Our friends at Babylist and WhatToExpect also call these a top pick! Though we only are writing here about the Stage 2 blend varieties, Plum Organics also makes an excellent line of first foods, such as the Stage 1 JUST Veggies and JUST Fruits, which are highly recommended for babies just starting to try pureed foods. Second, while the others on this list use high heat to pasteurize their purees, Once Upon a Farm uses the Cold Pressure process. Cold Pressure has similar effectiveness for ensuring food safety, but also allows foods to sustain more nutrients and flavor. Not much! The great thing about Earth's Best is that they genuinely take a lot of pride in the foods they produce. And we're going to be honest, we loved the Chocolate Ever After ourselves! Check out the Amara Baby Foods here. For a first puree, the apple apple is a good choice and the texture is perfect, followed by the blends once they get a bit more adventurous. They will then slowly transition to pureed and mashed fruits and vegetables, with increasing complexity in taste and texture. These are rough rules of thumb that will not necessarily apply to all babies, so always check with your child's pediatrician first. The Gerber organic baby cereals come in Oatmeal, Brown Rice, and Oatmeal with Peach and Apple flavors. Check out the Plum Organics Baby Food here. It's as simple as you can get, so this isn't surprising. Something went wrong. Brainiac also makes some great energy bars and nut butters, so be sure to check those out. We read the labels, checked organic certifications, read the HBBF and congressional reports, and checked the Clean Label Project for any test results. We care a lot about our little ones and want to make sure that at least the first year of life is kept as safe as possible by eating real food made with carefully selected and sourced ingredients. Gerber deals directly with the farms, harvests at the peak of ripeness, and uses sustainable agriculture practices for their organic products. Interested? At this point, remaining supplies of this excellent baby food are sold out, so we've removed it from our list entirely. The Amara pouches average about $2.50 per large serving, and the jars are usually around $1.00 per serving. They all tasted very fresh and high quality, and our baby testers all loved them, especially the Banana Pumpkin and the Apple & Carrot options! Mama Bear baby food is certified organic by OEFFA, certified Kosher by Orthodox Union, and made right here in the USA. The chicken was pretty good, and the beef was decent, but we thought the salmon and bacon left something to be desired in the taste department. This is for a few reasons. We tested on ourselves, one toddler (10 months) and one preschooler (3 years). The biggest difference we found between the Earth's Best and Happy Baby is that the Happy Baby comes in some more unique varieties that tend to appeal to some adults, like mangos as a Stage 1 fruit. They all tasted very fresh and high quality, and our baby testers all loved them, especially the Banana Pumpkin and the Apple & Carrot options! This is just about tied with the Earth's Best for the best baby food of the year. The resulting texture is surprisingly similar to the traditional jarred baby foods, and the taste is truly excellent. Has doubled their birth weight. We were really impressed by how fresh and high quality these baby food purees tasted, which in most cases were better than the fresh ones we make at home! According to the AAP, here are some clues to help you know when your baby is ready to start solid foods: Sits with minimal support. The Clean Label Project awarded them with the prestigious Purity Award for having some of the lowest levels of industrial or environmental contaminants! Check out the Sprout Organic Baby Food here. Delicious. Check out the, The Gerber organic baby cereals come in Oatmeal, Brown Rice, and Oatmeal with Peach and Apple flavors. Interested? Who else loves it? Everything we tasted was quite good, and we were impressed by the consistent quality across the varieties. The Peter Rabbit line of baby foods is a newcomer to the baby food market and is making a huge splash! Once Upon a Farm Baby Foods: Safe and Delicious. Just about as bland as you can imagine with a baby cereal. No issues with acceptance or tolerance, which was nice, and two of our test parents ended up switching to Happy Baby. With the babies, we tested acceptance and how it affected their gastrointestinal system: reflux, spit-up, diarrhea, and constipation. And we're going to be honest, we loved the Chocolate Ever After ourselves! Note that the Oatmeal versions are not gluten-free, but the brown rice version is. The adults raved about how delicious they were, and the babies really enjoyed them as well. Our tester babies and toddlers kept coming back for certain favorites: the Stage 1 Sweet Potatoes, the Toddler Stage Banana, Buckwheat, and Blackberry (which was really delicious! The ingredient and nutritional profiles are excellent, and we were excited to give it a shot! Third, cereal is unique because you mix it with breast milk or baby formula to make it a more familiar flavor for your baby and reduce the likelihood that your baby outright rejects it - this is especially important if you're dealing with a, When finding the perfect baby food puree, one of the most important criteria that we realized is when the fruit or vegetable puree tasted more like the real thing to the adults, the babies also tended to like it more. Who else likes Plum Organics? Other than the