Feeding babies junk food

fits · 19-03-2021 9:11am

I was at a trade show last year with one of the baby food pouch companies speaking - talking about sustainability and how they are developing ways for customers to return the pouches so they can be recycled and all I could think was this product is not necessary in the first place - so it will never be sustainable.

I don’t understand why introducing solids is made so complicated either.

Anyway We are certainly not immune to picking up convenience products but processed foods wouldn’t be my first preference at any age but particularly for young babies.

Kintarō Hattori · 19-03-2021 11:51am

Giving a very young baby/toddler would be a no-no for me as it's just unhealthy and unnecessary. From an early age we fed our girl as healthy as we possibly could. Greek yoghurt, bluberries, avocado, porridge, carrots etc.

Heading onto four now and we wouldn't go down the route of never giving her anything sweet as when she's going to be out of our reach we won't be fully able to moderate what she eats. I'd have a fear that denying her the odd treat would just give her an insatiable sweet tooth.
For breakfast she currently she gets porridge with some Organix raisins and a drop of honey. Occasionally she'll have a yoghurt- I tend to buy the baby ones with as little sugar as possible though we're going to try and swap her back onto proper greek yoghurt and fruit shortly.

Pre-school lunch is typically either half a bagel/full bagel and either some cream cheese or no-added sugar jam (still sweet I know), a yoghurt and a piece of fruit with a bottle of water.

Dinner and supper are always homemade. We would make roasted salmon and potatoes, enchiladas, cheesy broccoli pasta and so on. You get the idea. We'd never give her a ready meal as that's just unacceptable.
I like cooking her meals fresh as A- I know what's going in them and B- She's interested and wants to help. I think it's a good idea from an early age that they get involved with the food they're eating, see what goes into it and know that it needs to be made and cooked, rather than just being taken from the freezer.

She's almost four and she's been to McDonalds just twice in her life, it's a very rare treat but it is a treat and the look of joy on her face makes it worthwhile. She was last there in January and it'll be months later before she goes again.

fits · 19-03-2021 12:09pm

The skyr yoghurt in Aldi is great. It has some sugar in it but much less than other flavoured yoghurts. We buy big tubs and dispense into a small sistema tub for preschool. This is the one.

https://www.grahamsfamilydairy.com/our-products/skyr

afkasurfjunkie · 19-03-2021 2:37pm

fits wrote: »

I was at a trade show last year with one of the baby food pouch companies speaking - talking about sustainability and how they are developing ways for customers to return the pouches so they can be recycled and all I could think was this product is not necessary in the first place - so it will never be sustainable.

I don’t understand why introducing solids is made so complicated either.

Anyway We are certainly not immune to picking up convenience products but processed foods wouldn’t be my first preference at any age but particularly for young babies.

Yes, I often wonder how and why food in a pouch suddenly became more acceptable and ‘healthier’ than that out of a jar? At least a glass jar is recyclable, and see through. Clever marketing I’d say.

Milly33 · 19-03-2021 5:39pm

It is all like that!! just glad some people are begining to realise it...

It has been a big battle here the last year Kintarō Hattori, when you say you love cooking for the little one.. I was weak for it,loved making her healthy meals and now it is like nope we are just fingers crossed at the end of the waffles and noodles stage.. It is hard when the toddler does not eat what you consider a healthy meal but there are still better choices

Kintarō Hattori · 19-03-2021 5:48pm

Milly33 wrote: »

It is all like that!! just glad some people are begining to realise it...

It has been a big battle here the last year Kintarō Hattori, when you say you love cooking for the little one.. I was weak for it,loved making her healthy meals and now it is like nope we are just fingers crossed at the end of the waffles and noodles stage.. It is hard when the toddler does not eat what you consider a healthy meal but there are still better choices

Ah I hear you. It's not always easy with my little one either. Sometimes she'll have eaten something for a long time and then nope, I'm not eating that anymore. I used to cook her Annabel Karmel's chicken tikka masala. It's fecking delicious, we could all eat it but nope, a point in time came where she just refused to eat it.
Creamy garlic mushrooms were a great supper food. She used to wolf them down and then one day she decided she wasn't going to eat it. She'd request it for supper and nope, wouldn't eat it.

