Organic?

[farsk]

Hello!

We have decided to wait a bit to start Ellen on solids, probably around six months and I have bought Super Baby Food and Child of Mine (though as you may already know, finding the time to read them is a challenge!)

So anyway, I am inclined to go with only organic stuff (despite Ellen being BFed and I don't eat only organic). Should I or is it a waste of money? What is the best organic stuff....Tender Harvest...Earth's Best...something else I haven't heard of.

Thanks! I'm sure I'll have a ton more questions as time draws closer!
-Shannon
Mom to Ellen 7/23/2003

[kaitlinsmommy]

I have made all of dd's baby food a la Super Baby Food. I only bought organic fruits & veggies at first but then started buying them at the regular grocery store. However, I buy her organic cereal (Healthy Time), applesauce (Whole Foods brand), cottage cheese (Horizon) and yogurt (Yo Baby or Brown Cow).

I don't know what kinds of organic jars are best but I have heard that Tender Harvest is good. If you choose to give Ellen organic applesauce (dd loves it), I recommend the Whole Foods brand. I buy the jar of unsweetened but they also have individual 6-pk. containers that are easy to bring in the diaper bag.

Good luck & have fun!

[heidi_timms]

Earth's best is supposed to taste the best and I find it on sale. Safeway stores and Albertson's here in California put it on sale and also have those coupon machines that give $1.00 off of 5 jars. I have bought it as cheap as $.25-30 a jar. I also recently purchased some Tender Harvest and DD likes that too.

I would definitely try and feed organic, especially since you can find it so cheap! A baby's small body has a harder time with the pesticides vs. an adult-sized body.

I have found Super Baby Food helpful, but she recommends some strange things like nuts at 8 months old(is a potential allergy risk). Most peds don't recommend giving nuts until after 2-3 years old.

~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[sntm]

even if you don't eat organic, what she is getting through you has been prefiltered by your liver, so she is getting less pesticide residue, etc than if she was eating it on her own, KWIM? so i think organic baby food is worth it. in an ideal world, organic food would be easy to find and cheap for everyone, but we can at least do the best for our babies!

shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[miki]

My baby is not nearly old enough for solids but I just wanted to offer my two cents about organic produce. I live in California and there are a lot of produce delivery services in my area that specilize in organic produce. I switched from going to the grocery store and buying regular produce to one of these services in my last month of pregnancy to cut out one more errand we needed to run and to start healthier eating habits.

I think the organic produce is a good idea if you are going to make any of your baby's food. My husband and I both think it tastes better--things have better flavor, things that are supposed to be crisp have more crunch, etc. And it stays fresher in the fridge longer, both before and after cooking. (But that may be just because the supplier is delivering fresher produce than what I could buy at the market.)

[C99]

This is one of the things I really miss about San Francisco! We don't have the option for organic boxes so much in Chicago (in the winter). And it's a lot more expensive, too.

I recently bought organic cow's milk (I normally just buy the stuff that is rBGH-free) and it tastes so much better than commercial milk. For baby food, I think the Earth's Best and Healthy Times jarred food tastes better than Gerber's Tender Harvest, but the latter will do in a pinch.

[mommyj]

Are there any groups/farms in particular you recommend for ordering boxes in the bay area? I just found out about this recently, and am interested in checking out the avaiable options.
TIA!

[miki]

I researched this a while ago so I don't remember all the names of the services I looked into. I get delivery to my house from Planet Organics (planetorganics.com). I chose them because you can also buy groceries, dairy, and some meat and have that delivered too. It seemed like most of the other delivery services only deliver produce or had very limited grocery selection. There are also some farms that have pick-up locations where you go and get your produce once a week but they didn't usually let you pick what you wanted. With Planet Organics, you can give them instructions on their website, you can change the mix of produce they give you with a custom order, you can have various size boxes depending on how many people you need to feed and specify the mix of fruit, vegetables, and groceries, and you can cancel your order if you don't need it for some reason.

I get a $28 box of fruit and vegetables for me and my husband. It's more than enough for the week. It is more expensive than going to the supermarket. But it's not more expensive than going to the fancier market near us and buying strictly organic produce. Plus, like I said, the produce stays fresher longer so I also find I save because I don't have things go bad in the fridge when I don't get to cooking something if the baby was fussy for a few days in a row.

[mommyj]

Thanks! I'll have to look into that. It sounds great.