Making sure that Annie eats well is important to me, so the fact that she doesn’t have much interest in toddler food is driving me a little crazy.
“I don’t blame her,” Heather said last night when Annie refused another spoonful of toddler food. “Look at that stuff. Would you eat it?”
That got me thinking… who was I to insist Annie eat toddler food when I had no idea if it was even edible? I finally decided that if I was going to continue insisting Annie eat the stuff I’d have to at least try it myself.
So with no further adieu, here are the results of The Spohrs’ First Ever Toddler Food Taste Test!!!
Option #1: Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Chicken & Carrot Ravioli Pasta Pick-Ups
Presentation: These suckers look terrible in their photo on the front of the box, and they only get uglier once you open the package and see a bunch of plastic looking squares submerged in murky water.
Smell: While they don’t have a strong smell, it isn’t a good one. In fact, the smell and look of of these raviolis made me think of Play-Doh.
Taste: Upon popping one in my mouth I was overwhelmed by just how wet and chewy they were. To go with that dreadful texture is a flavor that is similar to cardboard with a B.O. problem.
Grade: F
Option #2: Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Spaghetti Rings in Meat Sauce
Presentation: These spaghetti rings don’t initially look all that appetizing as they sit with tiny meat-like blocks in congealed red sauce, but once you stir the contents things start to look a lot better. So stir. Stirring is your friend.
Smell: Slightly sweet. Not barf-inducing.
Taste: I was shocked to find that these actually tasted pretty good! The meat sauce was pleasantly sweet (to appeal to a toddler’s palette), the meat was unoffensive, and the pasta tasted like normal pasta. Best comparison? A slightly less appetizing version of SpaghettiOs.
Grade: B+
Option #3: Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Chicken & Pasta Wheel Pickups
Dude, the “chicken” looks like shriveled tofu, Dad.
Presentation: The peas looked like real peas. That I appreciated. The Chicken & Pasta, on the other hand, were scary thanks to soggy pasta and “chicken” that looked like shriveled, dried-up tofu pieces.
Smell: There was no real smell, likely because the contents of the package were so drowned in water.
Taste: The peas tasted like peas. This I appreciated. The Chicken & Pasta were foul, however. ESPECIALLY the chicken. I know, I know. You’re thinking, “How could the chicken that looked like shrived, dried-up tofu taste bad?” But it was bad. Like something you found behind the fridge bad.
Grade: D+
Option #4: Comforts for Toddlers Alphabet Pasta Primavera
Presentation: The only entry not made by Gerber, the Alphabet Pasta Primavera looked better than the usual toddler food thanks to pieces of vegetable that were recognizable as actual vegetables!
Smell: Not bad. Had an actual Italian food sort of scent.
Taste: Pretty bland (though that’s probably good for a toddler’s taste buds). Not bad though. It had a recognizably Italian taste, and I was able to swallow a few bites without yacking.
Grade: B
FINAL ANALYSIS: Stay away from the raviolis at all cost!!! If, however, you find yourself in a post apocalyptic world where the only non-perished food is of the toddler variety, the Spaghetti Rings (and to a lesser degree the Alphabet Pasta Primavera) will give you sustenance for another day of fighting zombies and T-1000s.
As for Annie, I now know which toddler foods to feed her… that is when I’m not cooking her something fresh and hopefully more tasty!
Em says:
absolutely wonderful.
I think many frozen meals or many baby/toddler foods are rather disgusting myself.
I lol’d at the photos. especially the one where she’s watching you make the “icky” face.
Panni says:
I love the way Annie is looking at you in the first photo.
Pauline says:
Why not cook Annie’s meals yourselves rather than buying ready-made? This way, you would be sure to know exactly what she’s eating (and I suspect it would be the cheaper option). Anyway, good luck with her discovery of food!
Lynnette says:
Those pictures are worth the entire post here. She is so expressive (and so are you)! Like Panni, I love how Annie is looking at you in the first photo. It screams “Ha! Let’s see what he thinks of this stuff!”.
Linda says:
Why not just feed Annie mashed up (where necessary) portions of your meals? You have to cook every day so why bother to spend extra on pre packaged/frozen food concocted especially for toddlers. That’s what I fed my children, adding less spice and salt when I cooked a meal, and they thrived on real food.