I think the thing is not to give up. If something doesn't work out, just try something else. Also it can depend on who's doing the cooking, as to what gets eaten. My little one likes a bit of roast beef. I'll give her it with roast potatoes, carrots and broccoli covered with more gravy than I'd like BUT, she eats it. If the missus does it, it's dry as feck and the little lady won't eat it.

Milly33 · 19-03-2021 6:04pm

haha dont let her hear you say that the Missus!

that will be your last roast cooked for you..

uptheduffagain · 21-03-2021 1:22pm

Wow, a hell of a lot of judgement going on here! It started off with stories of people feeding their kids junk food and now people are giving out about orange squash and Cheerios?! Where does it end? 'I can't believe you feed your toddler shop-bought quinoa. I only give mine the stuff imported directly from a Peruvian farmer.'?!

There are many things that I would not (and do not) feed my child that I consider more damaging to their long-term health than the likes of Cheerios or the occasional Petit Filous yoghurt or chocolate button. But I'm not going down that road because a) I'm well aware that I'm not perfect and b) it's none of my business what other people feed their kids! Some of the comments here are verging on sneeriness and that's not particularly helpful IMO.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a leftover 3-in-1 to reheat for Junior's lunch. It is the weekend, after all

Antares35 · 21-03-2021 2:35pm

uptheduffagain wrote: »

Wow, a hell of a lot of judgement going on here! It started off with stories of people feeding their kids junk food and now people are giving out about orange squash and Cheerios?! Where does it end? 'I can't believe you feed your toddler shop-bought quinoa. I only give mine the stuff imported directly from a Peruvian farmer.'?!

There are many things that I would not (and do not) feed my child that I consider more damaging to their long-term health than the likes of Cheerios or the occasional Petit Filous yoghurt or chocolate button. But I'm not going down that road because a) I'm well aware that I'm not perfect and b) it's none of my business what other people feed their kids! Some of the comments here are verging on sneeriness and that's not particularly helpful IMO.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a leftover 3-in-1 to reheat for Junior's lunch. It is the weekend, after all

I'd someone on another thread tell me that formula feeding is an abusive way to "artificially" feed my child. The judgement starts there and seems to be just endless. My daughter is only ten months and I'm already sick to death of the parent Olympics as I call it.

shtpEdthePlum · 21-03-2021 3:49pm

How hard is it just not to give kids foods that are processed or full of sugar? Nobody is demanding organic quinoa as the standard, but there's really no excuse for needlessly pumping them with non-nutrients. They can't choose for themselves, we're the ones making the choice so the least we can do is not poison them.

My husband is completely addicted to sugar because of his terrible diet as a child. Only in the last few years has he managed to force himself to eat mostly healthy food. He gets vicious sugar cravings. Quitting smoking was a doddle by comparison to staying off sweets and chocolate.

No sweets in the house is great for me because I don't even think about them if they're not there. I love a salad though

Antares35 · 21-03-2021 3:58pm

shtpEdthePlum wrote: »

How hard is it just not to give kids foods that are processed or full of sugar? Nobody is demanding organic quinoa as the standard, but there's really no excuse for needlessly pumping them with non-nutrients. They can't choose for themselves, we're the ones making the choice so the least we can do is not poison them.

My husband is completely addicted to sugar because of his terrible diet as a child. Only in the last few years has he managed to force himself to eat mostly healthy food. He gets vicious sugar cravings. Quitting smoking was a doddle by comparison to staying off sweets and chocolate.

No sweets in the house is great for me because I don't even think about them if they're not there. I love a salad though

It isn't hard, but it also isn't anyone elses business, nor does anyone need an excuse for doing it.

bee06 · 21-03-2021 4:31pm

shtpEdthePlum wrote: »

How hard is it just not to give kids foods that are processed or full of sugar? Nobody is demanding organic quinoa as the standard, but there's really no excuse for needlessly pumping them with non-nutrients. They can't choose for themselves, we're the ones making the choice so the least we can do is not poison them.

