L eats- Ella's kitchen

L is a big fan of pouches, when she is not in the mood to eat solid food or a jar, pouches are always a saviour! I was so delighted to receive Ella's Kitchen products for a review as was eyeing them up in my local supermarket for ages.

Our mission is to develop healthy eating habits that last a lifetime by offering a range of tasty, natural and healthy 100% organic foods for babies and kids, which are handy for mums + dads and fun for little ones.
We think it's important to always approach things from a child's point of view. So, we've taken simple, natural ingredients that ooze goodness and created foods, and packaging, that should really connect with kids - with flavours, colours, textures and even names that will appeal to all of their senses.

We have received: 

- from 4 months pouches: parsnips, prunes, peas
- from 6 months pouches: lots of lentils, parsnips & peas; cauliflower cheese with butter beans; tomato and lentil bake with red peppers
- baby finger food range

Parsnips pouch (70g, £0.79) 

Contains organic parsnips 75%, water 25%. 
It tastes smooth, the parsnip flavour is there but it is not overpowering. L have tried parsnip pouch for the first time and at first wasn't sure about it and wouldn't suck straight from a pouch but the moment I put it on a spoon she accepted it without a problem.

Peas pouch (70g, £0.79) 

Contains organic peas 50%, water 50% and are L's least favourite.
I have tried it myself and it seems that regardless of a brand peas purees have a strong flavour which you can either like or hate.

Prunes pouch (70g, £0.79)

Contains organic prunes 100%. 
This pouch was a well needed "medicine" for constipated L and it did it's trick well. As prunes are quite sweet in general, it had a strong flavour but not too bad. It was a little bit messy though as I allowed L to hold the pouch and due to the dark colour the mess was more obvious than with other flavours.

The orange one pouch (90g) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic apples 51%, organic mangoes 30%, organic bananas 10%, organic coconuts 9%, a dash of organic lemon juice concentrate. 
I can't seem to find a single pouch for sale but you can purchase a pack of 5 pouches for £3.25. I have noticed previously that mango is a very overpowering flavour that is the case with the orange one, having said that it tasted nice and L finished it in few seconds.

Cauliflower cheese with butter beans pouch (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic vegetable stock 44% (water and organic vegetables: swedes, parsnips + carrots), organic potatoes 19%, organic cauliflower 15%, organic whole milk 11%, organic cheddar cheese (milk) 6%, organic butter beans 5%. 

Cauliflower has overpowering flavour, but still a nice smooth texture.

Tomato lentil bake with red peppers (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic lentils 46%, organic sweet potatoes 32%, organic red peppers 12%, organic tomatoes 10%.

This is my favourite pouch from Ella's Kitchen, tastes lovely. I must admit I enjoyed a smooth, not overpowering tomotoey-peppery flavour more than L, she is not a big fan of peppers at the moment.

Lots of lentils, parsnips and peas (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic lentils 48%, organic parsnips 31%, organic peas 21%. 
This pouch has a strong, overpowering flavour of peas. As L doesn't like anything pea related that was our least favourite pouch.

Grab me melty puffs tomatoes leeks (£0.69) 

                Grab me melty puffs strawberries bananas (£0.69)

Ella's kitchen snack range is a great way of developing gripping, picking, grabbing skills and exploring of course.
These grab me melty puffs are suitable from 7 months. L is still a bit uncertain about a new shape and texture but she doesn't mind them at all. They are crispy, melt quickly once in a mouth and have very gentle flavours.

Pick me melty hoops cheese tomatoes (£1.49)
Pick me melty hoops vanilla bananas (£1.49)

These tiny hoops are suitable form 10 months old and are L's new toy. She likes to reach for the and grip few hoop at once. Same as puffs they melt and I’m are perfect for developing finger and thumb ‘pincer grip’.

                       Grip me baby biscuits apple ginger (£1.99)

Grip me baby biscuits are suitable from 10 months old and are great for out and about as they are individually wrapped.

We couldn't taste apple but ginger is certainly there. It will take a little bit of time to get used to a harder texture of biscuits. L tired to bite them but it is a little bit hard at the moment and she found that the easiest way is just to suck on them.