Elle says:
I agree with Linda. I did the same thing. Feed her what you eat. Forget the prepackaged food. That stuff is full of preservatives and other weird ingredients.
I too love the first picture and the way Annie is looking at you! Priceless.
Liz says:
If you actually read to the end, you’ll see that Mike says “when I’m not cooking her something fresh and hopefully more tasty”. They’re not feeding her this stuff for every meal.
susanmig says:
we did the same thing…i cooked our meals for my husband and myself. when my kids where really small i would use a mini-food processor to really grind up their meals…less so once they could handle more texture…and just chop up the foods into finger foods once they were into feeding themselves. they liked the spices & flavors much better than the bland pre-packaged stuff and it really was much more cost effective. worked great for my son: he was not a picky eater and tries anything & everything to this day. my daughter: very, very picky from day one. she was the vegetarian who wouldn’t eat any vegetables, ha!
kudos to you for trying all of that horrid looking toddler food, mike!! i did the same thing (ages ago! my kids are 17 & 14.5) and it really does make you think twice about what you feed your child. you & heather are amazing parents!
Julie says:
Same here on the making our 13-month old son’s foods mostly from fresh, since he started eating solids, with the graduation of textures. He seems to like almost everything still, including spices & unusual flavors, as you say (although I am mentally prepared if he inexplicably becomes picky, or goes through a picky phase – some people truly are just picky eaters for life.)
Anyway I tried a taste of a baby food jar of green bean puree once – really hideous! It was an olive drab color from being over-cooked, had a bad smell, and tasted nothing like the “pretty green” bean purees I make from steamed frozen beans. We go packaged for convenience, but try to keep the majority home-made.
I agree, more parents should taste-test their babies’ food! I’ve tried a few other jar “dinner” blends, and for the most part…they’re just kind of gross.
Elizabeth says:
I love the expressions in these photos, too funny!
Has Annie tried hummus? My little boy LOVED hummus (and still does) – it was practically the only thing he’d eat when he first started on solids! Sometimes I’d mix it with some avocado and he enjoyed that too.
Neeroc says:
oooh, mixed with avocado sounds awesome. I’ll have to try it!
Savannah says:
How fun!
I find it interesting that mention was made about a toddler’s taste buds, I had no idea it was that different. Indian parents feed their kids mashed up versions of their dinners, and come to think of it, they do make a much less spicy version for the kids.
It might be easier and more enjoyable if Annie just enjoyed what Mom and dad ate. =)
Barb says:
I totally agree. My granddaughter never ate anything labeled baby or toddler food. She went with whatever her mom and dad were having, and she’s never had a food problem. She’ll be 3 next month. (Oh–except for puffs–she did eat those. And so did her dog.)
Penbleth says:
It is so long since mine were babies I didn’t even realise there was toddler food, although now that I think about it there may have been some. It’s an expensive way to feed a child. I’m afraid I was one of those dreadful Earth mother types who just pulverised or mashed our own food, just don’t add salt.
Kris says:
My youngest is almost three, so not that far removed from toddlerhood, and I also didn’t realize that there were toddler foods. Once they had enough teeth to move away from purees, they pretty much ate what we were eating, unless it was one of the foods (shellfish) that the pediatrician told us to hold off on.
Courtney says:
FYI, babies don’t need teeth for table foods. We started feeding our son table foods at 6 months old, and skipped purees completely. He did fine, and didn’t cut his first tooth until 8 1/2 months old. In fact, he still only has front teeth now, at 13 months old – and you don’t chew with those anyway.
Julia says:
I nanny for a 22-month old and the poor kid has to eat those Gerber dinners too sometimes – I completely agree with you. It says on the package to taste them to make sure it’s not too hot and I’m just like THIS IS SO GROSS, WHY AM I FEEDING YOU THIS JUNK. EW.
Jenny says:
The Internet is full of great baby/ toddler recipes. I suggest making a few kinds and freezing them in small portions. We tried the Gerber foods and they are disgusting. Plus, they are expensive and overly processed. One of my son’s favorite meals back then was chicken broth with soft cooked rice, carrots and peas. I added shredded chicken, too, but I don’t remember the age.
Lisa says:
This is hilarious! You have gone above and beyond by actually trying the toddler food… the pictures are too funny.
