Just like other moms, I want to give my Baby all-natural meals.  And while we started feeding her already with fresh foods like avocados and mangoes, I honestly find it hard to prepare homemade Baby Food for our daughter all the time. As a working mom (and a mom who’s really not into cooking), I don’t have the luxury of time, talent and tolerance to make baby food from scratch!

I actually prepare pureed fresh fruits for my baby during weekends.  When I’m at work during weekdays, my mother (Tash is blessed to have a grandma like her!) gives her pureed fresh fruits, veggies, egg, and rice water.  But I knew I needed alternatives that can save me during times when working momma fails to insert mashing food into the daily to-do list.

But thanks to expert moms on social media for pressuring me to feed my baby with natural food instead of instant baby food available on the market.  Claiming it contains preservatives and sugar and whatever stuff not good for babies, expert moms say branded baby food ain’t good for baby.

So what does a working mom like me do when she can’t consistently prepare baby meals, yet she’s cautioned not to buy instant food for her baby?

That had been my problem for the past weeks.  Good thing that my sis-in-law told me about organic baby food.  Well, in this digital age wherein people’s news feeds are filled with cool campaigns promoting everything organic, it is not surprising that organic baby food already exists.

But what exactly do we mean by organic?

Pardon my ignorance, but other than being a healthier alternative to our typical meals, I know nothing about “organic food” in general.  Aside from understanding that brown, red, black rice are cool coz they’re organic, I am honestly clueless about organic food.  So I did my little research on what this popular and very attractive food kind is all about.

The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) states that organic food is “a key component in the major consumer trend known as whole health solutions – diets that promote health and well-being, prevent disease, help cure illnesses and protect the environment.”  It refers “not only to the food itself but also to how it was produced.”

FMI states that food labed as organic needs to meet the following conditions:

• Must be certified under the National Organic Program
• Must be grown and processed using organic farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity
• Crops must be grown without using synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, petroleum-based fertilizers, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers.
• Organic livestock must be given no antibiotics or growth hormones.
• May not be irradiated

Given these facts from food authority FMI, we can understand where the fondness for organic food comes from.  But of course, when you’re in the supermarket, you won’t bother checking if a product meets every condition, right? Good thing there’s one safe way of knowing if it’s genuinely organic.

The new USDA Organic sticker is “designed to make it easy for consumers to identify organic foods.”   However, use of the sticker is voluntary.  There are some companies that opt not to use the sticker but includes the term “organic” in their labels.

Organic Baby Food in the Philippines

Convinced on how organic food is better for my baby than other commercial foods, I started my search for organic baby food in the Philippines.  Though I believe preparing home-made baby food is still the best option as it is safer, healthier, more cost-effective, I honestly think there’s nothing wrong to give my child these safe alternatives. Well, of course, that’s my take.

If you’re an awesome mom who never fails to prepare home-made all-natural food for your little one, you deserve a round of applause.    But if you’re a working mom like me struggling to find other baby feeding options aside from the trusted and popular home-made food, here are some products that I found which might interest you:

Earth’s Best Baby Food at Healthy Options

One day, I checked out the babies and kids section of Healthy Options in SM North EDSA, and I was so happy to find these Earth’s Best baby food jars.  Aside from sporting the USAID Organic seal, Earth’s Best baby food jars come in different flavors.

Earth’s Best has been the leader in organic baby food for the last 25 years. It offers baby products such as organic formula, infant cereals, jarred baby food, and snacks and meals for growing toddlers and kids.

Earth’s Best baby food jars are categorized into three: 4+ months (pureed fruits and vegetables), 6+ months (flavor combinations with different tastes and textures), and 9+ months (chunky textures, delicious flavors and savory blends).

Since baby Tash is only 8 months, I bought a few 6+ months baby food jars for her.

4 oz. jar of Earth’s Best baby food costs PHP75. One jar gives Baby Tash 3-4 meals. It can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Hipp Organic at Mercury Drug Store

The popular brand offering organic formula milk HiPP Organic now has baby food jars as well.  HiPP menus contain “high-quality organic rapeseed oil. Organic rapeseed oil supplies your baby with natural Omega-3 fatty acids that are important for the healthy development and growth of brain cells and nerve cells.”

125g  jar of HiPP Organic baby food costs PHP95. Mercury Drug Store offers this brand.

My not so choosy eater Tash liked both brands of baby food.

So far, Earth’s Best and HiPP Organic are the brands we’ve tried, but my online research led me to more options. I hope to discover more. But for now, these two brands of organic baby food will be part of Tash’s diet other than breastmilk, Frisolac and her fresh fruits and vegetables.