My husband is completely addicted to sugar because of his terrible diet as a child. Only in the last few years has he managed to force himself to eat mostly healthy food. He gets vicious sugar cravings. Quitting smoking was a doddle by comparison to staying off sweets and chocolate.

No sweets in the house is great for me because I don't even think about them if they're not there. I love a salad though

There’s nothing wrong with the odd sweet or processed food every now and again either. I think most people on the thread advocated for everything in moderation.

uptheduffagain · 21-03-2021 6:14pm

shtpEdthePlum wrote: »

How hard is it just not to give kids foods that are processed or full of sugar? Nobody is demanding organic quinoa as the standard, but there's really no excuse for needlessly pumping them with non-nutrients. They can't choose for themselves, we're the ones making the choice so the least we can do is not poison them.

My husband is completely addicted to sugar because of his terrible diet as a child. Only in the last few years has he managed to force himself to eat mostly healthy food. He gets vicious sugar cravings. Quitting smoking was a doddle by comparison to staying off sweets and chocolate.

No sweets in the house is great for me because I don't even think about them if they're not there. I love a salad though

You're missing my point a bit. Your idea of 'poison' :rolleyes: might be very different to mine. Unfortunately not all of us are/have been in a position to feed our kids homemade food 100% of the time, and to guilt-trip people who occasionally rely on 'processed' food for convenience is not helpful IMO. As a relatively new mother, god knows the guilt trips are plentiful on every other front. The treats thing is a separate matter. I eat well 90% of the time and so does my toddler. But I am certainly not going to deny him a bit of chocolate or ice-cream or a few chips the odd time, because I believe in the 'everything in moderation' rule.

And as Antares35 said above... it's really none of anyone else's business what anyone else feeds their kids. So the holier-than-thou curtain twitchers on this thread are free to do what they like with their own children, and I will do what I believe is right by mine.

Milly33 · 21-03-2021 11:01pm

It is just a topic of the thread, you kinda sound like you are taking it the wrong way.. It is everyone's own choice what they feed their kids but the topic of the thread is Feeding Babies Junk Food, so that is what people are responding too

Just becuase some people know what crap foods are out there, and look at ingredients in food does not make them holier than thou! It just makes them responsible about what they are feeding their kids and themselves...

heldel00 · 21-03-2021 11:24pm

On baby number one everything was made from scratch, not a morsel of processed food passed his lips.
Baby number two i was extremely unwell for the first 18 month and a lot of food prep etc was left to my husband. He did his best but would sometimes have a pouch or two to hand purely for convenience.
He used to say that he'd slide the pouches into the shopping trolley like they were packets of Class A drugs!
Baby number one is now the fussiest eater ever and is a pain at dinnertime. Baby number two would eat a scabby babby!

Milly33 · 21-03-2021 11:55pm

Haha love it!!

chases0102 · 23-03-2021 1:45pm

Very interesting thread folks, some really solid, practical advice.

My toddler (nearly 4) is not great with veg and brutal with fruit. He also adores chocoloate or anything treat related. A constant battle in this regard, always asking for treats (where he is often told that they are not to be eaten every day, only at special occasions and a Saturday - although I would say grandparents are fairly loose with this!)

My question is, is how can I get him to try foods? He won't touch anything green, has gone off carrots, won't look at fruit (although he will have a fruit smoothie every so often). We cook healthy, homemade meals most of the time (fresh vegetable sauce with some pasta, potato/sweet potato/salmon, homemade soup and some brown bread etc) but will never eat an apple, banana, brocolli, etc. I have no doubt it is about control, and psychological but unfortunately we feel it is having a nutritional impact.

He gets quite bloated (he has a very thin frame) and also, recently, has began pooing without noticing it - there has also been wet issues here too. We are bringing him to the doctor to explore these this week, but just wondering, on the whole, if anyone had some successful strategies to encourage fruit and veg....or food that is not white/yellow!!

bee06 · 23-03-2021 3:06pm

OSI wrote: »

What's so bad with the Fruit Shoots? Our little lad only get's one at the weekend when we have our movie time, but the bottle I have here says it has 1.4g of sugar in it. You'd get considerably more in an piece of fruit.