We like Ella's kitchen products for its funky packaging, L's face lights up when she sees colorful packaging and I like that it all products contain healthy ingredients without  hidden additives or nasty stuff. 

Ella's kitchen have kindly sent us jingly apple and funky vintage building blocks to encourage L to ‘pick’, ‘grab’ and ‘grip’. We have thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. I liked building blocks a lot and here is one of our creations.

Disclaimer: I was sent the items mentioned above as well as jinggly apple and building blocks for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What I've learnt about weaning with L

I must say that my husband and I were looking forward to introducing solids, for us weaning meant a little bit less stress as for the first 5 months of L's life we were relying on breast milk and at times I wasn't convinced that I have enough supply. I am not saying L was starving or didn't have enough but comparing to other babies she was always smaller, now I know that I shouldn't compare her to others as all babies are different. 

Prior to weaning I did a small research about puree feeding  (spoon fed) and baby led weaning. 29 years ago weaning recommendations were completely different as far as I know my mum was adding a little bit of mashed apple in my diet when I was only 4 months old, solids were thoroughly mashed and meaty purees were introduced at 8-9 months. From what I can remember I loved fruit pots a lot, and I wanted L to try them as well. 

Having said that I was a little bit intrigued about baby led weaning, which simply means that baby feeds themselves. 

Initially your baby might only touch and play with the the food, before moving on to licking, tasting and finally eating some. When offering foods such as rice and cereals you can give your baby a spoon, but they will probably start eating it with their fingers first, before mastering the use of a spoon. Be warned, this can be a messy process, so you might want to invest in a messy mat and some bibs first!

My mother in law gave me few leaflets and books to read about introducing solids, but I have picked an old-fashioned method of introducing 4-5 types of veg for a week, then the same with certain fruits, then dairy and then meat.

Things didn't go to plan as L was constipated most of the time, I had to adjust the diet and to introduce Lactolose into our lives.

At around 6- 7 months we had a weigh in with a health visitor who advised that L should eat what we eat as apparently after 6 months they can eat everything! And if I'm worried about her choking I can do First Aid course. I didn't say it out loud but I wouldn't give my daughter the same food which some days consists of takeaways, fast food, ready meals and value products. When I said this to my husband he said that we should then share tonight's pizza with L, which is obviously a joke but proves a point that some parents might actually consider giving junk food as health visitor gave a permission to do so.

I don't think that baby led weaning works for every baby, some are just not ready for it. Why would I want to waste my money on a product which will be mashed in her hands, wiped all over her face, hands and highchair and not even being put in her mouth once? Why would I watch my child do it over and over again (they advise that you should offer the same food around 20-25 times), mind you she wouldn't even consider eating this food or she would be choking every time she tries? To me it looks like she is still hungry, feeding times drags for hours if I can simply mash the food I cooked or buy a jar and feed her in less then 5 minutes knowing that she is happy and full? Simply, it's not for me or L. She was clearly not ready to feed herself or eat food without it being mashed. 

L was extremely fussy when it comes to eating, she liked (still does sometimes) purees, particular fruit pots, meaty jars and would spit the lumpy bits or choke on them. 

Now L is 10 months old and I can see that she is more accepting, more interested in proper food. She likes rice, jacket potatoes, spaghetti, drinks from a cup or a sippy cup, eating bananas, mangoes, toast and is still a big fan of particular meaty jars. She wouldn't eat pureed food with bits in it but she will happily eat the same food what we eat, but obviously we pick and choose what she can have.

I'm not saying that you shouldn't consider baby led weaning I'm just trying to say that it didn't work for us as I felt it was more of choir than enjoyment from both parties. 

Don't force your baby to do something they are not ready to do just because it's trendy or someone else's kid can do it. Babies are all different and maybe yours is just not ready for it.

I want to think of baby led weaning as a way of baby telling you when they are ready for certain food and not parents forcing them to eat.

Do you agree or disagree?

