Jars of baby food

[campo babe]

My son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter aged 15 months, are coming to stay with us in a couple of weeks. I was supposed to check the baby food supplies in the local Mercadona/Supersol, etc. etc. Twice now I have done the normal shopping and forgotten to go down that paricular isle.

Can you tell me please what make of baby foods are available in Spain, and which particular shops they are available in, so that they don't have to bring loads of jars in their suitcase.

[Valencia_Paul]

We went to Spain with our baby when he was 3 months old, 12 months and then 18 months old. I think it was a good job we took quite a lot of UK baby food as the Spanish stuff seemed a bit weird and he didn't like it much. The desserts were ok, however.

[Nicks]

I have to agree, the difference in the baby jar food is that in Spain at around 12- 18 months the jars are still soft and pureed and just a mixture of veg/meat or whatever - very unappetising. The fruit jars are OK.
In the UK, the jars tend to be proper little meals and from the 8 month stage or thereabouts they have bits in them to encourage them to chew - UK also provide great organic jars e.g. lasagne, roasted veg etc so they taste far better.

I brought over some UK jars, but also bought yogurts in Spain to improvise, as well as made some foods while I was there. I just couldn't have brought over enough jars for a two week holiday!

[Laslomas]

So do they not stock any brand recognisable from the UK. I thought maybe Heinz or Cow & Gate would be more international than just in UK??

[Zofia]

I also notice that they all seem to have salt in them, which UK baby foods NEVER do.

[Cassandra]

Is there a 'Brit' shop within reasonable distance? I'd have thought that would be your best bet to be sure of getting the right brands. The weight alone would make bringing a lot of jars impractical not to mention the thought of all that washing if a jar broke!

[Valencia_Paul]

Heinz baby tins are not too bad and won't break like the glass jars. For a one week stay I don't think it is too much to take but for 2 weeks you would need quite a lot of food with you.

I don't know whether big stores like Carrefour would stock UK baby food.

[oscarposcar]

you can get hipp organic jars in supersol and presumably in other supermarkets too... otherwise probably easier to make batches of mush rather than bringing out jars.

[Busymum]

Hi there!

I know it is a very long way but may be helpful to others but Iceland in Fuengirola stock a big range of UK baby foods.

Busymum

[peteroldracer]

I must say that my first reaction is what the **** is wrong with people these days? Surely there should be no need to buy pre-packed foods - just cook a little extra fresh vegetables when you do the adult meal and munch it up with a fork. Remember not to add salt while cooking, and you will be fine! What can be better than fresh carrots, broccoli, cabbage, mashed potatoes - maybe with some ham or roast chicken finely chopped up? Fresh ripe bananas, peaches and strawberries can be blitzed to make superb simple afters.
Not only will you be providing the child with a nutritious diet, it will start to expand the range of tastes it will enjoy, and you will save money, and time traipsing round the shops (sorry about the "it" but cannot remember if the gender was stated).
Of course if the parents exist on pre-prepared frozen meals or carry-out pizzas, Chinese and Indian, or do not know how to peel a potato, then the child is doomed to join the rest of the nation headed for obesity and poor development.
As Terry Wogan puts it so well...."Is It Me?"

[lola2]

I absolutely agree!!

[Nicks]

Year round we give the kids what we eat - all good food, home made and nothing pre-prepared. But I have to say that while on holiday, it has sometimes been much easier to use prepared baby foods. Sorry if that is a shocker, but it is true!

And this is from someone who never eats at McDonalds and hardly ever does takeaways - so I can fully understand why the original question was asked....

[dido72]

I agree with Peter, jars of baby food are fine for a back up but it takes no time at all to cook veg and fruit and mush it up.

Is 15 months not too old to be eating baby food anyway? I didn't know they made it for that age. All my 3 were eating family food by the age of 10 months (without any salt of course) and by the age of 12 months I just cut it up and they fed themselves (messy ), no more liquidising , in fact my 14 month old is having roast beef dinner tomorrow.

[annie_d]

This reminds me of when, on holiday a woman marched up to me and told me that my daughter was "too old" to be having a bottle. Actually my daughter was a very sick baby and this was the only way i could get the medication into her. So, yes, whilst it seems ridiculous to be giving a small child jars of manufactued baby food, there may be more to it that was initially stated. If not .... OMG, why would anyone prefer jars/tins to homemade food?

[campo babe]

Well thank you, I think.

I am sure Isobel doesn't eat jars of baby food all the time. But as they will be on holiday and travelling around a lot it would be easier if they could take a jar or two of well known food with them in case they can't find anything suitable for her to eat while they are trying some of the local seafood etc.

[annie_d]

Hmmmm, I am still not fully convinced. What do Spanish mums give their babies when eating out for lunch?

[peteroldracer]

and another thing - will holidaymakers who come here with sprogs be the ones who put 2.8 billion disposable nappies into the UK landfill sites, and add to the waste problems here, or do the right thing and use terry-towelling ones that are washed and reused...and reused...and reused?

[Laslomas]

I hope you find the baby food for Isobel, Campo Babe. I can also understand what others are saying. Most probably Isobel eats as the family much of the time at home, but on holiday less time will be spent in the kitchen - hopefully. So when eating out she will probably have small tastes of what the adults are eating, but to be sure she will get enough to eat (and provide a good nights sleep for everyone) I think a jar of something she recognises is a good idea.

[kareena]

had my two youngest over here and can honestly say that the ready made jars are disgusting - apart from the fruit puree ones. The girls wouldn't touch them at all. Saying that I only had them once in a while when we went out.The way I got round it was getting a few tins of Heinz baby food (available from all the brit supermarkets) and used them only when necessary. When I made dinner _ normal dinner (not spicy), then I liquidised a load and split it into portions. Went down a treat

[Busymum]

Yes Peter I know what you are saying but have you ever been on holiday in a hot country .... out for a day with several well used terry nappies in the back of the car!! They won't be bothering with any food ..... canned, bottled or fresh ......they will heading for the nearest layby or loo to puek!

I used both, terries at home and then disposables for holidays, days out and 'poorly' times!

Busymum