oatmeal and bananas variety, we found the Earth's Best options a bit blander to the taste than others on this list. Puts things in mouth. When it was too tart they tended to shy away, as they did also when it had generally stronger unfamiliar flavors. Our friends at Babylist also chose Mama Bear organic baby foods as a top pick! Cons? This is another line of delicious certified organic baby food, also coming in pouches that do not need to refrigerated, just like the Plum Organics option above. Yes, they had different preferences, and some were turned off by the more complex textures, but overall they accepted them in very age-appropriate ways. One of the things we also loved about this baby food option is that the pouches do not need to be refrigerated, but also don't contain the usual preservatives that others contain, such as lemon juice, vitamin C, and/or citric acid. If you don't know about Holle, you're missing out! Baby Food, 3 product ratings - Earth's Best - Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal - 8 oz. Check out the, This certified organic line of baby foods is making a splash, with delicious flavor options, smooth textures, and responsible & sustainable ingredient sourcing and manufacturing processes. Interested? Most of these were delicious and had excellent fat (5-7 grams) and protein (4-5 grams) content. The pouches are also BPA-free and the twist-off plastic cap is recyclable (the pouch is not). You will notice that most of our organic baby food options contain lemon juice, vitamin C, and/or citric acid, these ingredients add nutrition and taste while also serving as a mild preservative to prevent spoiling (and not requiring refrigeration). Gerber makes these organic purees available in both 1st and 2nd food varieties, with the first foods being jarred and the second foods being in squeeze pouches (pictured). The packaging is non-BPA and uses a child-proof and recyclable cap. For instance, the Oats & Berries version only includes organic oats, apple, banana, and blueberries. In some cases, this made it more difficult to keep on the spoon and get into the baby's mouth. They were packaged in three separate boxes, one for each flavor. Check out the Happy Baby Organic Baby Cereal here. These baby foods come as a dry powder, which is a great option for parents who want flexibility in selecting whether to add breast milk, formula, water, or any other liquid ingredient of their choice. Outside of that, we think this is an awesome new baby food that is worthy of this spot on our list, and definitely worth considering for your baby! But quinoa offers a lot of nutritional value on its own, including Omega-3 and Omega-6 content, protein, and prebiotic fiber. They also make one with avocado for the more adventurous, but we haven't tried that flavor yet. Our friends at Good Housekeeping gave it their Parenting Award! You will likely need to dilute it quite a bit to make it acceptable and easily digestible. Check out the Gerber Organic Baby Purees here. Like most other baby cereals, each serving contains 5mg iron content, and 1 gram of fat. Once opened, however, you need to keep the pouch refrigerated and eat within 24 hours, since there are no preservatives in there to keep things fresh after being opened. Check out the WutsupBaby Organic Baby Cereal here. Happy Baby: The Best Organic Baby Cereal. Of course, you can complement these ready-made baby foods with homemade options by preparing your favorite fruits and veggies in a baby food maker. Our test babies liked it too, and tolerated it very well, without any signs of gastrointestinal distress. Super bland! Check out the, Available through Amazon and at Whole Foods, this is an excellent option for parents looking for that perfect combination of delicious, nutritious, certified organic, kosher, and non-GMO baby food that is sold at a super reasonable price of around $1.15 per pouch. To be honest, we were a little put off by the dry powder at first, but were surprised at how truly amazing it was! A great way to introduce first fruits and veggies, the varieties are available in stages starting at 6+ months, and going up to 8+ months, slowly introducing more complex flavors. All of our test babies and toddlers absolutely loved the Once Upon a Farm purees. They do not use any added sugars, added salt, or artificial preservatives (this one uses ascorbic acid/vitamin C and organic lemon juice to preserve color and flavor). Read more about the, The Clean Label Project conducted a comprehensive study to quantify levels of industrial and environmental contaminants in baby cereals and purees. Coming in at around $3 per ounce, this is one of the most expensive baby cereals you can buy! And no, research shows that iron-fortified baby cereals do not cause or exacerbate constipation. But for a great-tasting, organic, non-GMO, baby food without additives or preservatives, and allowing you to mix with your preferred liquid maybe worth the cost! It's non-GMO like all organic products, contains no preservatives (not even ascorbic acid), or anything artificial, and it is allergen free: no milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, gluten, or soy. We found the oatmeal to be the perfect consistency for a first food. Overall, we really enjoyed trying out this new brand, and we think it's a great way to sneak some nutritional value into a delicious puree that babies, toddlers, and preschoolers alike are sure to enjoy! Expensive? Check out the Happy Baby Organic Baby Food here. 3 product ratings - Lot Of 8 Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal - 8 oz. We got our hands on 10 different flavors, ranging from Stage 1 to Toddler (12+ months), and we were pleasantly surprised by how delicious and smooth these baby purees were. It's a fantastic way of increasing acceptance of the food by adding a familiar ingredient, and also a great way to ensure baby is getting the nutrients you want at mealtime. To be honest, we were a little put off by the dry powder at first, but were surprised at how truly amazing it was! We tried out several awesome 6+ month varieties, highly suitable for developing a sophisticated baby palate! The purees also contain some vitamin C, potassium, and calcium. 