My kids hated the frozen packaged stuff. I have one incredibly picky eater (who is still incredibly picky) and one who will eat anything, and I just fed them both cut-up normal food. Even the picky eater would eat SOME things, like fruit, bread, avocado, hummus… saved me a lot of money, which was one of my main purposes! Good luck!!
Barbi Brickley Emel says:
OMG, that first photo is hilarious! Just get her to eat a variety of things, my daughter is way too snoopy, wish I would of tried more stuff with her.
MissyK says:
I’m like several others here. I always just gave my kids (19 & 22 now) pulverized versions of everything we were eating. My oldest LOVED peas & I gag at the thought of eating peas. LOL!
I adore that 1st pic. Annie is adorable. And YOU get major props for being brave enough to actually taste some of that stuff.
maggie says:
Love the first picture. Her watching you eat that awful food is priceless. I was told by a pediatrician (not the one we normally see) that when they turn 6 months old they can eat any food that you are eating, just in smaller versions. I wasn’t quite ready for that, but my kids never did have the toddler food, they went from baby food to whatever we were eating. Do what works best for you and Heather.
Terri says:
Have you tried pedialyte? How they are supposed to swallow this stuff when they are already vomiting I have NO clue.. I will never buy it again. I feel so sorry for all the times I tried to make her drink it.
Lauren says:
Good for you to try the food! I always thought they looked pretty bad, so resorted to searching for “adult” food that would be soft enough for the toddlers.
One easy meal is canned soup of any variety, just drain the broth!
CorningNY says:
Ummm…not a great idea because of the extremely high sodium content. Bad for adults, worse for kids.
Melissa says:
I love that you tasted the food, and even took photos and blogged abotu it! Excellent. She will love looking back on this and laughing at you and will feel so much love at your efforts to give her healthy stuff that tastes good!
afc says:
love the pictures! but question: why not just feed her what you’re eating at meals? (obviously cut into toddler size!) that stuff really looks like poison (not judging) and beyond the convenience, why buy it?
Sharon says:
HA! at not judging.
aubrey says:
I would have to say I agree with your results. I tried all of those things when Madi was a little younger. My favorite, Gerber Mac n Cheese! It’s delicious. I have even contemplated buying a box just for me to eat.
Kathy says:
Forget the prepackaged toddler meals! Go for yogurt, scrambled eggs, ‘adult’ spaghettios, cottage cheese, applesauce, pasta. Using kid-versions of real adult food will be more appetizing and cheaper too!
Adrianne says:
Ok, this comment is likely to make me sound like the naive, non-parent that I am….but I’m baking my first right now (a girl!!), so this stuff is of interest. I had no idea that such a thing as “toddler” food existed. Why do they make that crap? It looks terrible, it sounds like it tasted pretty terrible, and if I had to guess it’s probably terrible for you (er, the toddler). Have they always had that or is this something new?
I think I have to agree with Annie on this one: keep that crap away! Real food is definitely the way to go:)
P.S. The pictures are really adorable!! Heather, are you using your fancy flash in these?
Darcy says:
Why do they make that crap? Because they can make a lot of money off of it… especially now with scientific studies that inspire articles about OMG! 80% of your kid’s brain development happens in the first 4 years so if you feed them McDonald’s fries they’ll grow up to be illiterate!!!!
I kind of hate Gerber, really. They prey on parents’ insecurity and fear of somehow not doing the absolute right thing for their kids. I wouldn’t recommend feeding your child candy bars for every meal, but they don’t have to eat exclusively seaweed and legumes, either.
Mandy says:
Hilarious! We did this too with my son 4 years ago. After realizing it was NASTY we switched to just giving him our food but cutting it up and or giving him small thing. He LOVED “real” people food rather than the toddler food. Now with my almost one year old she HATES “real” people and toddler food and will still only eat baby food. I am not going to force anything on her and just slowly implement real food but still do baby food. Babies are weird.
Elizabeth says:
Love the pictures!!! Thanks for taking one for the team Mike and trying out the foods.
Jennifer says:
LOL! Great post!
