processed food and fresh food? Anything in a jar or pouch that doesn't need to be refridgerated is obviously not that fresh. And my diet, and my DCs' contains lots of jarred/pouched food, but in addition to fresh stuff.

[SlinkyB]

I think it's a case of everything in moderation/being sensible.

It's all very well saying cook from scratch and give baby some of what you eat. But what if your diet isn't particularly healthy or nutritious? I don't enjoy cooking or spending hours in the kitchen after a long day at work, and dh and I eat quite a lot of rich, spicy, salty, convenient food which is not suitable for babies or toddlers.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

That article was shocking. I knew that nutritionally and taste wise they can't compare to home cooked food but I had no idea they contained do little if what the main flavour is. I never used them mainly because the idea of sitting down to eat a meal while my baby ate processed mush was not one I was comfortable with. Ii refused to pay the money for a jar when the local market could sell be a whole bag of carrots for very little extra and I only had to waste one ice cube full if she didn't.

I'm sure for many people they have been life savers and agree that used as jars are meant to be used ie out and about if baby gets hungry, or whilst waiting for an appointment etc and not used every meal every day, then I doubt any harm will be done. But personally I wouldn't use them. If there's one thing I won't compromise on its that.

[littleducks]

I don't really see the point or jars/pouches. If we were out and about and I got stuck for food I'd give my babies a rice cake or a banana or something. At home either I made a nursery tea for both of them (pasta/jacket potatoe/fish pie) if we were having something unsuitable or they ate what we ate with the recipe tweaked so salt was added at the end.

[StealthPolarBear]

Slinky, I am not being judgemental, believe me, I am generally a very bad and lazy cook. But after the child has been "weaned" then they will eat what you eat surely? So at the age of about 18 months (I think) will they share your bad diet?
Having children forced us to up our act a bit. I'm still a lazy cook and my children have far from an ideal diet. But I started to realise that beans on toast with a slice of ham or piece of cheese is better than, say, a ready made lasagne that claims to contain vegetables.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes littleducks. Our children have always eaten what we eat - not because they now eat grilled sea bass with griddled aubergine and courgette, but because we eat stuff like jacket potato, pasta and sauce, boiled eggs etc :)

[saycheeeeeese]

My 18mo eats spicy stuff we just add creme fraiche or yogurt to it, when we have a chippy she gets some of my chips and chicken goujons without the batter, when we have steak she gets a bit of steak and mash.

At the weekend I make her fish fingers, carrot waffles and peas if we are going to get a takeaway when she's in bed. I honestly don't think a toddler needs jars.

[SlinkyB]

Oh, we eat healthily when we eat with ds - fresh veg, lean meat, fresh fruit etc, but I remember when we were weaning and fancied a take-away or spicy curry then ds might have a baby meal.

There's also the time thing. Babies/toddlers tend to eat their evening meal earlier than the parents, esp if they come home late from work.

Each to their own, like I said, as long as the jar is only now and again, I don't see the harm. Ds is 2.2 now and is a very good eater. According to that article though, because I gave him the occasional jar or pouch, he'll grow up to be obese, diabetic and have cancer .

[SlinkyB]

Agree toddlers don't need jars at all.

[StealthPolarBear]

Yes, agree with that. If we have a takeaway or want to eat when they're in bed they have beans on toast or whatever. When they were babies they'd just get bread, ham cheese, cucumber, or whatever.

[LeBoob]

Would you eat some meat that would taste the same today as it would in 2 years? A lot of the jars have stupidly long expiry dates which made me wonder what they do to the food to make it 'good' for that long?!

Also I read that a lot of the lids on the jars were not bpa free ( or whatever it is)

[bigkidsdidit]

I used to buy 3 or 4 Ella's Kitchens a month in my big shop and keep them for when we were out and DS was suddenly starving, or if I was too tired to cook. Otherwise I just fork mashed our food.

There's nothing wrong with them IMO and I think that article is a bit daft. I wouldn't do it for every meal because of cost and introducing texture, though.

[MrsSham]

I'm sorry but I would go so far to say half a jar at 21 months is neglectful. It is neither enough in quantity, nutrition and variety. Please start feeding your dc real food.

[ariane5]

I don't think it is terrible for a 21mth old to sometimes have a jar. I remember ds1 and dd2 still having jars at around 18 months (and prob still had odd jar around 21m too but I don't remember!).

I found jars Really handy for dcs due to allergies as if we went anywhere I knew I could feed them so probably relied on them for longer than most people would.

[FatimaLovesBread]

I think there's a difference between sometimes having a jar at 21 months and "mainly" having a jar, as it says upthread.
Are they big jars? Because half a jar seems small, unless it's alongside something else

[diddlediddledumpling]

Half a jar of this, followed by a yoghurt or banana could easily feed a 21 month old. Yes, half a jar of fruit purée would not nourish a child that age,' but otherwise the 'neglect' comment is out of order in my opinion.

[MrsSham]

I don't agree

[mamij]

Both DDs ate what we ate since we started weaning, but jars/pouches definitely came in handy when we Ho on holiday.

We took suitcase full of Ella's kitchens pouches when we went to Asia as it was difficult to eat out with two nut intolerant toddlers/babies! So if jars are bad - I've been an awful mum by giving it to them instead of food which may contain nuts and they are intolerant to!

Btw, I prefer pouches as they are easier if you need to feed them on the go.