1. Just like with baby cereal, you take a measured amount of the powder and mix in the liquid of your choice. And the pouches are BPA-free, which is awesome to see explicitly mentioned. Impressed? Going even older, they make some truly delicious options for toddlers 18+ months, such as the amazing Chocolate Ever After, which is basically a dessert puree of banana, raspberries, and cacao. These are some of the best on the market and we have been consistently impressed with the quality and taste. On the one hand, we think this is a testament to just how simple this baby cereal actually is, but on the other hand we think it's best to mix with a bit of breast milk and/or fruit puree to get a little flavor out of it. Who else loves the Serenity purees? All of these early baby foods were delicious and had a high (5 grams) fat content that you want in a baby puree. The older baby really loved the chunky vegetable beef pilaf, and even the adults thought it was a reasonable take on something they all thought would taste disgusting! Our friends at Babylist and WhatToExpect call it a top pick! The only issue we ran into was that one of our boxes had an expiration date that was only 2 weeks away, which we felt was cutting it a bit too close for comfort. What about quinoa? They are also certified organic by QAI, and use no preservatives. Gerber deals directly with the farms, harvests at the peak of ripeness, and uses sustainable agriculture practices for their organic products. Unlike other purees on this list, Braniac adds Omega-3 in DHA and EPA forms, as well as Choline, all of which are associated with healthy brain development and function. They also make one with avocado for the more adventurous, but we haven't tried that flavor yet. Because it's a dry powder, no preservatives are required to maintain freshness; however, we are a bit concerned about the loss of nutritional attributes from the dehydration process. For our testing, we purchased a combo pack of 18 pouches with three flavors: apple, blueberry & spinach, carrot, apple & mango, and pear, peach & strawberry. Overall, these are truly excellent and definitely one of this year's best options! We were really surprised by the fresh taste, the consistency of the purees, and the fact that you can actually taste all of the ingredients - even the spinach! Other than that, we believe the Happy Baby line of baby foods is a great addition to the market, and we highly recommend them for their quality ingredients, rigid manufacturing practices, and great flavors. Interested? The pear, peach and strawberry was our favorite, followed by the apple, blueberry and spinach. The odds are in your favor! In our testing, the cereal mixed very easily with breastmilk or water, and developed a silky smooth consistency that is perfect as a first food. We tried 3 different varieties, including Oats & Berries, Tropical Mango, and Apple-Maqui Berry. The grown-ups throught it tasted perfectly fine, if not a little sweet for our liking. This is different from the others on this list, as it requires refrigeration to stay fresh. Neither child really loved the apple strawberry, but it's important to note that neither really likes strawberry flavor in the first place! One of the babies couldn't get enough of the strawberry and banana puree! First, it gets your baby used to a unique food texture in the mouth without any new strong flavors and gets them used to coordinating and swallowing something thicker than milk. Cons? We were not disappointed! Earth's Best has put together an awesome lineup of organic baby foods spanning stages 1, 2, and 3. The Clean Label Project gives them their prestigious Purity Award, and they are also recommended by our friends at Babylist. Food. Parents rave about their products, and for good reason - they are uncompromising in their ingredient sourcing and quality control. Check out the, This is new to the organic baby food market and parents are absolutely loving it! This is a completely new addition to our list as of a few months ago, and we're really excited about this new option. If you're ever uncertain, always consult your pediatrician before starting, and make sure you have one of thebest high chairsto achieve a good feeding posture and support! But as a negative we found that some of the Happy Baby varieties were a bit more watery than the Earth's Best, especially the mangos and pears. The Once Upon a Farm purees come in a ton of varieties, increasing in the complexity of ingredients and textures. It also wasn't quite as sweet tasting as the brown rice, and the oatmeal with peach and apple was the sweetest tasting of the three. This is new to the organic baby food market and parents are absolutely loving it! Nothing fancy, and the new BPA-free pouch containers are a little easier to deal with than the glass jars and lids, though you can still