(Incidentally, at first glance I thought the title was “Toddler FOOT Taste Test”….)
lilcg says:
I second the others–toddler food is silly, just feed her whatever you are having. if she eats earlier than you do, which is the case with my toddler (I am just not hungry for dinner at 5, so I have tea while she eats), save some leftovers from the night before and give that to her.
the one toddler/baby thing that we do are those squeezy pouches. she loves the plum tots mishmash ones and will also eat the happy baby ones that are fruit and veggie mixes. they are wonderfully portable, she likes squeezing them into her mouth, and she gets another serving of fruit/veggies.
and bland doesn’t matter, the key is that you want her eating whatever she will grow up eating–so my daughter has a lot of italian food when we are at home and we go out for thai and indian (she loves samosas).
Emmy says:
You are a brave, brave man for trying that stuff! Personally, I would never eat food out of a cardboard box that needs microwaving because it’s not natural for humans to eat so many preservatives. I just smash whatever veggies and/or meat into my food processor and then fill ice cube trays with the food to freeze for later, and what do you know, perfect little toddler size food. I encourage you to make Annie’s food, it’s fun and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you’re really giving her the healthiest foods. There are a ton of online resources for baby and toddler foods. Happy experimenting!!
Lisa says:
This is going to sound super, super judgy and I really don’t mean it to be, but why don’t you feed Annie real food instead of the yucky premade crap? She’s a human, humans eat real food, toddler or not.
Neeroc says:
Really? That’s the best way you could figure to word that? And you don’t mean it to be ‘judgy’? I don’t think it could have been more ‘judgy’
Neeroc says:
You guys have the best expressions. I’d always wondered what they tasted like, we too did the micro-portions of our own food. Which led to other interesting expressions on V’s face, like ‘HOLY COW butter chicken is HOT’ (who knew, it seemed the mildest of mild to me). *g*
TracyKM says:
I’ve never bought any of those foods for my three kids. If you want to make sure Annie eats healthy, why aren’t you just making her her own food, or what you eat? You don’t need to buy food that’s labelled “Toddler” just because she is one. “Adult” ravioli is just as fine. Heck, even “Adult” Lean Cuisine would probably be more cost effective and better. I just don’t understand why people waste so much money on these things. I can understand that some parents don’t like to cook, but isn’t your child’s nutrition and health worth it to learn how to boil your own ravioli? LOL. I’m glad to see there are some other parents that share my opinion….some days, looking at the baby section in stores, I think I must somehow be the only parent that hasn’t been duped by marketing.
ldoo says:
For what it’s worth, my 13-month-old is starting to shun most foods previously devoured in mass quantity.
The one thing I’ve found that makes a difference is allowing her to try to feed herself, even with the spoon. She eats a lot more that way.
Jacqueline says:
We’ve always fed our boys whatever we’re eating. When they still need baby food, the blender is my best friend. We don’t shy away from spices either, and the kids are always much more excited for something that has a little kick than they are for something bland..
Deirdre says:
I had a feeling when I read this post that you’d be swamped with frantic “DON’T FEED HER TODDLER FOOD!” comments. I can’t say I disagree, but then again, my kids have like 50 million food allergies, so the prepackaged stuff was never an option for me. That I had to cook meals for them each time (and sometimes cooked meals for the week in batches) actually turned out to be a silver lining with the food allergies. So far, (they’re only 3.5 years and 15 months) I think they’re better eaters and more willing to try new things because of it. And they don’t consume nearly as many perservatives/chemically-stuff.
Also, if you ever want to read “The Omnivore’s Dilemma”, that can pretty quickly turn you off to all processed food. The toddler and adult versions.
susanmig says:
great book!! it really will impact the way you eat. wonderful comment
Rebecca says:
Make your own, it’s better that way…….One easy recipe is a pureed dip. You serve it with either pita chips can Annie eat chips? If not just use pita bread and cut into small enough pieces for Annie to handle.
The dip is a half jar of roasted red pepper with the oils ……….and then a half cup of goat cheese….puree until desired texture and enjoy.
Lesley says:
Being vegetarian there isn’t a whole lot out of choice out there for toddler food and what there was looked disgusting and my son simply refused to eat at all, so we just started feeding him whatever we were eating. Of course cut up into toddler bites. At 2 he has a very varied vegetarian diet and eats everything we do, as long as it isn’t too spicy (he doesn’t like the warm stuff). It’s nice to sit down to dinner as a family and all be eating the same flavourful food that isn’t packed with sodium and other nasty stuff that is usually in the packaged meals. And I always make too much and freeze the left overs so there is always something handy should we eat something spicy that we know he won’t eat, or to send to his daycare for lunches. We love pasta’s and they are so easy for my son to eat too! Perhaps it’s time to start introducing Annie to what mommy and daddy eat! My son really got a kick out of eating just like us! You should read the book Hungry Monkey to inspire you.
