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Mighty Meals in a Minute!
There are times when making meals for your little ones can be difficult. Whether it’s because you have a meal planned for the adults of the household which isn’t suitable for younger children and you simply don’t feel up to making two meals, or whether it’s simply due to time constraints. There are times when convenience foods are the most sensible and realistic answer.
Organix produce a wide range of organic foods designed specifically for each age stage from four months to toddlerhood, all of which can be prepared and served within minutes. Organix food products are made with organic, tasty and natural ingredients to suit your child’s nutritional requirements Organix use the finest quality ingredients with no unnecessary additives in order to offer a ‘no junk promise’ to both children and parents.
Organix have recently launched the new ‘Mighty Meal’ selection, a range of nutritious and tasty meals suitable for children twelve months and over. Mums Baby Magazine put all five of the Organix Mighty Meals to the test with two toddlers (aged 1 and 2 years old).
Although the Mighty Meals seemed to smell quite nice after being heated, one of our toddler tasting testers wasn’t hugely impressed by Organix range and turned down the meals offered after only a few spoonful’s. We would like to suggest that the reason for this response was due to the fact that this toddler had been weaned using 100% natural, home made products and had then continued to eat home cooked meals each day. Our second toddler tasting tester responded positively to the Organix Mighty Meals and overall seemed to enjoy eating the meals.
There are currently five Mighty Meals available on the market:
- Spinach Falafels in a big beany sweet red pepper sauce
- Creamy Chicken Pasta with sweet corn
- Hearty Lamb Hotpot with chunky vegetables
- Tomatoey Beef Bolognaise with butternut squash and pasta shells.
- Pork Meatballs in a tomatoey chickpea and sweet potato sauce.
The Organix Mighty Meals are well packaged, the ideal portion size for toddlers, easy to prepare and serve within minutes and are therefore a good solution for ‘meals on the hop’. However, due to the negative response from one of our two testers, we therefore give this product 5/10.
Mighty Meals are available from Boots or can alternatively be purchased from the Organix Online Store for £1.99 per meal.
Organix: The Instant Baby and Toddler Convenience Food and Drink Range with a ‘No Junk Promise’.
Founded in 1992 by Lizzie Vann, Organix provides a wide range of food and drinks for infants and toddlers which promises to use only natural, organic ingredients with no additives, preservative or junk included. Through becoming a parent herself Lizzie realised that something was missing from most Baby Supermarket aisles, which sparked her inspiration to begin the Organix Company.
The No Junk Promise guarantees that all food and drink is made with the best quality, organic ingredients which are tasty and nutritious for little ones without the unnecessary additives and preservatives that many convenience foods include. For parents who simply do not have the time to prepare meals for their baby/ toddler, Organix has created a wide range of solutions which are easy to serve and enjoyable to eat/ drink. Organix are committed to working with 
nutritionists, organic farmers and parents to establish the ideal foods for little ones.
Each Organix product is clearly labelled with age suitability which follow government guidelines. Organix focus upon ‘ease of use’ and package their products appropriately for parents on the go. Packaging such as screw tops and squeezy tubes reduce wastage as left over food can be reused within the time guidelines set. All Bottles and Drinks are fitted with appropriate caps for ‘instant drinking’ and these can be lifted and closed so that the drink needn’t be wasted if unfinished at a particular time.
Mums Baby Magazine put a range of Organix Products to the test and found the convenience of the Organix range to be useful for:
- On the go parenting
- Travel Foods/ Snacks/ Drinks
- Easy Serving
- Reducing Wastage
The food and drink smelt nice and upon testing a range of different products with little ones we found that it seemed to go down well! Not only did we test this with little ones but we tried it ourselves! We believe that parents should only ever offer their little ones food and drink which they are happy to drink and eat themselves. We found the products tasted fresh and looked colourful. If you take time to look at a plate of fruit and veg then you will see the natural primary colours of these items. However, if you look at many fast foods they tend to be beige and brown colours. One tip from many nutritionists is simply to look at the colour of your food, often it’s a giveaway as to it’s nutritional value!
Organix have a wide range of products available for infants and toddlers in the following age categories:
- From 4 months
- From 7 months
- From 12 months
Organic food (as Organix uses) limits your little ones exposure to harmful chemicals such as pesticides and also avoids many of the chemicals such as additives and preservatives included in many convenience foods, therefore Organic food is the safest and most ideal food and drinks for your little one to consume.