L eats- Organix baby food

At Organix we don’t just make tasty, organic food for children; we aim to help educate parents and children too. Staying true to our word and beliefs is top priority here at Organix and we are committed to never adding anything unnecessary and to setting standards with our food. It's called our No Junk Promise, runs across all of our foods and always will, meaning parents can make an informed choice.

Our weaning journey started not the way I have planned but since I have discovered Organix L thoroughly enjoys her porridge, rice cakes and fruit pots. 
We have started from Stage 1 which is suitable for babies from 4-6 months and mixed with products from Stage 2 for babies from 7 months. So far we have tried:  

Fruit pots:

Apple, banana &plum/apple& vanilla pots 

(£1.89)

I was very excited when L had her first spoonful of apple, banana and plum puree as that's my favoutire flavour.It tastes sweet but not too much and just the right combination of fruits.

Ingredients:
apple puree 72%
banana puree 14%
plum puree 14%

Apple and vanilla ones tastes nice as well but L wasn't so keen on this flavour at first, to be honest with you I wasn't sure myself if I should give her vanilla.

Ingredients:
apple puree 99%
vanilla <1%

The texture of both purees is smooth, without any bits inside. L has started by having a half a pot a day followed by a pot a day.

Pear, apple and raspberry pots

 (£1.89)

Apple, pear and raspberry pots were finished by L without hesitation. She liked overpowering pear flavour and the smoothness of the puree itself. 

Ingredients:
applee puree 65%
pear puree 30%
raspberry puree 5%

Apple& cherry/ apple& banana 4+ months

Apple and cherry is another delicious, smooth puree which L likes. The taste of cherry is overpowering apple but not in a bad way, it tastes very nice and light.

Ingredients:

apple puree 86%

cherry puree 14%

In apple & banana pot banana has a very overpowering taste but it is not too sweet and just right.

Ingredients:

apple puree 65%

banana puree 35%

lemon juice concentrate <1%

Apple& raspberry with pieces 7+months 

(£1.99)

This puree is thicker than the puree from Stage 1 and had visible bits inside. L is not a big fan of big bits or lumpy food as only enjoyed the puree when spat the big bits.

The only minor negative with all fruit pots would be that the picture on the seal has nothing to do with the ingredients of each pot which may look a little bit misleading/confusing.

Ingredients:

apple puree 73%

apple pieces 20%

raspberry puree 7%

Red pepper hearts (£0.75)

Since I have received the packet to review I offered L one pepper heart every day just to see if she likes the new texture. The texture itself is very close to puffs crisps and complete new to L. I can't say that she didn't like them but can't say that she likes them either. She will only have half of the pepper heart and always leaves the other half. 

Ingredients:
corn 79%
sunflower oil 12%
red pepper powder (contains rice flour) 7%
carrot powder 2%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) <1%

Porridge (£2.19):

baby rice 4+ months

fruity apple porridge 4+ months

banana & mango porridge 4+

As L had problems with constipation until 9 months baby rice wasn't our first choice of a porridge. I have introduced apple porridge and banana& mango porridge first, and only after L started taking lactolose I have introduced baby rice. My favourite porridge would be apple one, where as L didn't mind either. 
Instructions on the box recommend to use 1 tbsp of baby rice and 2 tbsp for apple and banana & mango porridge mixed with milk. I started with 5 tbsp and increased the the portion till 10-15 tbsp mixing it with cooled water and breastfed afterwards. 
At first porridge looks a bit lumpy but if you add a little bit more milk or water in my case, it becomes creamy and thickens if left too cool. If porridge looks thick I would add a little bit more water, my only recommendation would be not to use hot/warm water as the porridge would be very lumpy and it makes it harder to mix dry and wet powder.

Banana& plum porridge 7+ months (£2.49)

Multigrain porridge 7+ months (£2.49)

Banana, peach& apple porridge 10+ months (£2.69)

Texture of Stage 2 porridge differ slightly from Stage 1, it has small crispy pieces and tiny fruit chunks which softens when you add milk/water and the texture itself thickens when leave to cool. I used 15-20 tbsp every day for breakfast which means that a box lasts 1 week. 

