A Quick Bite
Baby food is just puréed fruit and veggies with a few extras, and the fruit-based pouches are genuinely good. Pick a fruit-plus-veggie pouch, skip the savory ones, and know that pears are gritty.
I like baby food, I'm not afraid to admit it.
Before you judge, when was the last time you had some? Probably so long ago, you don't remember how good it actually is, and why you liked it in the first place.
This article is to remind you why you should eat baby food as an adult.
They're Good
Taste
Baby food is basically just puréed fruit and vegetables, plus other ingredients thrown in to enhance the flavor, nutritional value, or texture.
The "other ingredients":
- Oats
- Yogurt
- Avocado
- Brown rice
- Chia seeds
- Flaxseed
- Citric acid
- Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
With just a handful of ingredients, how bad could it be, right? Well luckily, not bad at all. Baby food is actually really good as long as you aren't picking the savory flavors.
The best-tasting pouches usually have fruit bases. Most likely apple, pear, or banana. Those are the ones that taste like a smoothie, sweet and fruity.
For example, this one is Strawberry and Banana. An OG classic fruit smoothie duo.
Some fruit-based baby food can be really sweet, almost too sweet, depending on the recipe. I like to pick pouches that contain both fruit AND veggies, something like a 2:1 ratio, like this:
FUNFACT
Carrots have a ton of fiber in them, which helps keep your body from absorbing sugar too fast. So even though carrots have natural sugar, they won't make your blood sugar skyrocket.
Go for Green!
Don't forget veggies can be sweet too!
Root vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and beets contain natural sugar. So if you're trying to avoid overly sweet recipes, go for green veggies with little to no sugar like kale, spinach, or zucchini.
Texture
Can we talk about texture for a sec? Because texture is important.
If you're even a teeny bit sensory sensitive like me, texture can absolutely make or break a dish, so let's get into it:
The consistency of baby food varies depending on the recipe. Most of the time, it's soft, smooth, and consistent, like a smoothie.
That is, unless you buy one with a pear base. Pears have a noticeably gritty texture that's hard to get rid of, even when you purée it into baby food.
Pouches with pear bases have a soft yet gritty, sand-like texture, almost like applesauce.
It isn't really noticeable if you're a fan of pears or don't mind their grittiness. But if you have problems with texture, try a smoother, apple, banana, or even yogurt-based baby food pouch instead.
They're Healthy
Baby food is typically pretty clean. I mean, it kind of has to be.
Babies are just starting out, so the ingredients in their food have to be simple, carefully chosen building blocks. Think of fruits and veggies that are mild in flavor and easy to digest like sweet potatoes, zucchini, bananas, or apples.
They're Convenient
- They come in a pouch with a resealable twist cap so you can come back to it later.
- They're shelf-stable so you can forget about them and it's okay!, they won't go bad by the end of the week (Looking at you, bell peppers. Especially those pricey, snobby, red ones).
- They're usually only a couple of dollars. Four or five bucks, at most. Look for the store-brand pouches. They're even cheaper.
They're a Good Idea
If we're being honest, you can probably make your own at home.
- Produce is cheap.
- They sell the pouches online.
- They're easy to make.
- You can stay home.
Disclaimer: Baby food is amazing, but it isn't meant to be a meal replacement for adults. If you're struggling with an eating disorder