Babble

I'm not saying that I should love the taste of every food that comes out of a jar, because by now my pallet is used to added salt and sugar, but why shouldn't the peaches taste ripe, and the sweet potatoes taste not-bitter. I'll stick to making my own baby food - Gerber's food tastes awful. 

I agree! I decided before our daughter started solids that if it wasn't palatable to me, she didn't have to eat it. So I make a lot of her food but the following have passed the test: Gerber organic pears, Gerber organic pears and wild blueberries, Gerber organic peas, and Earth's Best peas, peas and brown rice, and their pears, too! Most of the other fruits have that nasty vitamin C added that tastes like doo-doo. And don't even get me started on the veggies!  

I read in a baby recipe book that the reason the commercial stuff tastes bad is because it's steamed at extraordinarily high temperatures...thus rendering it virtually tasteless. It went on to say that many babies that have commercial food don't actually know what the food really tastes like...so when it's time for them to eat what we make they're not used to it!

The best tasting baby food is "Healthy Times," which I have only ever seen at Whole Foods.  It's all organic, and is actually yummy.  My husband I have actually stolen jars of the "Sun-Sweet Strawberry Kiwi" from our son.  Also, they have the only edible baby food meats -- our whole family loves "Aloha Chicken Mango" (mostly apples) and "Jasmine Chicken Luau" (mostly peaches).

For greens, the best are by Happy Baby.  Frozen cubes of stuff.  The Great Greens are loved, but are currently on recall because they said gluten free when they were not.  I don't have a problem with gluten -- please give us back our greens.  Jarred greens are icky.

I tried to make baby food once -- steamed carrots.  Completely and forcefully rejected.  Since the frozen Happy Baby carrots taste so good, I hope the rejection wasn't because of the steaming, as suggested above.

PS -- I have no connection to either company, just kept giving my son different foods until I found some good ones.

Thanks for letting me know - I'll try Healthy Times, but I'm still having fun making my own (even the grains!). Something I just read this past week is now I'm not supposed to make carrots, beets, spinach, collard greens and other things like those because they can contain too much nitrates. But I'll still do the other things.

 I had not heard about the nitrates.  Maybe my son was spitting home-cooked carrots at me because he's a supertaster for nitrates.  (Kidding.)

I make my son's food. He likes carrots and sweet potatoes roasted rather than boiled or steamed.

I've made all my children's food. It's good to know about the Happy Times meat though. I've always had a problem with meat! I honestly believe that whole foods, unprocessed are so much better for children. Sometimes it's a pain but I always know it's worth it. I'll continue to avoid jarred food for as long as my kids will eat regular food.

I have always thought that I SHOULD be making my son's food, but jarred food (all organic, of course!) has been so easy.  I am out of the house for work from 6am to 6pm, so I don't know where to find time in the kitchen.

 Which has been fine for me with an infant, because I found so much good baby food (I posted above about the Happy Times etc.).  My son is now eating more and more "real food," but I still don't know how to find time to cook.  My husband and I eat way too much frozen food and fast food.  The jarred organic baby foods have very simple ingredient lists, but the frozen foods for kids look pretty bad -- raviolis and fish sticks -- even I don't want to go there.

 So does anyone have any advice for feeding a one-year-old when time in the kitchen is scarce?

You can actually buy baby food that is pre-frozen baby food that is of much better quality than gerger imho. I discovered this because what I found with my son was homemade was really best. I read somewhere that it is important to introduce babies to a lot of tastes and textures early on. When I didn't have time to make my own, however, I would use frozen baby foods which are like homemade. I tried a couple of different brands, but liked Plum Organics (found at stores like Whole foods and shaws) were the best. Their flavors were the most like what I had been making for my son and I liked the convenience of the portable cups, plus when I tasted them I was honestly imperssed and if I was really desperate would eat the stuff ha! Just my perspective, hope it helps....

I found a baby food that tastes the closest to my own homemade baby food called Homemade Baby.  It is as convenient as jarred but fresher than frozen.  But you have to find it with the yogurt and milk because it is made fresh everyday.  Yum!

MaryLou

We came back to the Bay Area from France about 8 months ago and have been very surprised by the lack of choices here when it comes to baby food.  The French have several brands of quality ready made baby meals that our then baby of just over 1 year old absolutely loved (to this day he won't eat any baby jar foods).  I've tried them all and while they are less salty or sweet than what adults are used (abused) to, they truly tasted quite good.  Why can't a US company make quality baby foods?!!? 

The best frozen baby food line is Tastybaby! My baby loves it! I find it in my local Whole Foods in the freezer section. It is made with all organic ingredients and is flash frozen to preserve the nutrients. I also like it because the company is environmentally friendly, using recyclable and biodegradable packaging. They also have a fantastic website which has all kinds of recipes you can make using their baby food, great blogs, and celebrity interviews. You have got to check it out! www.tastybaby.com

Why are you feeding baby food out of a jar??? I cook from scratch whenever possible, but when I can't, I use a Fresh (not frozen) baby food brand called HOMEMADE BABY. They are out of Culver City I think, and I purchase it in the Whole Foods near my house...in the chilled dairy section. The food is so delicious, my husband and I eat it ourselves during the rare times Rita doesn't finish her serving. Favorites are PIWI (Pears and Kiwi) & Squapples (Squash & Apples).

Yeah, I agree... try Fifibear's Brasserie (frozen section) ...My daughter is very fussy and eats fifibear's only.... They have chicken dishes with ground flaxseed, but has herbs in it , so it is not bland and gross! WHole Foods in Los Angeles carries them and I think are expanding nationwide by the end of summer...