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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

Why are jars of food bad?

99 replies

riab · 06/10/2006 19:37

I'm interested to know what other mums think about jarred food (babies) and if you think its bad why?

OP posts:
CarolinahowlingattheMoon · 07/10/2006 19:10

ds is nearly 2yo and has never had a jar.

we don't eat much processed/ready-meal type food and it just seemed more natural (and a hell of a lot cheaper) to make food for him.

CarolinahowlingattheMoon · 07/10/2006 19:13

riab, how about making stuff in bulk for your ds, freezing it, and giving that to him when you're having a curry?

tbh we eat a lot less spicy food now than before having ds. One day we'll be back on the curries...

booge · 08/10/2006 08:54

Jars are great!! We don't use them all the time but I couldn't do with out them as a stand by.

BikeBug · 08/10/2006 16:37

I like jars! Though I have complex jar snobbery - eg will happily give ds Organix stuff, but am totally snooty about Heinz...

Rookiemum · 08/10/2006 21:03

LOL at bikebug, quite proud to be seen out with Plum or Organix fruit purees but would be less keen for a Heinz jar bit of good old snobbery but also lots of non natural stuff in most of them.

My particular bug bear are jars of "Organic" baby food ooh its all right to have additives which means it is good until 2007 but provided the veg is organic then its still good for your baby.

However I reserve the right to change my mind on this at any point in the future if I couldn't be arsed cooking any more or if we run out of money to buy the Plum baby stuff.

Mum2FunkyDude · 08/10/2006 21:16

They are not bad, but they do fill them with bulking agents and in the process the ratio nutrients are not as good as it would be should you prepare yourself.

JoshandJamie · 08/10/2006 21:52

They're not bad nutritionally and are a life saver when going on holiday or something. But they taste vile and they all taste the same. They're cooked at very high temperatures to give them a long shelf life - which kills off some of the nutrients (which some manufacturers add back in artificially) and causes the sugar in the fruit/veg to caramelise which is why they go that horrible browny orange colour.

Personally, would you eat a jar of baby food? I couldn't. not even a taste. So I feel that if I won't eat it, how can I expect them to.

If you don't want to make your own, try buying some of the frozen baby foods out there. Because they're frozen, they don't have to be cooked at such high temperatures and therefore taste more like real food.

lilymolly · 09/10/2006 07:53

oh god now your scaring me. Where do I get frozen bay food from?

Haheipah · 09/10/2006 08:49

My 10 month DS refuses all savoury jarfood. Not surprising in my mind as they taste revolting.

I do feed him Clearspring fruit purees which aren't strictly babyfood but they contain nothing but fruit, they taste delicious and come in excellent size portions. I have also used Superplum Baby and Organix fruit purees at a push.

What JoshandJamie says is true. Babyfood is cooked at high temperatures so much of the nutritional value is destroyed. Frozen is better and there are some good brands including Truly Scrumptious but they are much more expensive than making your own.

I cook all DS food from scratch. I get an organic delivery box each week and just cook up the vegetables and fruit from that and freeze it. I also make up a few meals and freeze those. If you have 'staples' of pasta, rice flakes, millet flakes and quinoa flakes (all which cook in minutes) you can always make up a quick meal in moments.

I can recommend Lucy Burney's books. She has four children and is a qualified nutritionist specialising in children's health. Her recipes are so quick, easy to make and delicious. DS has never refused a recipe from her book.

Rookiemum · 09/10/2006 09:03

Lilymolly if you google babylicious then you can find out where its stocked. It is frozen baby food like JoshandJamie mentioned. I have tried it on Rookiebaby but unfortunately he is having a whole chicken dislike period however it smelt good and the ingrediants are fairly normal looking.