Organix products are reasonably priced, If your supermarket doesn’t stock Organix, don’t panic! You can now buy these products online at http://www.organix-shop.co.uk
Weaning, A Quick Guide
The Department of Health issued Guidelines in 1998 suggesting that infants should now be weaned from six months onwards rather than the traditional ‘four month’ milestone that many Health Visitors previously suggested.
So when is it right to begin weaning your infant? The Department of Health suggest that the following signs are a useful way in which to identify when your infant is ready to begin weaning.
- Your infant shows interest in chewing, whether its their hands or on objects
- Your infant is able to grab and reach things with accuracy
- Your infant is sitting upright unaided.
The NHS ‘ Start 4 Life’ campaign recently introduced ‘The Banana Test’ which is said to be an efficient method to identify whether your infant is ready to begin weaning. According to the NHS, if your infant is able to grab a piece of banana and put it into their mouths and eat it, then they are ready to begin eating solids.
With current guidelines suggesting that we should withhold weaning until six months of age, it does seem odd that many of the infant foods on supermarket shelves suggest that they are suitable from ‘four months upwards’. According to the Government Guidelines, these foods are not following recent research and therefore the age guidelines printed on infant foods are outdated and incorrect.
Weaning before your child is ready can increase the chances of your child contracting infections and allergies. Until six months of age, your child’s digestive system is still developing.
Although parents are now warned that they should be in “No rush to mush”, it is hard when your infant who has been sleeping through for the past three or four months begins to wake in the middle of the night. The Governments current guidelines state that infants under six months who wake in the middle of the night are not hungry for solids and should be quenched with either breast milk or formula.
However, if it were completely wrong to begin weaning at four months of age, as has previously been suggested (until 1998 when the Guidelines suddenly changed) then surely the companies selling baby foods advertising from four 
months onwards would have a fair share of legal battles to pursue. Upon reading more into the Government Documentation upon weaning it actually states “Solids should never be introduced before four months.”
It is important that your child is ready to begin weaning when you make the decision to introduce solids but this should be BABY LED not Government led! Each child is different and each child will achieve different milestones at different times in their lives, this includes when they are ready to be introduced to solids. You, as a parent will most likely know when your little one is ready for food, as they become interested in watching you eat and start to reach out to try foods around them.
Here are some basics for what to do first when you and your baby are ready to begin weaning.
1. Ensure that the equipment you use (feeding spoons, bowls, etc) is clean. It is advisable before six months to sterilise all feeding equipment. After six months, putting items used into the dishwasher should suffice.
2. Sit your child in a high chair so that they are upright and comfortable. Many high chairs now on the market can be used from birth onwards. You may want to use your high chair before your child is four months and able to try solids, perhaps as somewhere safe to place your child for a moment or simply to allow your child to become comfortable in their eating place for the future.
3. Ensure that you have a muslin cloth/ wipes close to hand and have protected your child’s cloths with a bib, Long sleeved bibs tend to be very handy during weaning!
4. Start by offering your child one to two teaspoons of baby rice mixed with their milk (breast of formula milk) during the first week of weaning.
5. Slowly introduce new fruits and vegetables which have been cooked and processed into a mush. (pear, apple, sweet potato, and carrots are excellent foods which can easily be mashed up). These foods can be offered along with baby rice, so that your infant is offered something they are familiar with.
6. Increase the amount of food according to your babies needs. If your baby would like more then offer more! From around nine months onwards you should offer 3-4 servings of food per day as well as the milk feeds. A routine such as Breakfast and milk, snack , dinner, snack and milk , tea, supper milk will soon fall into place.
7. Let babies try finger foods as soon as they show interest. Try to offer a wide range of foods and textures.
8. Rather than plumping for what seems to be the easier option and purchasing bottled foods and tinned baby foods, TRY COOKING YOUR OWN. Not only is it fun but its more nutritious for the child and is far more satisfying watching your child eat the food you prepared by hand.
9. Try to sit down to eat as a family, start as you mean to go on.
10. Remember to encourage foods that you yourself may dislike! Just because you aren’t keen on your greens doesn’t mean that your little one should miss out.
Here are some NO NO’s for weaning…
- Never force weaning, One piece of advice that the Department of Health give which SHOULD be followed is “Enjoy it, Encourage it, Don’t force it”.
- Do not use refined sugar or salt in any of your infants foods.