Personally, I avoid them because of the sweeteners. I’d prefer “real” sugar to sweeteners.

Ash.J.Williams · 23-03-2021 3:07pm

El Gato De Negocios wrote: »

Yip. Seen it with my own eyes. About 18 months ago a guy I know posted a picture of him and his wife in McDonalds with their then 2 year old drinking coke and eating the fries. They were proud as punch of "their first family visit to McDonalds". If I could have rolled my eyes any harder id have been looking directly at my brain.

We have been fairly strict with our two (one is nearly 4, the other about 30 months). The oldest has only had chocolate once and that was given to him by his aunt who didn't know we weren't giving it. Neither have ever had soft drinks, sweets, chips etc. Occasional treat would be a small bowl of ice cream, piece of birthday cake, the odd ice lolly etc. Tbh they never ask for anything "bad" but thats obviously because they have never been given it. It will be hard enough to control what they eat once they start school so we will limit it where we can until that time comes.

from one extreme to the other

Toots · 23-03-2021 3:19pm

OSI wrote: »

What's so bad with the Fruit Shoots? Our little lad only get's one at the weekend when we have our movie time, but the bottle I have here says it has 1.4g of sugar in it. You'd get considerably more in an piece of fruit.

I think they used to have a higher sugar content years ago. I remember giving them to my eldest and one day looking at the ingredients and being surprised by the sugar level. It was definitely higher than 1.4g (or possibly I'm confusing it with Ribena

) I think they're grand for a treat, like movie night or something. I suppose the problem arises when some kids get a fruit shoots and nothing else and they end up with a mouth full of cavities.

jrosen · 23-03-2021 3:30pm

Quantity is the issue. When we were kids we had no money, which meant to fast food. There were basics in our house. You'd never find chocolate or fizzy drinks because my parents couldnt afford it. The most was a pack of plain biscuits. We got one piece of chocolate on a Friday. I think I was 10 before I had a burger from a chipper.

There is nothing wrong with kids having mcdonalds, chocolate, ice cream etc. Whats wrong is the amount they are eating. Add to that all the "kids" yogurts that are laced with sugar, fruit drinks etc. Kids become accustomed to sweeter foods and it can be harder to encourage them to eat anything that isn't sweet.
Kids are best served knowing what foods are great to have regularly and what foods should be eaten less often.

Milly33 · 23-03-2021 4:00pm

Yep, for me with the most of the stuff like fruit shots or things like that is now a days it is all artificial sweeteners in them. Aspartame, Stevia although plant derived can be mixed with all other (plus to me it tastes mank

), Acesulfame which is in a lot of flavored waters.. All all the drinks now that used to have sugar in them in now full of all these false sugars..

Thank god we dont need to bargain herself with fruit she eats that non stop, nearly have to stop her most days.. But with the veg and other food it is just keep trying chases0102 (I think)... Tied it all with herself, asked her to help making the food, tried to sneak it in here and there.. One thing we found good as she likes cripsy things is those frozen vol a vants or puff pastry. Putting some veg paste into the puff pastry and made twists same with vol a vant. really didnt want to go down that route as tis a pain really if you are just making for one, but got a tiny but of veg in.. It is very frustrating, started putting a little of everything on her plate.. After five goes she might take a piece of carrot and go mmm yummie and thats it..

Have you tried cooking with him? Would he maybe taste as he goes or something like that

El Gato De Negocios · 23-03-2021 6:59pm

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

from one extreme to the other

Why is that?

Our kids dont live on bread and water and they have treats like ice cream, cake, biscuits, custard or ice lollies on occasion ie its a treat. Just because we dont give them chocolate or the heavily processed crap that is mcdonalds we are somehow in an "extreme"?