Overrun · 09/10/2006 09:11

I have always cooked for mine for the most part, but have not worried too much about the odd jar when we are out or going away.
What I have read which worried me a bit, was that there is a school of thought that suggests that baby food is better for you as as it has to pass such stringent food tests unlike our food. We can't afford to buy all organic for example, so there will be pesticides on our fruit and veg.
I still made up batches of food for them (they now eat exactly what we eat, the youngest are 23 months), as think the vitamin quota has got to be higher.

ginmummy · 09/10/2006 09:20

Jars of food are bad because health visitors, the media, the NCT etc etc decided that mothers as the primary carers have it far too easy and that jars of food are bad even as an occasional stop gap because we should all have the money, time and energy to buy only same-day-fresh organic local produce at the local farmer's market and cook tasty and nutritious food on the aga for our little darlings.

Seriously though, I cooked from fresh and used jars and ds liked it all in equal measures. He had his favourite jars, usually puddings that to me tasted bland and unappetising but apparently taste great to babies, and he also sat down to proper cooked meals with the rest of us. Jars are convenient in the same way that tinned soups are convenient - you know you can make it better yourself (mostly) but sometimes they're just a handy convenience.

I am not of the "I fed my ds baby food from jars therefore I abused him and stunted his mental and physical growth and now he will never be a doctor/astronaut/architect and it's all my fault because I am a bad mother who occasionally didn't cook" school of thinking.

jay13 · 09/10/2006 09:28

I used the "pure fruit" and "pure vegetables" little pot thingys (are they Heinz?) occasionally at 6-7 months as they gave me a chance to offer lots of different tastes easily. I never could get a mango at just the right stage to turn into puree! But agree they are expensive - I never bought the "easy to make yourself" ones (potato and carrot for example). By nine months all four of mine have been eating what we eat. When the first three who are three years in total apart were tiny, I would give them what we had eaten the night before. Now with age 13, 11 and 10 and a baby we eat about 6pm altogether and LO has to fit in. Soemtimes I give him his fruit pudding before if he seems really hungry.

Original poster
riab · 09/10/2006 10:06

ginmummy, that exactly how i feel about the times i feed him a jar. I can't cook very well at all and i hate cooking,.
Why should i feel so guilty because i decided that a bowl of pasta with some grated cheese and a veg/chicken mix jar as sauce is a better option as it gives me time to play with him, he enjoys his food, I havn't burnt a pan and we are both more relaxed?

OP posts:
3catstoo · 09/10/2006 10:37

I am totally against it.
As I have never used it for my 3 children I am in no position to judge it.
It takes no time at all to prepare fresh fruit and veg or to puree whatever you are having (as long as you don't use salt and of course as long as you made it yourself!)

I think it is my duty as a mother to give my children the best I can. A small bag of organic veg isn't too costly and goes along way when pureed and put into ice cube containers in the freezer.

Even the seals used on the jars had some bad press a few years ago.

Original poster
riab · 09/10/2006 10:48

no time at all =
40 minutes extra on shopping time to go to organic veg shop (not nearby and no local shops sell organic, organic delivery scheme very pircey and only does 'box' not chose your own veg so i end up with things DS and me don't like and still need to buy carrots and sweet potatoes)
£5 extra on weekly shopping bill

10 minutes to prepare/peel/wash veg
20 minutes to cook it (or go and do something else and end up burning the pan again)
10 minutes to puree it and pack into ice cube trays.

I admire anyone who has the energy and commitment to do totally homecooked organic stuff for their kids but please don't insult others by saying it takes no time to do, it does and some of us chose to do other things with that time.

OP posts:
ginmummy · 09/10/2006 10:56

3catstoo - do you make your own baked beans? How about pasta and tomato sauce? Have your children ever eaten anything that came out of a tin, tube, jar, bottle or packet??