When I first introduced Stage 2 porridges to L she liked them straightaway! Knowing how fussy she is with lumpy food or food she never tried before these porridges are a success!

Rice cakes (£1.19):

carrot&tomato rice cake

strawberry rice cakes 

raspberry& blueberry rice cakes

Out of 3 packs we have L likes carrot & tomato more than other 2, she won't mind having strawberry or raspberry flavour but won't finish the rice cake. I was a little bit worried that L might choke but when she had just couple of teeth she was just sucking on them and when they were soft enough she ate it, now when she has top and bottom teeth she does the same but she bites small piece and leaves in a mouth till soft. There is only one minor negative- rice cakes are quite messy, they leave stains on clothes so a big all over bib will be in order.

Banana baby biscuits & baby biscuits (£1.19)

Baby biscuits- delicious organic finger biscuits made from wheat and grape juice. 

Banana baby biscuits- delicious organic finger biscuits made from wheat and banana juice.

These soft biscuits are melting in baby's mouth, no need to worry if baby will choke. L can play with it until it's divided into small pieces or just just bite a small piece and suck it till it's melted. Biscuits are quite messy thought and you would need a muslin square or a all over bib.

Organix baby food is a part of L's every day life, she eats porridge for breakfast, fruit pots as a part of her lunch and rice cakes or biscuits when snacking during the walks or when playing. 

We are big fans of Organix baby food and I am happy with each and every product and I thoroughly recommend buying their products!

Disclaimer: I was sent some of the items mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Creative Fun With Finger Foods

I don't think that little ones care much about food presentation at the beginning of their weaning journey but it is a great idea for when they grow older.

Being creative and playful with food is great for little ones growing up as they try new foods for the first time and start learning to feed themselves. The challenge for parents can be how to introduce variety and come up with new ideas to present food that will help make it fun for their little ones.

Creative fun with finger foods - helps little ones try something new and learn to feed themselves                          

In a new survey from Organix, mums rated the top two things to encourage a positive attitude towards food as making mealtimes fun for your child (76%) and allowing your child to play with and experiment with their food (75%).

Finger foods are a great way of offering variety to your child, as they provide a whole new world of exciting tastes, textures, shapes and colours to your baby, in foods that are easy for them to grab and get hold of so they feel more in control of their choices.

Playing with finger foods helps little ones learn

Mixing up textures, shapes and colours and encouraging little ones to play and experiment with food helps them gather sensory information and learn how to accept new foods.

From chewy pasta, to crispy rice cakes, melt in the mouth corn puffs, crumbly baby biscuits and squishy strawberries, you can offer lots of texture choices to help develop your baby's curiosity about food and build their confidence and enjoyment.

Unlike in the old days when parents told their little ones off for playing with their food, modern mums see the positive benefits of encouraging little ones to play with their food and have fun:
86% feel it's important for babies to handle and play with new foods before they taste it.
93% feel it's important to let a baby play with and experiment with food.
93% recognise that the first year of a baby's life is about fun - playing with food and developing skills.

Dr Frankie Phillips, Nutrition Advisor to Organix , says, “The introduction of finger foods can help to develop a little one's sense of independence, and parents can encourage a positive attitude to food by making mealtimes fun for their child and allowing them to play with and experiment with their food.”

Frankie explains that as well as encouraging self-feeding, independence and autonomy,finger foods come with lots of other benefits for little ones, like developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, and improving dexterity.

The variety of colours, shapes and sizes of finger foods also gives little ones a range of sensory experiences. Psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin says, “This is important asbabies learn through their senses in the first two years of life. So when you introduce a new food to your child, by giving them an opportunity to touch it, squish it and rub it between their hands, you are allowing them to use all of the resources they have to learn about that food.”

Fun finger food plates –getting creative to help little ones explore food

Why not add some fun with a creative finger food plate, you can mix up purees with finger food so your baby has a choice of tastes, textures and shapes to explore. Don't worry you don't have to have an art degree just a little imagination and a little help from Organix!