LisaJ says:
Hey, Mike, I haven’t read the other responses because I have to be quick when I am misusing the interwebs at work, but I wanted to suggest that you guys just give Annie what you are eating for dinner. Seriously, Saeryn is a month older than Annie and is thriving on smaller portions of whatever we are having for dinner. She has even gotten some spices that I forgot on occasion and seems to like almost everything. When we take her out to eat, she shares with us, too. Not that we do that much these days because she wants to check out every square inch of the establishment and it is a bit off putting for all concerned.
A few go-to items for us that we have on hand in case she is having an off night or early bout of teenage angst and refuses “our” food…
Her favorites: She loves pasta with parmesean cheese sprinkled liberally on it–it stays pretty well for a few days in a container and we have done all the shapes, steam in the pouch lima beans, peas, etc. (easy, nothing extra, very little prep and, hello–microwavable!), and believe it or not, her favorite thing EVER is hummus, which she will seriously eat off a spoon if you give her one. It is a mess, but fun and she loves it. Like any flavor, I swear. And yogurt. She likes the vanilla kind the best.
Hope I have helped somewhat. I promise you I have never bought specific toddler food other than puffs or yogurt melts and she is a really good eater…and it is cheaper, AND easier.
LisaJ says:
LOL at myself–I see that was a popular response. Let me just tell you that 15 years ago with my son Jake, I bought plenty of toddler food and it took me awhile to realize that he could eat regular food. I am not surprised other mamas are chiming in with regular food, but I am really taken aback at the tone of some of the responses. I just wanted you to know that I was in NO WAY judging your feeding or parenting. I think you and Heather set a standard on parenting that I try very hard to emulate, and I love that I can maybe offer suggestions to kinda give something back for all the WONDERFUL things I have gotten from your blogs.
Hugs–parenting is tough sometimes, even when it comes to food. Kudos to you for exploring your options.
Expat Mom says:
Those really don’t look too tasty, I don’t blame Annie for turning up her nose! It’s always a good idea to taste test the stuff you give your kids so you know if they are legit in their not liking it (as opposed to thinking green is the Devil’s food). I do that with all the meds my kids have to take so I know which ones are bad.
When my kids were little, I’d chop up food like fruit and veggies and stuff once a week and keep it in ziploc bags or little containers in the fridge. We got them those divided plates and I’d just toss some pasta bits on there, with a bit of olive oil or butter, then fill in the other sections with fruits and veggies . . . they could eat it themselves and I didn’t have to worry about cooking every ten minutes (not sure if it’s the same for girls, but little boys eat ALL THE TIME!).
Stacy says:
Mike, that first picture is PRICELESS! That’s exactly what I would think it would taste like! You’re a great Daddy for feeling her pain!
Amy says:
Ah, the joys of toddler foods. Nate is almost the same age as Annie and his menu is not terribly varied. He doesn’t like Spaghetti-os but does like when I cook those little ABC pastas with tomato sauce. Then I sneak in some veggies, too. You’re doing great!
Melanie B says:
This is pretty thought inducing ha ha.
My daughter refused to eat any packaged “toddler foods” as well, so she got basically what we got
heather says:
i have a question, since i raised my children before there was such a thing as toddler food…. why do you give her toddler food? why don’t you just feed her regular, adult, people food? like, you know, what you eat
zchamu says:
Those toddler “food” things are the biggest scam in the world. Ridiculously expensive and filled with salt and other assorted nastiness. They pretend they’re healthy. They’re really not. Save yourself the money and boil some whole wheat fusilli pasta and chuck an ice-cube of tomato sauce. Ta-daaah!
Glenda says:
Pic #1 Annie is saying “are you serious, you’re going to eat that?”
Pic #3 Annie is saying “no way”!
Pic #4 Annie is saying “this is more like it, bring it on”
cindy w says:
The comments are making me laugh. Jeez, Mike, way to fire up the Judgy Mommy Committee!