- Do not offer your infant nuts, honey, low-fat foods (those created specifically with lower amounts of fat such as low-fat butter)
If you do decide to wean your child before six months then also avoid the following foods:
- wheat based foods such as bread, rusks etc which include gluten
- eggs
- fish
- shell fish
- nuts
- seeds
- soft unpasteurised cheeses
Upon weaning your child, you will often find that they drop their intake of milk. Before twelve months infants should have between 500-600ml (about one pint) of milk per day. Also, remember that cows milk is unsuitable until your child reaches the age of one year. When introducing cows milk, ensure that it is full fat and pasteurised.
There are many infant and child nutritionists out there who have written and produced a wide range of popular publications upon weaning. These can be very helpful in finding suitable recipes for your little one. Two of the best known child nutritional authors are currently Gina Ford and Annabel Karmel, both of which have a range of books published upon weaning and feeding infants. Although, it is wise to bare in mind that there is some debate as to whether some of the routines and weaning techniques suggested in differing books are correct. As always with parenting, it is down to the parent and the baby to decide what is best for them!
Get Hip with Weaning. Start with Hipp Organic Baby Rice
The NHS currently recommends weaning your child at six months of age. However, as you will notice when browsing through the ranges of baby food available, many ‘stage one’ weaning products available on the market state that they can be used from four months.
It is entirely up to the parent to decide upon when to start weaning their child but there are some cues which babies give us to help identify when they might be ready.
How do I know when my Baby is ready to be weaned?
Every baby is different, simply weaning your child because they have reached a certain number of weeks in age is not advised. You may start to notice some of the following signs if your baby is trying to tell you that they are ready to begin trying solids.
- Your baby starts to show an interest in food (solid food)
- If your baby previously slept ‘right through’ and is beginning to wake due to hunger.
- Your baby is putting their hands into their mouths and gumming them on a regular basic (this can also be due to teething).
- Your baby is demanding more and more milk over short amounts of time (rather than holding out for 3-4 hours between each feed).
- Your baby looks at your food longingly and begins to get irate when seeing you eat.
How do I start weaning my child?
There are several strategies for weaning, most of them well documented and now available in book form. Most strategies suggest baby rice as the first solid to try with your baby.
Hipp Organic Baby Rice uses organic rice flakes and is ideal for mixing with fruit or vegetables as they are introduced. Hipp uses the highest quality ingredients that are GM and sugar free!
What equipment will I need?
- Highchair/ feeding area
- Sterilised baby feeding spoon
- Sterilised baby bowl
What about sterilising?
Remember that you MUST sterilise all baby equipment as before (bottles, dishes and spoons do not need to be sterilised once your baby is over a year old, they can be washed in the dishwasher).
Do I still feed my child milk?
YES! It is essential that your child still drinks milk as it is the main statutory part of their diet until at least one year of age. Milk is an essential part of your child’s feeds and should continue alongside solids. Try to encourage your baby to drink their milk first.
What if my baby does not like the food I offer them?
Keep trying, research suggests that a child should be offered each food fifteen times until you should start trying an alternative if they dislike the food.
What are my options?
Here are some of the well known documented plans for weaning
- Annabel Karmel
- Gina Ford
- Baby Led Weaning (using finger foods etc)
There are more options than this but these are the three MAIN feeding plans which are currently top of the shelves on the market.
Where can I get Hipp Organic Baby Rice?
You can get Hipp Organic Baby Rice from Asda retailing at £2.33 per box. You can also buy online from the Hipp Organic Website.
Waste not, want not… Ellas Kitchen Organic Baby Food Pouches, the perfect solution to wasting baby food.
How often do you make your baby a milk up or cook them foods which they only eat a little of and then we are faced with having to throw away the excess…all too often.
Due to health and safety standards parents are now advised to keep food as fresh as possible which leaves us little option but to precook food, divide it into feeding pots and freeze any excess. However, this isn’t practical for when we are out and about with our little ones.
Ella’s Organic Baby Food products come in squeezy packets which are easy to carry in your changing bag and easy to squirt small amounts of food onto a teaspoon, screwing the top back on once your baby is full.
Although this may come across as ‘fast food’ for our little ones , Ella’s kitchen make all their food using 100% organic products and with zero additives. Ella’s Kitchen Organic Food Pouches are healthy convenient options for parents who are on the go (they do not require refrigeration) and dislike waste.
Available from most supermarkets Ella’s Kitchen Organic Baby Food Products range in age suitability, starting at around 6 months (the current suggested weaning age) and running right through to toddlerhood and beyond.
See www.ellaskitchen.co.uk for more information
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