There's nothing wrong with choosing not to give your children baby food out of a jar, it's a completely individual choice and one that should be respected either way, but to say it is your duty as a mother to give your children the best you can is exactly the kind of holier than though, high and mighty, 'I'm a better mother than you' attitude that boils my piss. Are you saying that because I gave my ds food from a jar that I didn't do the best I could for him??

alexsCURSEDMUMMY · 09/10/2006 10:58

igave my sons loads of jars of organix and hipp. loads and loads.
i also made some stuff for them and they had some of our food.
they are the best eaters out of all the children i know. they devour vegetables and fruit like it's going out of fashion, will try new tastes and textures, and will eat most things i put in front of them . i never have to worry if they go to someones elses house for tea as i know they will have a good go at most foods.
they are both slim and strong and tall and healthy and very very bright.
if you don't want to give your kid jars -fine. but don't feel superior because of it.

naughtymummy · 09/10/2006 11:21

I used a mixture of jars and homemade like most people, however this time( i am pregnant again) I wo n't use jars. These are my reasons:

  1. AT the begining when it is just fruit and veg DS would n't touch 1st stage jars I think because the consistency is just too smooth, compared to what i could acheive with a hand held blender.

2)I later used some 7 month + jars(organix). But found that even the one with interesting sounding names were 95% carrots, potatoes, tomartos and water and for this you'd pay the best part of a quid!

After 6-7 months children need protien and iron at least once a day and sufficient quanities and I do n't believe that most commercial baby food fufils these requirements. I accept that if you spend a fortune on premier organic baby food this is probrably better and obviously pureed fruit is pureed fruit.

  1. My freinds who relied heavily on jars found the transition to proper food very difficult and some still wo n't eat food with lumps.

I'm afraid I don't buy the theory that it's ok if they have finger foods as well as I think they need food on a spoon that they need to chew.

this is not meant as a judgement on anyone this is just my personal experience of using jars vs homecooked food

Enid · 09/10/2006 11:24
Grin
Enid · 09/10/2006 11:26

I think they are crap

also loads of them are full of water/juice/fillers which do not fill children up very much

moljam · 09/10/2006 11:36

i never use jars,partly because lo is veggie and if i cook from scratch i know whats going in his tummy.jars are so expensive ,cheaper to cookup load of foods and freeze.also as wemove on to lupier fod,i can make it as lupy as i want not what jar says mylo should be having.

thehairybabysmum · 09/10/2006 11:52

Personally i tend to do home made as i never found it much hassle to adapt or use what we have ( plus cost) but am not anti jar, i have and will use them when it suits convinience. Do think some of them appear to bear little resemblance in taste or smell to what they say on the label, ds never seems bothered though so fine by me.

re pesticides worries...if you wash all fruit and veg and peel (as appropriate) that reduces exposure. Pesticide residue levels in childrens diets (and adults) are examined when pesticides are licensed. Also fruit and veg is tested at point of sale.

re jars...see this link for contamination of jarred food with semicarbizide... \link{http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press_room/questions_and_answers/44.html}

Personnally i reckon that theres always something to worry about whichever route you go down (even organic production can use some pesticides). So you're best off doing what suits you and generally not analsying every little thing (ostrich approach to parenting!!)

Agree with sentiments not to judge what others doing...aren't we all just bumbling along the best we can and does it really matter if Mrs x gives her baby jars or mrs Y knits her own vegetables!!

thehairybabysmum · 09/10/2006 11:53

sorry...too dim to understand the link inserting instructions!

ThomBat · 09/10/2006 12:00

I don't buy jars for a few reasons.

a) I bought a jar of carrot mush for Lottie once and the jarred carrot stained horribly. My home made stuff never did that. Made me feel ill at the what they had done to it to make it that bright orange and to stain as bad as that

b) The same weekend I had to buy the carrots in a jar I also bought a chickeny thing for Lottie and she violently threw it up. She had never been sick before and wasn't again until years later. The jar of food made her projectile vomit minutes after eating it. Nothing else ever did that before or since.

c) I love cooking. We don't eat prepared food (well v rarely) so why would I make my kids?

d) I love watching them eat home cooked food knowing exactly what was put in it, full of goodness, not an additive in sight. It gives me a lovley warm glow as they scoff down homemade dinners and no prepared bought food would ever do that.