Honestly, I’m impressed with you for even tasting that stuff. When Catie was little, Dave would feed it to her while moaning, “Oh god this smells so bad, oh Jesus I’m going to puke, eww eww gross!!”
Although come to think of it, that might have just been his way of bitching to the point where I would say, “Oh forget it, just go and *I’LL* feed her!!” Hmm… He’s a shifty one.
Kirsten says:
Kudos on you for tasting that stuff. But seriously, processed frozen food is really not that healthy. Your best bet: give her what you eat. Cut everything up small and give her a spoon, preferably not near anything that will be irreversibly damaged by toddler mess. It’s really healthy for a baby’s development to learn to feed herself, learn the textures and tastes of foods and most of all – to make a mess.
AmazingGreis says:
Wow, you’d think Mike & Heather only fed THEIR kid pre-packaged “toddler” food at every meal every day by the comments. Why must parents be so judgmental towards other parents?
You don’t and WON’T ever feed your kid food out of a box, well that’s great and that’s what works for you. No need to judge another parent for occasionally feeding their kid whatever the hell they want to feed her. Sheesh!
Amelia says:
My daughter refused all toddler foods, we just skipped them.
Kassie says:
Smoothies are perfect for a picky baby. I just plop some plain (or flavored) yogurt in the blender and add a variety of fruits and veggies. Spinach and cooked sweet potato work very well. Thin with milk until it’s an appropriate consistency for your little one.
Jessica says:
Seriously, first picture is priceless! LOVE it!
We did the same thing you are doing with our little boy (now 5), tried everything from Gerber to homemade. He hated the Gerber stuff (except puffs of course) but really liked everything else and ate like a champ. Until he was 2.5. Then he didn’t like food at all, unless it was puffs. Then for a while it was only apples, carrots, brown rice, plane pasta and PBJ. And more puffs of course (I think they put drugs in those!) Now he is finally trying more food, especially meats. And we have cut the puff habit to 1 can every 3 months or so. I think all kids go thru weird food phases. Good luck with Annie! It will only get more interesting I’m sure!
HalfDome621 says:
I think most people have covered what I was going to say. If the kiddo has teeth and can chew, feed her the same stuff you do. It’s better for her anyway.
I think I tried to feed my daughter out of a jar once. She wanted nothing to do with it. I made the babyfood (it was easier than I expected and SO MUCH cheaper than babyfood) so she ate real food from the beginning and is a really good eater now.
And if Annie can’t handle flavor or spicy, she’ll let you know, but exposing her to that stuff early, gets her used to it. My daughter LOVES spicy and it’s because it’s something she’s always known (which makes my hubby happy since he’s from New Orleans and makes all that awesome, yummy cajun food!).
kristen says:
Hey there…
I don’t have kids, but I know that kids food looks (and tastes, apparently) pretty awful. I read another blog (a cooking blog) from a lady who did a few posts on some simple stuff she made for her little one year old guy. They don’t look too difficult (as far as ingredients and process). Here is the link if you want to peruse and see if making some of these will appeal to Little Miss Annie: http://smittenkitchen.com/baby/ I’ll be perfectly honest, a few of them I want to try just for myself. Best of Luck..I’m just amazed at how much of a cute little miss she is turning out to be!
Lisa says:
My daughter was not a fan of that stuff at all. We usually just fed her some of what we were having. She loved tortellini pasta, rice and cooked veggies. It was much easier to feed her when she was eating our food versus that toddler stuff.
amanda says:
I have given my daughter all of those meals (except for the last one) – she actually liked the pasta pick ups! Her favorite was the chicken and mashed potatoes meal that Gerber had. Not sure if they make it anymore – but she loved it! (I never tried it. Because I am a jerk.)
Anna says:
That top picture is the best! It should be used in an ad or something (for one of Gerber’s competitors, I guess?).
Amy says:
Did you know those Gerber Graduate meals have twice as much sodium as a medium order of McDonald’s French fries? Gerber wants you to think they are healthy, but it’s just a marketing ploy.
My 12 month old eats everything we do. Toddlers can have spicy foods, why couldn’t they? If they don’t like it they won’t eat it! We also avoid puffs, I see no reason to set my babies up for a love of processed puffs when I could give them dried apples, frozen peas and corn, or grated raw carrot or grated apple to snack on!