Try these fun ideas: trees made with Organix carrot sticks as the trunk, vegetable florets for the branches, an Organix sweetcorn ring for the sun and mashed avocado for the grass; a caterpillar made with Organix carrot & tomato rice cakes and pieces of salad and vegetables; or an Organix baby biscuit bird, with banana wings, flying over a blueberry sea. And you could always make up a rhyme or song to sing along with each creation to make it more fun.

For lots more advice on finger foods and recipes please visit Organix. As your little one grows you'll find inspiration for different finger foods in the Organix Little Book of Weaning – you can sign up to download your free copy at here.

#BabiesWhoLunch together are more likely to try new foods

Holly Bell, finalist in the Great British Bake Off and author of Recipes from a Normal Mum, launches the ‘Babies Who Lunch’ campaign with Organix, the baby and toddler food brand. The campaign encourages parents to get together and share their weaning experiences.

I think it's a great idea, but I'm sure some of us who struggle to find new mum-friends will find the idea of socialising whilst eating a little bizarre. I'm yet to find friends with kids the same age but when I do it would be interesting to see them interact whilst eating.

To support families on their baby’s food journey, the ‘Babies Who Lunch’ campaign looks at the benefits of sharing experiences and getting together at mealtimes with other parents and their little ones. Both psychologists and parents say social experiences have had a positive impact on their little ones being more open to trying new foods.

With Holly Bell, who is currently weaning her third son Lawrence, and a group of her friends who are weaning their little ones, Organix has made a ‘Babies Who Lunch’ short film to show their experiences of weaning together, you can find the video here.

Top tips shared at lunch:

1. Better together - it’s great for babies to be sociable and eat together, and for parents to share experiences and ideas with each other. Eating with your little one allows baby to copy how you eat and seeing other babies eating makes them curious and interested in what they are enjoying.
2. Trust your instincts - every baby is different and your experience will be your own, you’ll know what’s right for your baby.
3. Try lots of different tastes and textures – prepare and share food in different ways. It can take between 10 and 15 times before a baby accepts a new taste or flavour, so don’t be afraid to try, try and try again!
4. Play games and get messy - encourage little ones to lick, mash, squash and squeeze the food so they get used to different shapes, textures and tastes – playing with food is fun!
5. Let baby have some control – try giving them a spoon, or some soft finger foods that they can pick up or start to dip into their puree.

Anna Rosier, Managing Director at Organix, says, “We love helping little ones grow their love of good food, and weaning is a great time to start your little ones off on the path to healthy, no junk food habits. Meal times are all about being sociable and sharing good food, and weaning together with other parents is the perfect opportunity to share ideas and experiences and try lots of new foods.”

According to the Organix survey:

· 75% believe that eating together with their baby makes a difference to their interest in food.

· 91% say their baby loves to watch them eating and enjoys the time together.

· 81% say they regularly try to sit down and eat together as a family.

Holly Bell says, “We’ve found support and encouragement through meeting and eating with other mums and their little ones. Spending a day together over lunch, we shared advice and tips with each other, and our babies were trying new foods together in a way they just would not do at home.
“I love it when we eat as a family, it’s a real shared experience and we make sure Lawrence is part of mealtimes by pulling his high chair up to the table, so we can enjoy food together, talk, laugh and have fun with him.”

Social Weaning - Psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin explains why it’s good for weaning to be a shared and social experience.

Psychologist Dr Angharad Rudkin says, “Food is a strong social glue, and eating together as a family or in the company of friends is strongly associated with healthier eating and an adventurous attitude towards food. Food can be fun and eating together and sharing creates a positive experience from a young age.”

It’s good for little ones to eat with other little ones:

- Eating together is one of the most important social skills we teach children – weaning is primarily about introducing a variety of foods but learning to sit and eat with others is also important.

- Children learn by watching others – it’s a good idea to create lots of opportunities for learning and imitating other people.

- Peer influence - watching peers will make it more likely that your child will try new food or behave in a different way - you will be surprised by what they will try out when they would not at home.

- Eating together is great fun - and babies can learn eating and social skills from one another.

It’s good to sit down to eat with your little one, and to eat as a family, and try food together:

- It shows your baby that they’re important and that eating and mealtimes are important.

