jar food

[MadisonC]

DS is about 12.5 months and is very picky eater.. he is also on the smaller side too.  Some days I have to give him 3 different options at lunch and dinner just to get him to eat something and even still its like 3 bites of each and thats it.  I just wanted to know if it is ok to still give him jar food at this age because he loves them and will eat a whole large jar (stage 3) for a meal.  I dont want to feel like I am not feeding him properly or giving him what he needs but I also don't want to keep making a bunch of different things and throwing most of them out.  Any suggestions? Thanks!

[lilisuze]

sure! offer the jar and something else to try. breadsticks/carrot dippers/toast/rice cakes/slice of ham/cheese stick or something as a side, he wont feel forced to try it, you know your getting something nutritive into him, and dont stress about it. he'll get there! Eventually he'll prefer to have table food rather than jar when he sees the variety of things on offer

We also found that DS ate better when we all ate together so he could see us having things.

[MadisonC]

Yeah he does eat other things but just picks at them.  One day he likes something but the next he wont even try it.. with the jar he will actually eat it all.  Because of work DH doesnt eat meals with us a lot but I make it a point to eat all meals with DS at the kitchen table.. I was raised at the table too.

[FroggyMom]

Definitely nothing wrong with jar food!  My DS is 20 months old.  Just last night, I gave him turkey, green beans, and mandarin oranges for dinner.  He ate all of the turkey and oranges, but only played with the green beans.  I asked him why he didn't eat his green beans, and he smiled and pointed to kitchen saying, "bean beans!"  He was requesting the jar food green beans, which for some reason he STILL loves!!!  So, I figure they are healthy for him, and he also eats table food, so why not!

[*Kara*]

Absolutely fine!  Jarred food gets a bad rap for no good reason!  There is nothing wrong with it... just read the ingredients   NO extra junk at all!

[ZacsMumme]

Yeah I wouldnt worry! Not sure how good it is over there, but in NZ it is pretty nutritious (I usually make my own but there is nothing wrong with it, and Z sometimes loves it for a change lol) plu we have ones called little kids for ages 1+. Do you have something like that there? If so it may be a good way to introduce more lumps and variation?  

[Lemonthyme]

Personally I'm not a fan of jarred food.  I've picked some up on occasions and I'm surprised just how little meat there is in the meat options (sometimes as little as 8%) and how some have added sugar and salt or things like apple in savoury foods to make it sweeter!

Perhaps instead of offering lots of things, you could offer lots of variation within one meal but make sure you're not worried if all he eats is one thing?  E.g. if you're having a stew with vegetables, make sure you offer the stew and a wide variety (4 or 5 maybe) different kinds of vegetables?  Then offer fruit afterwards and a healthy pudding?  Even if he only took a nibble at everything, actually it would be a pretty good meal.

[Shiv52]

I dont want to feel like I am not feeding him properly or giving him what he needs but I also don't want to keep making a bunch of different things and throwing most of them out.

{{{hugs}}} I totally agree with you here.  I wouldn't be making a lot of different things.  I have done a lot of work with picky eaters and the issue actually gets a lot worse if and when they learn they can refuse one meal and mummy/daddy will scuttle around making something else.  Your LO is still young but the issue can get a lot worse as they get to 2. 

What we always advised parents is to start as they mean to go on.  So offer a meal and thats the meal.  No alternatives.  Within that meal provide 3-4 foods and always have a couple of things you know they will eat and a couple they might.  So you could do a half jar and then 3 other more finger type foods and thats the meal.   

Here dinner is always what we eat and my DD2 does really well with it.   I don't use jarred meals but do use the organic fruit ones to add to porridge and my DD loves those.   So you could go down the route of doing lunch as non jarred food and dinner as jarred food and finger food so at least you'll know he's had a good dinner. 

Try not to get too stress about it.  Just offer him meals and if he doesn't eat thats ok.   If he sees you getting stressed and trying to find something he will eat will make the issue harder in the long term. 

My only issue with jarred food at this stage is the lack of texture.   The main reason that it is recommended you get onto proper foods is that chewing and swallowing these foods uses muscles that eating purreed/mashed food alone doesn't and it is really important for speech development to get those muscles lots of exercise. 

