Saturday 1 September 2012

Taste Adventures

Pickle has been having great explorations with food.  He started at 6 months by gnawing on a stick of broccoli, and never looked back.  With baby-led weaning, food is offered and Pickle has a go eating it - there are no purees.  He eats what we do - I've eliminated cooking with salt and have modified how much chilli we use, but pretty much anything else goes.  I'll warn you though, it is a little on the messy side!  But when he eats as well as he does, I can put up with a little mess.  The different textures not only help babies chew, but are also supposed to encourage speech development.

The main challenge I found was what to feed him when we were out during the day.  None of the traditional pre-prepared baby foods appealed - if you've tasted any of them, most are pretty bland with an uninteresting texture and homogenised flavours.

Then, a while ago, we were invited to the launch of Plum baby food's taste adventures.  The interesting international flavours and texture definitely appealed to Pickle.  Being healthy, organic and containing nothing artificial, combined with the addition of high protein quinoa, appealed to me.  There is South African sweet cape beef curry, a Greek aubergine and lamb moussaka, a Spanish salmon paella and a Moroccan chickpea and chicken tagine.  And they really are tasty.

The Stage 3 range is aged at 10+ months, though I suggest using the age as a guide - as Pickle has been baby-led weaned, he was used to the chunkier textures of "adult" food.

We've since tried a number of the Plum finger foods - savoury snacks and sweet biscuits - as well as the muesli and fruit pouches, all of which Pickle loves. None of the foods contain any added sugar or salt and are free from all additives, artificial flavourings, colours and preservatives. Most are dairy free - allergy information is clearly labelled for gluten etc. also.  They come in well-sized pots, and can be eaten at room temperature or heated; so great for when you're out, or for a quick-meal at home, safe in the knowledge that you are feeding your baby healthy food.

Cheers, KangaRue :)

Disclosure - we received samples of the four Taste Adventures pots; all other products were purchased.