find that type of container on Amazon Fresh. We did transport pouches for a few hours in our testing (in 60 deg weather and without an ice pack) and then feed them, which seemed fine. This oatmeal cereal consists of milled organic whole grain oats, vitamin C (5mg/serving), and iron (5mg/serving). Like most other baby cereals, each serving contains 5mg iron content, and 1 gram of fat. In stage 2, we really loved the Apple, Peach and Oatmeal flavor, These Earth's Best products are all organic, so that means no additives, no preservatives, and even no added salt or sugar. Holle Organic Baby Cereal: Safe European Baby Food. When we tasted everything ourselves, we thought the veggie purees were very good, and our favorite was the organic squashes; we felt good about giving our baby a nice variety of textures, colors, and flavors. First, Once Upon a Farm doesn't use any preservatives in their formulation, not even citric acid or any other natural additive. Impressed? Stage 2 options are even more diverse, including even some exotic fruits and vegetables, fruit and veggie blends, and fruit and grain blends. Overall, we believe this is a fantastic option for babies that are ready to move along to Stage 2 eating. Since we started this site in 2009, over 100 million parents and parents-to-be have trusted us to provide honest and well-researched information on the topics of pregnancy, parenting, and baby and toddler gear reviews. Check out our quick guide on how to start solid foods, which gives an overview of the cues to help you figure out if your baby is ready to try solid foods. The packaging is also BPA free, which is comforting given the stories about some other squeeze packages. Our advice is to start by slowly mixing some relatively bland fruit and veggie purees into the baby cereal. That means you can be confident that it doesn't contain any wheat or grains, processed sugars, dairy, or other processed ingredients. Like all pouches, never try to heat or microwave; first, empty the pouch into a microwave-safe bowl and then go for it. They then get a bit more complex in ingredients as you increase in age, for instance going up to 9 months to the Strawberry Patch option which has amazing taste, but also a more complex texture with the inclusion of small bits of shredded coconut and chia seed. Also, we called Mama Bear - Amazon Private Brands at (877)485-0385, and after a two-week inquiry process they confirmed that the pouches themselves are BPA-free. We did transport pouches for a few hours in our testing (in 60 deg weather and without an ice pack) and then feed them, which seemed fine. Made in Oregon, these are certified organic by Oregon Tilth, and are never diluted and never contain any added salt or sugar. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends starting solid foods at around 6 months of age. There's a lot to love here, but how does it taste!? In our testing, we tried out all three flavors. What about quinoa? oz. The pouches are 90g and do not require refrigeration, owing to the inclusion of Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, which is a natural preservative. Interested? Many parents have become so concerned about herbicide, pesticide, and heavy metal run-off into farms that they are turning away from oatmeal and rice cereals. Interested? Interested? A great way to introduce first fruits and veggies, the varieties are available in stages starting at 6+ months, and going up to 8+ months, slowly introducing more complex flavors. The only negative is that they do not have staged varieties, so these are best positioned as a Stage 2 option, after your baby has tried a few simpler single-ingredient purees. They start simple and smooth for 5+ month babies, for example the Fairest of Pears and Magic Velvet Mango are delicious and simple. We didn't have any issues with watery purees, and thought the flavors were true to life. But as a negative we found that some of the Happy Baby varieties were a bit more watery than the Earth's Best, especially the mangos and pears. All of our test babies and toddlers absolutely loved the Once Upon a Farm purees. Who else loves the Once Upon a Farm purees? Nice and simple, which we like. There is a lot to love about this company as well. Our favorites are the Apple and Banana, and Carrot. The stage 1 Pear and Apple varieties were exactly as expected - simple and straight-forward in their taste, and very smooth in texture. Note that while some parents have expressed concern that the packaging might contain BPA, rest assured it does not: we contacted the company and they let us know that the packaging is 100% BPA free. For a first puree, the apple apple is a good choice and the texture is perfect, followed by the blends once they get a bit more adventurous. Made right here in the USA (Austin, TX) by a family-owned business and certified organic by Oregon Tilth, this is the only Paleo baby food option on our list. Just about as bland as you can imagine with a baby cereal. In comparison to oatmeal, quinoa provides higher protein and more comprehensive amino acid composition, similar fiber levels, less fat, and less iron. A bonus is that the company partners with great organizations like Autism Speaks, Allergy Kids Foundation, and Feeding America. Overall, a great new addition to our list! It's one of the best on the market right now, so we suggest giving it a shot! 3 product ratings - Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal 8 oz, 3 product ratings - Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal 8oz