Do you know whats REALLY in your baby and toddler snacks? #FoodYouCanTrust

Sponsored post with Organix

There is no doubt in saying that weaning is a total minefield. For me, it’s been one of the most daunting parts of being a new Mum. It’s only been as Violet has turned a year I’ve finally relaxed and feel confident in what I’m doing, yet clearly with 8 months weaning experience, I still have so much to learn. What I’m about to talk about today has truly shocked me!

SOMEDAYS YOU JUST NEED A BIT OF HELP….

We’ve certainly had our ups and downs with weaning, however whenever I felt out of inspiration for meals or snack ideas, I always thought turning to the baby isle at the supermarket would be a fail safe place to buy products that were 100% tailored to a babies nutritional requirements. Surely no one would want to feed their baby junk foods so I naively thought they wouldn’t be on sale, meaning that anything you gave your baby from a baby range would be a suitable, healthy and nutritious food.

How wrong I was!

Did you know that some baby finger foods and toddler snacks contain almost the same level of salt as a regular bag of adult crisps? No, me neither! I know added salt for babies is a BIG no no when it comes to weaning, so I’m shocked to think brands think this is okay to sell to us and marketed as ‘healthy’. So, with this in mind – over the next few months I’ve teamed up with one of my favourite baby and toddler food brands Organix and TV presenter Cherry Healey. Between us and some other fabulous bloggers we are campaigning to raise awareness of what we are really feeding our children and how to spot hidden ingredients lurking within – I’m sure you’ll be as shocked by the findings as I was!

 

OUR SNACKING JOURNEY:

Like all babies, Violet loves to snack and we often give her packets of baby crisps, rice cakes, fruit bars or boxes of raisins between meals if we are out and about as it’s so much easier than trying to prepare fresh ingredients for snacks. I naively believed that ALL baby products are suitable for our little ones and were totally healthy so didn’t see this as an issue at all. She gets lots of fresh fruit and veggies in her diet, so the snacks in between should be just all part of a balanced diet – I thought, but it really does depend on which snacks you are buying and the ingredients hidden inside. Organix have carried out a survey which had the following surprising results:

  • Number of ingredients: 76% of parents shocked to discover that some baby and toddler snacks contain up to 30 separate ingredients.
  • Added salt: 85% of parents shocked to find some baby finger foods and toddler snacks contain almost the same level of salt as a regular bag of adult crisps. 82% shocked that extra salt is added to some baby and toddler snacks to boost the flavour.
  • Regulation: 88% shocked that some of the foods sold in the baby aisle are not protected by regulations.

After watching Cherry’s video and hearing these survey results, I decided to head out to our local shops to do some investigations of my own and to pick Violet up some new snacks – this time, armed with the knowledge of what to look for to ensure she’s only eating healthy foods from brands we know we can trust.

The baby isle is full of bright, fun packaging – I’m sure appealing to parents and children alike! Most products claim to be organic, vegetable based and low in salt and sugar, all looks pretty innocent, right?

So, what do we need to look out for?

  • Really long ingredient lists: go for fewer ingredients.
  • Added ingredients: there’s no need for anything unnecessary, so avoid foods with added salt, sugar or flavourings.
  • Unrecognisable ingredients: go for simple ingredients – look at the back of the packet and choose something with simple ingredients – things that you recognise.
  • The organic logo – If you see an organic logo on pack you can feel sure what you buy has been made to the highest standards.

Whats lurking underneath….?

I have to admit, before now I often bought baby products just from looking at the front of the packaging.  I was shocked on our shopping trip to see so many products with added salt and sugar. One vegetable based product was clearly marked ‘Gluten Free’ and ‘No added preservatives’ – sounds pretty healthy, right? Wrong. I turned the pack over to find these products have not only added salt but sugar too! The salt content was 1.5g per 100g, which is more than a packet of Walkers Crisps, which have 1.4g per 100g. SHOCKING. We won’t be buying these again and I feel really terrible I let myself be so misled by well-known children’s brand who clearly pitch themselves as a healthy option – I mean, this product claims to contain Kale, surely if you feel you are feeding your child kale you feel like you are winning, but no, sadly not!

Not only is selling products like this completely irresponsible, but I also feel pretty annoyed as most baby products are always so pricey too! I’ve always assumed the extra cost is because the products are organic and made from only the best ingredients, so hearing the food brands are cashing in on unhealthy products just rubs salt (literally) into the wounds and makes it even worse.

Here is Cherry Healey again to show us how to spot some of the hidden nasties in children’s foods:

A brand you can trust

We’ve been big fans of Organix since Violet started her weaning journey, we have worked with them in the past and buy their products regularly, so it was a no brainer for me to hop onto the bandwagon for their #FoodYouCanTrust campaign. With Organix, I just love that their packaging and ingredients lists are so easy to understand and follow – they never add anything unnecessary and their products are always organic. There is no mistaking there isn’t any hidden nasties there.

I really hope that their #FoodYouCanTrust and #NoJunkJourney campaigns help to raise awareness of what is lurking inside our supposedly healthy, bright, colourful, innocent-looking baby and toddler foods.  I’ve been really shocked by some of the results and will certainly think again next time I’m shopping – have you?

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  • I knew this was going to be shocking! I have to admit I’m guilty of just picking out snacks without even looking at the ingredients list this post has definitely showed me I need to be more aware of what I’m buying for Isaac. I do my best to cook healthy meals with the odd pouch here or there but feels like my hard work may be going amiss if he’s snacking on salty snacks full of crap without me even realizing!

  • It so scary to think that there is so much salt and other nasties in food marketed at babies! I am so careful about what I buy after being shocked by what I saw in these foods. We are fans of organix in our house!

  • Gosh Ive always relied on baby snacks and never thought to look at the back of snacks – such as baby buscuits and puffs. I always did with meals and always brought Ella’s Kitchen as it didn’t contain any hidden extras! I love organix so can always rely on this brand!

  • With my eldest I did Baby Led Weaning at a time when it was not really known about. The foods aimed at weaning babies wasn’t suitable so I look at older food and really paid attention to the ingredients. I was surprised by how much salt was in various products. A slice of bread could have as much salt as some crips. As adults we are so used to foods being high in sugar and salt that we encourage children to eat similar tasting foods. It’s really not necessary and what might seem bland to us, isn’t to them. Plus what about all the other herbs and spices available?

  • It honestly terrified me when I realised how bad some of the stuff is! We’ve only ever really bought Organix snacks for Dougie anyway, in part because of the name, and fortunately he LOVES fruit so that’s always a go-to, but the amount of snacks I’ve picked up for him because they’re in the baby aisle and then realised how bad they are is crazy. There really should be clearer, and more regulations for baby food.
    Hels xx