[*Kara*]

Just want to say that in Canada, there are no added sugars or salt in our jarred foods and there is a whole selection geared at 8 months + that is FULL of texture

Our jarred food is just as healthy as homemade

[Lemonthyme]

Oh cool, well at least no salt or sugar, the only thing I'd still worry about is the amount of good stuff (meat, veggies) bs filler and also if they're jarred they will have been cooked once then cooked again in a retort at around 120 odd degrees so nutritionally might not be the best. At 12 months though I'd think it would be important to start the transition to normal family foods for reasons of cost and practicality?

[Shiv52]

Wow that's great about the texture because even the 1yo meals here are definately not as textured as they would be if I made them myself. I gave R a jarred bolonese last week and it was for 1yo and the meat was so minced and spaghetti so small that I was shocked as it was so different to the spag bol I make for her.

There is a big push in the UK at the minute to encourage people to cook and not used jarred foods as they are finding lots of toddlers are finding it really hard to make the switch. Textures was mentioned but the big thing they stressed was taste. How jarred food is very bland and how toddlers can find the change to normal foods harder because of that. They said by even making your own apple purée it will taste different each time, same with stew just by nature of not having the same amount of herbs etc. 

Bit off topic! But in terms of jarred foods it is recommended here than LOs begin the move to proper solid food from 9 months.

[MadisonC]

Thanks for all the comments! He does eat a variety of table food and finger foods and has been for a while but just not enough to make a meal of them.  I am in Ontario and the jar food here for 1 and up is very lumpy and no added sugar or salt and thats why I give them to him and I can always count on that if he is presented with it I know he will eat it all but it is only given if I dont feel that he has had enough of our food.  Thanks for all of the input!

[*Kara*]

No worries Madison... don't worry, he will start to pick up a lot more variety over the course of the next few months... don't forget that the number of servings he actually needs throughout a day/week isn't all that much  

There are no fillers in our baby food in Canada.  For example, I just read the jar of peas I have in the cupboard:  Peas, water.  I have tasted them and they taste just like peas to me   And I have a jar of Chicken and Veggie Risotto (one of the bigger jars for toddlers 8 months +): chicken, carrots, sweet potato, zucchini, rice, potato, celery, corn, red pepper, lentils, yellow split peas, brown rice, tapioca flour, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, onion powder, garlic powder.  It has the same texture as a homemade chili would have

[Lemonthyme]

Well that's cool but knowing the heat treatment these things need to be shelf stable, I'd just whip some peas out of the freezer, cook them for 3 minutes and puree (if you're at the puree stage) or mash / leave whole etc. 

I know there are lots of companies out there making good foods.  I used to work for one making (good) chilled meals for toddlers and I understand people are busy but just like I wouldn't eat a ready meal every day because it isn't nutritionally as good as fresh, neither would I give it to my child.  Jarred foods go through basically the same process as canning.  There are lots of good, helpful canned foods (I use a lot of canned tomatoes) but I wouldn't eat canned food every day for every meal.  Not sure if that makes sense?

[Shiv52]

because it isn't nutritionally as good as fresh

This is how i view it.  Jarred foods are nutritious for sure but not as nutritious as fresh cooked food.  There is just no way they can be by nature of the processes they go through to become jarred food.  I do use jars (but only organic ones) occasionally but i prefer to use fresh ingredients when possible.  I also buy organic when I can and its not to say non-organic is bad but not as good.  KWIM?

As a family we are trying to eat alot better and cook from scratch.  We do eat canned food/jars in recipes as a family and i know if i made it from scratch it would be better.  And thats what I am aiming for.  To cook most things from scratch without making it a mammoth task. 

[*Kara*]

I agree and I make the majority of my baby's food - but do keep jarred on hand for trips out of the house when we may get delayed and have to feed her... then if I don't have to feed her, it goes back in the cupboard unopened... my homemade stuff would hit the garbage can if not used

I only buy organic baby food as well, although, here in Canada, it's a total waste of money as the ingredients used in baby food must be free of all pesticides regardless of what the label says... it just makes me feel better about it