No more dessert for Bubs!

A recent study into commercial baby foods has found that baby desserts are a real problem area. Paediatric Dietitians are also growing increasingly concerned about the increasing shelf space dedicated to desserts for babies.

A 2007 Choice report found that desserts including shelf-stable yogurts, custards, chocolate mousse and crème caramel were not only unnecessary, but that they were also nutritionally empty. The majority of commercial baby desserts are sweetened with sugar, rather than pureed fruit, which would be a more nutritious alternative. Whilst some varieties do contain some actual fruit, in many cases this is pretty minimal with only 1% or 2%.

Most yogurt-based and other desserts aren’t much better: often they’re heavy on thickened fruit juice and light on things like puréed fruit and yogurt. However, yogurt’s healthy image is mainly thanks to the possible benefits of live bacteria and its calcium content, but none of the yogurt bacteria will live through the harsh UHT process into jars or cans of baby food. The yogurts which can be found in the dairy section of supermarkets are far more nutritious than most of these other products in jars and cans — look for the varieties lowest in sugar.

The report also found that many jarred and tinned custards were watered down instead of consisting mostly of milk. At home you would make custard with milk alone, which would be much more delicious and healthier for Bub. In addition, most commercial brands use some kind of thickener (usually cornflour).

Sydney based Dietitian, and mother, Joanne Turner has concerns about the trend to give sugar-laden desserts to babies as young as 6 months old "Babies of this age certainly do not need, or even want, desserts. Giving desserts to young babies can set them up for obesity and other health issues in later life. No parent would want to harm their Bub, but many are inadvertently setting them up for fussy eating and other food related problems."

Joanne has paired with Australian company Homestyle Nutrition to develop a range of frozen baby food, which has bubs best interests at heart. "The pureed fruits in the Bub Grub range are a great alternative to traditional desserts. They contain 100% whole fruit, with absolutely no additives, preservatives or even fruit concentrates. They also mix fantastically with plain natural yogurt!" Joanne says. It is this wholesome approach to baby food that is earning Bub Grub the respect of health professionals and mothers Australia-wide. Joanne suggests that Bub Grub is also the perfect base for other sweet foods. "The Bub Grub fruit purees are very versatile and can be used in recipes like muffins, pancakes or pikelets, to lower the Glycemic index, and increase the vitamins and fibre without adding regular sugar!"

Babynews Release Date: 21th October 2008

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