If that makes us extreme then so be it, Id rather be in the extreme and have our kids eat lots of fruit and vegetables every day than be in a position like the person a few posts back who is struggling with their little one eating any fruit or veg.

fits · 23-03-2021 8:40pm

Honestly you can have two kids who have been offered exactly the same food from the start and one will still be fussy and one will eat everything. I know this cos that’s what’s happened with my fraternal twins. If your kid eats well there’s a good deal of that down to the individual involved.

lazygal · 23-03-2021 9:06pm

fits wrote: »

Honestly you can have two kids who have been offered exactly the same food from the start and one will still be fussy and one will eat everything. I know this cos that’s what’s happened with my fraternal twins. If your kid eats well there’s a good deal of that down to the individual involved.

All of mine had preferences from the start. Not fussiness but one won't eat cucumber or melon, another can't stand cheese and the third doesn't like bananas. All started on solids the same way and when we eat as a family we all eat the same meals. I have foods I don't like so I'm not going to make them eat something they really don't enjoy.

awec · 24-03-2021 2:49pm

Milly33 wrote: »

It is just a topic of the thread, you kinda sound like you are taking it the wrong way.. It is everyone's own choice what they feed their kids but the topic of the thread is Feeding Babies Junk Food, so that is what people are responding too

Just becuase some people know what crap foods are out there, and look at ingredients in food does not make them holier than thou! It just makes them responsible about what they are feeding their kids and themselves...

This is an incredibly patronising post. The topic started off about junk food and then descended into absolute nonsense about pouches of fruit and the likes. It seems to some on here anything other than absolute perfection in food is "crap food" / "junk food".

I can only imagine how up tight you have to be to actually turn your nose up at other parents feeding their kids pouches of fruit.

This place is ridiculously dogmatic and absolutist at times.

Milly33 · 24-03-2021 3:54pm

Jesus and your a mod? Ill probably get a mark for this one , but if I knew any better id say your my husband taking the mickey out of me. No one is turning their nose up at anything they are just responding to posts and it is quite rude of you to suggest people are tight in this regard..

heldel00 · 24-03-2021 6:12pm

chases0102 wrote: »

Very interesting thread folks, some really solid, practical advice.

My toddler (nearly 4) is not great with veg and brutal with fruit. He also adores chocoloate or anything treat related. A constant battle in this regard, always asking for treats (where he is often told that they are not to be eaten every day, only at special occasions and a Saturday - although I would say grandparents are fairly loose with this!)

My question is, is how can I get him to try foods? He won't touch anything green, has gone off carrots, won't look at fruit (although he will have a fruit smoothie every so often). We cook healthy, homemade meals most of the time (fresh vegetable sauce with some pasta, potato/sweet potato/salmon, homemade soup and some brown bread etc) but will never eat an apple, banana, brocolli, etc. I have no doubt it is about control, and psychological but unfortunately we feel it is having a nutritional impact.

He gets quite bloated (he has a very thin frame) and also, recently, has began pooing without noticing it - there has also been wet issues here too. We are bringing him to the doctor to explore these this week, but just wondering, on the whole, if anyone had some successful strategies to encourage fruit and veg....or food that is not white/yellow!!

My oldest a fussy so and so but is improving. They will eat fruit but the only COOKED veg they will entertain are peas and corn.
However, they will eat everything else raw - carrots, sugarsnap, red orange yellow peppers, stalks from the cabbage even fecking turnip!

fits · 24-03-2021 6:14pm

To be fair this thread started about feeding kids McDonald’s, people said everything in moderation , OP said they were talking about babies , and I came into say that stuff that is marketed for babies isn’t always the best option even if advertised as healthy, organic etc but still ok on occasion. I don’t think most people in thread are attacking anyone tbh.
Yours an occasional McD visiting family.

anndub · 25-03-2021 3:57pm

I think it's generally understood that home cooking is best. Comments around there being no excuse to ever take food from the freezer aren't helpful. The more children you have the harder it becomes to cook from scratch 7 days a week. Throw in two working parents and that level of peer pressure becomes even more unhelpful. I'm not surprised some posters have been triggered.
The odd fruit shoot is unlikely to lead to a life of crime either. A relaxed approach to eating with effort made when effort is the available is best most parents can strive for.

For what it's worth I'd sooner feed a sub one year old a pouch than a KFC.