Our Little Foodie: Garden Fresh Baby

2

As I mentioned a few weeks back, just the thought of our little guy starting solid foods made me sad and nervous all at the same time.  I still saw him as a little baby, and babies drink milk, right?!   It was all I knew!  After six months of exclusively breastfeeding, introducing “real” food caused oh-so-many anxious new mommy moments.

Probably no area of infant development attracts as much confusion and range of opinion as the starting of solid foods. – The Nursing Mother’s Companion

I made a decision to try and avoid the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen, a list of the twelve most contaminated fruits and vegetables.  We buy organic milk and I try to buy “pure” poultry, but we definitely don’t buy organic for all of our produce.  Still, for the very first time our litle man would be trying these foods, I felt organic was important.

Choosing to go organic significantly limited my options at the grocery store!  Have you tried to shop for Stage 1 organic baby food?  I kept seeing the same ingredients at all my local stores and most of them were foods I had already made for him myself!  I wanted my little guy to try zucchini (a favorite in our house) and I could never find organic zucchini.  So I was absolutely thrilled when Garden Fresh Baby offered to let Fairfield County Moms Blog sample some of their organic baby food including, you guessed it…zucchini!

Garden Fresh Baby "Seed" Purees: Banana, Zucchini, and Carrot. Delicious!
Garden Fresh Baby “Seed” Purees: Banana, Zucchini, and Carrot. Delicious!

Garden Fresh Baby is a local Fairfield County company started by a mother of two.  All of their amazing products are 100% organic and 100% local, sourced directly from farms in the area.  Their menu changes week to week, depending on what is available at their local farms.  Did you know that American babies, on average, will consume 600 jars of baby food by the time they are a year old?!  That blows my mind!  Kids are what they eat, and it’s wonderful to have a local company like Garden Fresh Baby helping parents provide delicious, nutritious food for their growing babies.d

Garden Fresh Baby sells a variety of products, including thicker purees and toddler meals, and their Stage 1 foods are called “Seeds”.  We were able to try three of these: banana, carrot, and zucchini.  My little guy is actually not a huge fan of bananas but mixed with some applesauce, he gobbled it right up.  As did I!   Apparently lots of adults purchase the purees to add to smoothies or pasta sauces.  Or freeze the fruit purees in popsicle molds for a summer toddler treat…how yummy would that be?

Beautiful carrots! Not to mention delicious. :)
Beautiful carrots!

Garden Fresh Baby’s carrots were a beautiful, vibrant orange color, unlike some of the store bought baby food I’ve seen.  They were also incredibly smooth.  One of the things that surprised me about store bought food is how runny and thin it is.  Not only does it make a significant mess, it’s clear that the manufacturers add a ton of water to thin out the main ingredient.  Garden Fresh Baby’s carrots were perfectly creamy and he LOVED them!  And since it’s important to try new foods one at a time for several days in a row, we haven’t actually gotten to the zucchini yet.  But the food can be frozen for up to three months, so I have 4 ounces of zucchini goodness waiting in our freezer!

In addition to baby and toddler food, Garden Fresh Baby offers cereals (with oatmeal and quinoa), Babiscotti teething biscuits, and incredible Mommiscotti for toddlers and beyond.  It is fresh, delicious and LOCAL.  Don’t you just love supporting local businesses?  You can find Garden Fresh Baby products at farmer’s markets in Wilton, Westport, and Rowayton, Ridgefield Organics & Specialty Market, and online at www.gardenfreshbaby.com.  Check out their website for a list of upcoming events and to order online, and like them on Facebook to stay in the know about their changing menu.  I can’t wait to let our little guy try some of their other flavors!  Maybe rutabaga?  🙂  We loved Garden Fresh Baby and know that you will too.

Do your little ones have a favorite food?  Any special tips or tricks when it comes to feeding?  My little guy has started grunting at me when he wants another bite…guess it’s never too early to teach good table manners!

2 COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here