Best Baby Food Brand

[left210]

What are your recommendations for the best baby food brand? I cannot do all homemade purees and am looking to get opinions on the best options. DS is 6 months old and we have started him on the Earths Best which he does fine with but I was wanting to get opinions on whether we should consider another brand. I have read Earths Best is organic but the lids have BPA in them. I have seen Gerber has an organic line and there are some frozen type baby foods although I havent found any in my area yet. Any suggestions?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I really like the Happy Baby food. It's the frozen one I think you are referring to. Plum is another brand of frozen baby foods and they are yummy too!
http://www.happybabyfood.com/

Honestly though, baby doesn't need baby food, imo. You can use the mesh baby feeder along with foods that baby can easily mash up with their jaws like avacado and then things like applesauce. Before you know it they will be doing finger foods.


I took my chances with the BPA in the lids on Earth's Best and used that sometimes too.

Beth

[mommylamb]

We used Earth's Best. I didn't know the lids had BPA in them or I probably wouldn't have done that... oh well, too late now.

[SnuggleBuggles]

We used Earth's Best. I didn't know the lids had BPA in them or I probably wouldn't have done that... oh well, too late now.

Yeah, I didn't know about it till a few weeks ago either. Since ds is 12m we haven't had much occasion for jarred stuff in a while. Sine you aren't heating things up in the jar with the lid on I would probably keep using them and I am usually pretty cautious about this stuff.

Beth

[Charlie]

We use Earth's Best and the Gerber Organics. I really like the Gerber and think it tastes better than EB but I have not seen much of a selection. At first I didn't want to use the Gerber because the plastic packaging has a "7" on the bottom and I thought this meant BPA, but the Gerber website states there is no BPA in the packaging. I didn't know about the BPA in the lids of EB but as the previous poster said, I am not heating it up and most of the food doesn't touch the lid anyway so I'm hoping it will be ok (I have a ton in my cabinet....)

[misshollygolightly]

We've just started, but so far I like the Earth's Best for a store-bought brand (I've been pureeing my own for the most part, though). BUT, for a fast and easy alternative to pureeing my own, I just discovered a more economical option than the jarred stuff: buying canned organic "adult" stuff (my grocery store has cans of all-natural organic pureed pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash among other things--oh, and applesauce). When I get home, I open the can and spoon the stuff into ice cube trays to freeze just like my homemade purees (I usually set aside a serving in the fridge for DS's meal that day). It is faster and easier than pureeing my own (and no dirty dishes to clean!), but so far as I know, it avoids the BPA worries AND the problems with avoiding jarred stuff w/ added salt, sugar, etc. Would that be an option for you?

[ahrimie]

I really like the Happy Baby food. It's the frozen one I think you are referring to. Plum is another brand of frozen baby foods and they are yummy too!
http://www.happybabyfood.com/

i love happy baby food too!! i've done earth's best, gerbers (organic for both). the happy food seems fresher and more "real" than the other jarred varieties i've tasted. i also really like their cereal, happy bellies. the cereal lately comes out with coupons for their frozen food: buy one, get one FREE.. which is a $4.99 value (at our whole foods).

[shaeeMom]

i love the earths best jars
my baby loves their fruit and vegetable varieties. and they taste better than the gerber ones...

[MontrealMum]

BUT, for a fast and easy alternative to pureeing my own, I just discovered a more economical option than the jarred stuff: buying canned organic "adult" stuff (my grocery store has cans of all-natural organic pureed pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash among other things--oh, and applesauce). When I get home, I open the can and spoon the stuff into ice cube trays to freeze just like my homemade purees (I usually set aside a serving in the fridge for DS's meal that day). It is faster and easier than pureeing my own (and no dirty dishes to clean!), but so far as I know, it avoids the BPA worries AND the problems with avoiding jarred stuff w/ added salt, sugar, etc. Would that be an option for you?

Actually, most cans, whether they have organic contents or not, are lined with BPA. I went a bit nutty last year when everything hit the news and was surprised to find out the numerous sources of BPA in food containers in North America. They are considering banning the lining of cans with BPA in Canada IIRC, but have not done much about it yet, just banned the baby bottles. We've made some changes to our shopping and cooking habits, but I've also calmed down a bit now.

Also, most glass jars of baby food (and jars of other adult food like spaghetti sauce etc.) have BPA on the underside of the lid. So, not just Earth's Best, but also Beechnut, Heinz and Gerber - though I think the brands you have and their packaging is different in the US, so YMMV on that.

That said, although I did make the bulk of DS' purees from scratch, I used Earth's Best as well. Like pp I figured that most of the contents did not touch the lid, and I did not heat up with the jar on. You can also make your own purees from frozen fruits/veggies which avoids some of the BPA in packaging concerns.

[srhs]

Actually, most cans, whether they have organic contents or not, are lined with BPA.

Ugh, why did I not know this? I feel so ignorant!
I do understand about the not heating, though.
I can't find many fresh organics in my area. I might have to give up on the organic quest and go fresh standard. I was thinking canned organic was better than standard fresh, but now I don't know about that! Maybe with aggressive vinegar soaking and scrubbing?
Hmmm...wonder if I can find frozen organic anywhere. We don't have Happy Baby, but does anyone like DelMonte have a frozen organic line? Wait...do frozen plastic bags have bad stuff in them too?