BABY FOOD - WHICH BRANDS ARE BEST?

[KYLE'S MOM]

My son is getting ready to start baby foods. Which brands are the best for him? Is one really better than the other? I have read that some have additives. What should I look for? I am considering making some periodically but would not be able to make all of his food. Which is better - Earths Best or Tender Harvest? Or are these organic brands any better than say Gerber, Beechnut or Heinz? Thank you for your input.

[Mammaluna]

I really like the Gerber Tender Harvest Organic line of baby food and The Earth's Best Organic Baby Cereal. Also depending on where you live if you find Healthy Times Organic Cereals & jar foods they are good too. The Healthy Times Cereal come in a rather small package but you only need a small amount of dry cereal to make a generous portion.
Personally, I perfer the Organic baby foods over the regular baby foods. My theory being that even a small amount of pesticides for a baby is probably too much. Especially when you are feeding your baby a variety of foods which contain many different pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, etc.
I don't believe any mother would want to put small amounts of poison on their baby's food even if they are told it is safe. That's just my opinion.
I did contact Gerber regarding their cereals. I asked if they used genetically modified grains in their cereals and baby food products and they said they do not.
Most jar baby food do not contain sugar/salt due to parents concerns. The one thing to look out for is food labeled as dessert/pudding. For instance Banana pineapple dessert will contain sugar, starches etc.
Should you want more information you can log on to the different baby food companies websites. They also have mailing lists where you can receive coupons.
Bon Appetit to you & your new baby.

[jiujiu]

Another food line that you can find at natural food stores is "Organic Baby." I tasted several of the veggies and they definitely taste better than Gerber! They're also cheaper than Earth's Best, which my girls didn't seem to like quite as much. My only complaint about Organic Baby is that the lids are sometimes really hard to get off compared to any other baby foods we used.

Do watch out for fillers, especially when you get up to stage 3 Gerber and Heinz foods--not just desserts. (I work full time and have twins--I go for convenience foods including some of the Gerber Graduates).

I also liked Gerber's organic foods just for variety's sake as well as knowing they were free of pesticides, etc.

I still buy organic apple juice and apple sauce when possible. I've just read a lot about how apples really retain pesticide residue.

Jennifer