Iron Fortified Exp10/12/2023. The vitamin C is used as a preservative, which is very common for baby purees that don't need refrigeration. Interested? We got our hands on two of their most popular flavors: Pear, Purple Carrot, & Blueberry, and the delicious Banana Pumpkin. In this article we review Oatmeal and Rice Cereals, and then Fruit and Vegetable Purees. Note that unlike infant cereal, baby foods typically are labeled with stages. Super bland! We never publish any content related to the health or well-being of your child without first consulting with expert pediatricians, midwives, therapists, OB/GYNs, and other specialists as appropriate. On the one hand, we think this is a testament to just how simple this baby cereal actually is, but on the other hand we think it's best to mix with a bit of breast milk and/or fruit puree to get a little flavor out of it. We mixed it with breast milk and the babies seemed to like it quite a bit! What doesn't it have? There are no added salts or sugars, and there are of course no harmful preservatives, additives, or artificial colors or flavors. Check out the Once Upon a Farm Baby Foods here. Baby Cerealsare usually the first recommended solid food for babies 4 to 6 months of age. Gerber is well-known for making reliably high-quality baby foods at fair prices, and their new line of organic purees is no exception! The pouches are also BPA-free and the twist-off plastic cap is recyclable (the pouch is not). Cold Pressure has similar effectiveness for ensuring food safety, but also allows foods to sustain more nutrients and flavor. The stage 1 Pear and Apple varieties were exactly as expected - simple and straight-forward in their taste, and very smooth in texture. The oats add some protein (2g/serving), fiber (1g/serving), calcium (7mg/serving), and potassium (40mg/serving). If you're interested in making your own baby food purees, check out our reviews of thebest baby food makers. We were really impressed by how fresh and high quality these baby food purees tasted, which in most cases were better than the fresh ones we make at home! Taste? For parents who are certain their baby is getting sufficient iron from other sources, this is the most basic oatmeal cereal you will find (unless you grind it yourself!). Brainiac also makes some great energy bars and nut butters, so be sure to check those out. Coming in at only about 50 cents per ounce, this organic baby cereal is a fantastic deal, and we like the BPA-free resealable pouch. Our favorites were the Apple Banana and the Apple Pear Spinach, and the Apple Banana Yogurt Strawberry was a close runner-up. 1968 S. Coast Hwy, #1103, Laguna Beach, CA 92651. First, Once Upon a Farm doesn't use any preservatives in their formulation, not even citric acid or any other natural additive. Any longer than that, and you'll need to keep them in the fridge or bring along an ice pack in your bag. We were really impressed by the fact that each variety only includes raw ingredients, without any fillers (like water) or additives (like lemon juice as a preservative). Happy Baby passed their tests with flying colors, showing some of the lowest levels of potentially harmful contaminants out of the 30 different baby cereals tested. My personal favorite was the raspberry, banana, and blueberry organic puree, which I ended up putting in the freezer for 10 minutes to make it taste like a smoothie! The screw caps were super easy to remove, and we appreciated the smart flow spouts that don't allow too much to be squirted out too quickly, helping to avoid messes on spoons or in mouths. Gerber oatmeals contain a pretty simple set of ingredients: oatmeal, two organic sources of choline to support brain and eye development (soy lecithin and choline bitartrate), and vitamins and minerals. Yes, we tasted them ourselves (don't judge us! Stage 2 is where you start to introduce some new textures and two or more ingredients (like apples and cinnamon, or strawberry banana), usually from about 7 to 9 months old. The biggest difference we found between the Earth's Best and Happy Baby is that the Happy Baby comes in some more unique varieties that tend to appeal to some adults, like mangos as a Stage 1 fruit. Note that Pure Spoon baby foods were new to the market back in 2016-2017, but were recently discontinued. The pouches themselves were simple to open and reseal (refrigerate after opening), and while the pouch isn't recyclable, the cap is (so that's a good start). The grown-ups throught it tasted perfectly fine, if not a little sweet for our liking. The downside is that the pouches require refrigeration. 365 EVERYDAY VALUE Organic Trimmed Green Beans, 12 oz pkg. Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review. You'll want to start with the Oatmeal, and then move on to the Oatmeal with Peach and Apple flavor. Brainiac sent us samples of their new applesauce blends for testing late last year (thanks, Brainiac! It also wasn't quite as sweet tasting as the brown rice, and the oatmeal with peach and apple was the sweetest tasting of the three. For the carnivores, we also tried out the wild-caught salmon (squash, salmon, beets), the uncured bacon (squash, kale, and nitrate/nitrite free pork bacon), the free-range chicken (peas, carrot, chicken), and the grass-fed beef (sweet potato, beef, kale). Interested? It's non-GMO like all organic products, contains no preservatives (not even ascorbic acid), or anything artificial, and it is allergen free: no milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, gluten, or soy.