With all the brand of baby food, you should be able to find something you and your baby can agree on, but with all those different brands come different packaging, flavors, even cooking styles. You can check out their websites and find neat little tools to help you along if needed. They will not however go into detail about the foods, and rarely have a place to order if you’d like to order bulk, if thats needed, try calling your local grocery and asking the manager if its possible.
The 4 brands found around the Dallas area are Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earths Best, and Natures Goodness (Del Monte) which just came out here within the past three years.
Gerber. This is by far the most well known and widely available brand of food. I have yet to walk into a store and not see it, even some gas stations around here carry a few jars. When my first daughter was on baby food, this was my favorite. Gerber now has three lines of foods:
Gerber “regular” (just called Gerber) which is the basic line its had for years. This line is by far their most diverse when it comes to recipes. With everything ranging from first foods Carrots, to Apricots with Mixed Fruit, then on to Lasagna and Meat sauce for the third foods. they even have “Lil entrees” a baby sized microwavable try with a main course and a side, which helps make taking it on the go easy.
Gerber DHA, which is a line that contains DHA, a nutrient found in breast milk and now most formulas, thats supports brain and eye development.Ive only found this line in the second foods, and only in a few recipes, Apple Vanilla Mixed Grain, Pear Blueberry Oat, Pear Strawberry Granola, and Banana Peach Granola, and then cans of rice cereal, oat cereal, and oat with bananas.
Then there is Gerber Tender Harvest, which is its line of organic baby foods. This line is a bit smaller than the regular line, but is growing rapidly, when they came out a few years ago they only had a few second dinners, like Butternut Squash and Corn, and Chicken and Wild Rice. Now they have the basic first foods, and even more second food recipes and third foods.
They have a toddler line also, which includes freeze dried fruits and corn, cereal bars, juice bottles, and even little soups and stews in microwavable tubs. This line is also growing swiftly and for good reason, since its a good way to give your child a pack of gummys knowing they have no extra sugar or stuff that will make him bounce off the walls more than he is now. especially if you don’t have time to sit in front of then snacks reading labels.
All of their first through third food fruits and veggies are pretty runny, so switching from first carrots to second carrots is only adding volume, not texture. But the ones that have meats are a bit thicker, and may even stay on the spoon for a brief second. The thickest ones would be the ones with serials and pastas, and rice. You could pinch a spoonful of this and it would keep the shape, but don’t worry its still super easy to swallow, just don’t show your husband how she can fit a spoonful of food into her mouth the first time she trys it, the reason for stages is so she can learn at a gradual pace and get used to foods more like the kind adults eat.
The only problem I’ve had with Gerber, is that they recently decided to switch everything over to these new plastic containers. They sell two to a package so you’ll just have to get used to having an even number of each recipe for these. Its next to impossible to find the jars in first foods and second foods now, the only thing I’ve been able to find in jars is meats and third foods. The biggest problems i have with this is that if you throw a couple in the diaper bag for a lunch later, you run the risk of them squishing and then having to spend 2 hours trying to get that lovely carrot out of your daughters new $40 boutique outfit, you wanted to put on her AFTER lunch. (trust me NOT A FUN THING!) And also when you open the sealed part, the food kinda does a mini explosion on whatever it was facing and splatters you.
$ = average .45 for first foods, .65 for second foods (1.12 for two pack), .80 for third foods, and .98 for tender harvest. (1.75 for two pack)
Earths Best. This is the only line I’ve found that is strictly organic. The are however the hardest to find. Ive only found them at the Tom Thumb stores around here. (I’m assuming they have them at Randall’s also since thats the same company.) This brand has the least amount of selection for the brand in whole than any other. with only six first foods to choose from, a little better selection for second foods than thirds, its still great to see the types of recipes they have. Spinach and potatoes are two items you usually don’t see in baby food, but they have both in one jar. Also they use whole grains such as brown rice and muesli. They even have a third dinner with cheese in it, and more “exotic” fruits and veggies to the baby world, like Mangos, Raspberries, and Lentils.
Since they are organic they do not contain some of the additive that the other companies put in such as B vitamins, and gelatin.
They also have the plus of listing on the side whether its kosher or not, if you need this.
They also have a toddler food line that is organic, but it is harder to find than the baby food. This is from the company Celestial Seasonings which is a big manufacturer of herbal teas.
This is a company you can order directly from at www.earthsbest.com
$ = average 1.00 for a first foods jar, 1.09 for a second foods jar, and 1.99 for a third foods jar.
Natures Goodness. This is a little easier to find than earths best, but i have only seen them in “super” stores such as walmart and target. They have a selection that rivals Gerber, but focuses mainly on dinners such as chicken noodle dinner and turkey with sweet potatoes. From what I’ve seen this brand hasn’t been around very long, so its not that well known. I’ve noticed the colors of the foods sometimes seem a bit dull in comparison, but they are still good. This company is a part of Bay Valley Foods and has more foods for adults and such then baby foods, so i think its just really an afterthought for them compared to Gerber and beechnut. Overall its still a great baby food brand. They have a very small toddler line that consists of pasta dishes you can microwave.
$ = average .30 for first foods, .40 for second foods, and .65 for third foods.
Beech-Nut. This is a brand that specializes in nothing but baby food. kind of like Gerber, but they don’t make sippy cups or bottles or anything else, just food. By far the biggest variety available. With over 10 first food varieties, OVER 80 second food varieties, and just under 30 recipes for third foods, you really cant go wrong with them. They even have 12 kinds of cereals. You can go to www.beechnut.com and click on “our baby food” to see the whole list. and they even tell you whats kosher, whats soy-free, whats gluten- free, and what has milk in it. This brand tends to have the thickest foods but if you stir the product up or squish it with the spoon then it will make it loose some of its thickness. If your a member of U-Promise this will also have a perk since beechnut will give 3 % of your total each time to your U-Promise account.
They also have a small toddler line called “Table Time” that is good for just starting to learn to eat table foods.
$ = average .33 for first foods, .40 for second foods, and .65 for third foods.
Which ever you choose or even if you go with all four, remember to wait 2-5 days between introducing a new ingredient to your child so that you can watch for an allergic reaction.