- As your baby eats they learn about a whole new world of sensory and social experiences and they’ll be more relaxed with mum or dad by their side and so more likely to try new foods.

- If you have a bit of a wriggler it will be even more beneficial to sit with them, chat and have a little fun while they eat.

It’s good to wean together and share experiences with other parents:

- Talking, chatting, laughing and trying new foods in a social environment turns weaning into a really positive experience for parents and makes it an exciting and fun time for little ones too.

- Being a parent can be hard work at times, just as children learn from other children parents can learn from each other too.

- Talking about your experiences and sharing tips is great for encouragement, it can give you more confidence and give you new ideas to try.

- You may be surprised to find your little one is prepared to try things with others that they wouldn’t try with you!

Disclamer: the above information was provided by Organix.

Our weaning journey

As you know L is a small baby, at around 3 months my husband and I started to discuss when L should start solids. I didn't want to rush and was insisting on 5,5 months on the other hand my husband wanted to start earlier so that L could have Christmas meal with us. 
At around 4 months I've noticed that L shows interest in what I eat and drink, she was literally grabbing my glass of water and pretending to drink, it was so funny to watch!

Even though she was intrigued about food I wanted to be sure that it's the right time for us all to start weaning and went to our local health clinic to speak to a health visitor. 
Health visitor agreed that 5 months could be the right time for us and suggested starting with finger food.

On one of the weigh ins I spoke to a different health visitor actually said that it's too early to give her solids.

On our last weigh in-today third health visitor suggested that she should eat what we eat!

I know for some of you health visitors are not the best advisors, but I thought that if we technically should go by what they say why not to ask exactly the same question every time I see a different person. As you can see so many men, so many minds!

My 5 months I was totally ready to give L solids as she wasn't gaining much weight and I needed something to fix it. I had high hopes that L will be sleeping better, will be eating and gaining weight..wrong! 

I had all sorts of booklets and books about weaning, I liked the idea of 5-step weaning plan from Cow & Gate, looked at the Annabel Karmel's meal plan but wasn't keen on her method and so I came up with the meal plan which my good old friends used.

I decided to start with purified vegetables for lunch, which i was planning to do myself. I wanted L to try purees first as I remember from my childhood how much I loved them. 

Week 1 (Courgette): I boiled courgette without oil and seasoning and purified it in a blender. On a day 1 we started with one teaspoon and the plan was to add one more teaspoon each day so that my day 7 she could have 7 teaspoons.

L's first reaction of her first tastes was recorded on a phone, we had to convince her to eat by singing, making her smile, the best word to describe the way she looked throughout the whole experience- uncertain.
Unfortunately, we only managed 3-4 teaspoons as L was constipated if was given more.

Week 2 (Cauliflower): On day 1 the idea was to give 6 teaspoons of courgette and 1 teaspoon of cauliflower; day 2- 5 teaspoons of courgette and 2 teaspoons of cauliflower, so that each day we give slowly introduce new vegetable by mixing them all together but each day changing the amounts. 
This week L was on and off with vegetables as she was constipated most of the time. I had to stop giving her solids for couple of days and only breastfed her. 
She didn't like cauliflower by itself, she was gagging most of the time, and if only it was mixed with courgette she didn't it.

Week 3 (Sweet potato): the principal of introducing was the same as with cauliflower, only difference each day to give different vegetable mixing with sweet potato. 

We even didn't manage the stage of stating sweet potato properly. L was constipated badly and I had to stop giving her any vegetable until I spoke to the doctor.

I was really gutted that L's constipation didn't allow her to enjoy her first tasted properly. 

To help my poor little girl I had to introduce fruits and buckwheat porridge instead of baby rice (as it rice is starchy food) earlier than I planned. At first she didn't mind porridge but she never manages to finish it all and won' t eat more than 3 teaspoons. She loves fruit purees though, just like me!! I couldn't do fruit purees myself so we are using Organix pots for now and hoping to try other brands as well.

Did you have similar experience to ours? Please share your meal plans or posts.