Ray says:
LOVED this post! Smart of you to try out the toddler food. So now you know what’s edible, and what’s not. And I loved the photos to go with this post. ;o)
Annie has such cool parents. ^o^
CorningNY says:
One more easy thing to try: find pastina in the pasta section of the grocery store–it’s little tiny pasta stars–and cook it in homemade broth or just water. Add a little butter and Parmesan cheese–yum!
Jennifer Dawn says:
I love this! My 14-month old daughter HATES the ravioli’s. It was literally the first piece of food she ever spit out of her mouth. I tried again recently since it had been a while, and she still refused. She starting throwing them on floor for the dog but not even he would eat them.
Now I know why! They look pretty nasty but I haven’t had the courage to taste them. Thanks to this post, I never will.
Leanne says:
Since they were about 6-7 months our kids(I have 4) always ate whatever we ate, just pureed. and by 10-11 months they ate whatever we ate, I just cut it up small.
Darcy says:
I’ve lost count of all the “Just feed her what you eat!” comments.
It’s amazing how many commenters missed this important phrase: “… that is when I’m not cooking her something fresh and hopefully more tasty!” I guessed they skimmed over that part while hurriedly scrolling down to comment.
Anyway, love the first photo. It’s like Annie is thinking, “Dude. What did I tell you.”
Noelle says:
I thought Gerber Graduates were the most vile, disgusting tasting and smelling food ever put on this planet.
The end!
Annalien says:
In South Africa our version of Gerber is called Purity. At a friend’s stork tea once the party game was to taste some of the baby foods and guess what it is. The fruit ones are ok, but the reaction to the vegetable and meat ones was hilarious.
I fed/feed all three my kids (my baby girl is just 2 weeks younger than Annie) Purity well into their second year, mostly because it is convenient. They are all made without salt and little spices (apparently that is bad for babies?). I also find that the most edible ones are the ones with tomato in it. The absolutely most disgusting one we ever tried was Chicken A’la King. The baby actually ate it, but I never bought it again – nobody should have to eat anything so awful!
Karen says:
Why do I get the feeling that most people either: 1. Didn’t bother reading all the way to the end of the entry, or 2: Were too busy formulating judgemental replies to properly process what Mike was inferring?
“… that is when I’m not cooking her something fresh and hopefully more tasty!”
Where in any of Mike’s blog did it suggest that it was the norm for Annie to eat this stuff? I’ve reread it and I can’t see any mention of frequency or a suggestion that she DOESN’T eat small versions of what they eat most nights of the week. More to the point, this is THEIR blog and THEIR kid so back off. She doesn’t look like she’s malnutritioned to me.
My only experience with baby food, Mike, is the jelly that my mother used to feed my brother and I about a century ago. I think I remember it most because I used to steal it from my brother since he’s the youngest and would have still be eating it when I was about four or five. I have fond memories. Prepackaged anything, however, tends to be a bit hit and miss so I’m not surprised some of these selections are gross! More power to Annie for constantly asserting her dominance over evil foodstuffs! (And I agree, the first photo is priceless.)
Rachel says:
totally agree! lots of judge-y mcjudgersons on here. annie definitely gets enough to eat, that cute little butterball!
Darcy says:
“2: Were too busy formulating judgemental replies to properly process what Mike was inferring?” DING DING DING We have a winner!
I think Mike originally intended to write a funny post talking about how icky the prepackaged food is — hey, Annie isn’t being contrary after all! Kids! It’s like they know what tastes good and what doesn’t!
But the comments section is dozens of variations on a theme. It reminds me of when I had morning sickness and people actually told me with a straight face to try eating saltine crackers. Really??? That never, ever occurred to me because I live on a desert island with no pregnancy advice books and nobody talks to me! LOL
Erin @ One Particular Kitchen says:
I’m kind of dying at the first picture. “See? Did I tell you, Daddy??”
Angel says:
Baaaaa-ha-ha-ha… that first picture she’s looking at you like, “I told you!”
Jen says:
I’m here to tell you that McDonald’s Happy Meals are the way to go. Heh.
Nanette says:
And deep-fried Mars bars, yo!
Ally says:
I predict that Mike’s excellent sense of humor will be far more influential in Annie’s life than the occasional container of soggy ravioli. You should all stop giving un-solicited advice and take note. And read the whole freakin post before joining the judgy-mommy ambush, by the way.