First, before I start off this review, I just want to point out that this product is spelled incorrectly in the database. It should be Zwieback, not Zweiback. I couldn't get this product to come up in the search engine by just typing it's name. I had to type in "Gerber toast" to finally find it. Anyways, on to the review!

All About Gerber Zwieback Toast

Gerber Zwieback Toast is another product in their Finger Foods line for babies who are just starting to eat more of a varied diet with different tastes and textures. They come in a 4 ounce box that holds 16 Zwieback Toasts wrapped 2 to a package. According to Gerber, your baby is ready for finger foods when they can:

- Crawl on hands and knees with their tummy up and off the floor.
- Eat thicker, lumpier foods with larger pieces.
- Uses jaw to mash food with gums
- Holds small foods between thumb and first finger

These appear to be a wholesome snack, although I wouldn't say that they are chocked full of vitamins or anything. As far as vitamins go, there is only 2% iron and only 1% protein and the protein only counts for children who are between the ages of 1 to 2. Where Gerber Zwieback Toast does appear to be wholesome is because there is hardly any fat or calories in these little snacks. Even their carbs are kept at a minimum. For 1 serving, which is 1 piece of toast, there is only 30 calories, 1 gram of fat, 15mg of sodium, 10mg of potassium and only 5g of carbs. The ingredients in Zwieback Toast are as follows:

Enriched Bleached Flour (wheat flour, barley malt, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), High Frutose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Yeast, Corn Syrup, butter, Barley Malt, Extract, wheat Gluten, salt, Extractives of Cinamon, Yeast Nutrients (ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate) and Dough Conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, monocalcium phosphate, ascorbic acid, enzymes, azodicarbonamide, calcium peroxide, calcium iodate).

Gerber has many claims for it's Zwieback Toast. Some of those being that Zwieback Toast will help your baby learn to self feed, that it's a wholesome food, it's just the right size and shape for baby to grasp and it has a sweet, nutty flavor.

Zwieback Toast isn't the only product in Gerber's Finger Foods line. Other products you may consider trying are Biter Biscuits, Veggie Wagon Wheels, Fruit Wagon Wheels, Veggie Puffs, and Fruit Puffs.

Why We Recommend Gerber Zwieback Toast

Gerber has been a name that parents have trusted for years and our house is no exception. Courtney has enjoyed many Gerber foods and products and Zwieback Toast is among them.
Just like with Biter Biscuits, she would sit there in her high chair and just gum the Zwieback Toast until it was nothing more than mush. Zwieback Toast is just as messy as Biter Biscuits are though so be sure to only give these to your baby while they're in their high chair or you're asking for the mess to be smeared all over your house! On top of being mushy after they've been drooled on, you also get the crumbs normally associated with toast. I would usually give these to Courtney right before I was going to give her a bath so the mess never really posed a problem because I just plopped her in the bathtub when she was done and cleaned her right up.

One thing I like about Zwieback Toast over Biter Biscuits is that Zwieback Toast doesn't tend to break into hard little chunks that could pose a choking hazard like Biter Biscuits can. Zwieback Toast tends to crumble as oppose to melting down into hard chunks. Also the Zwieback Toast seems to dissolve better in baby's mouth. Be that as it may, you should still never leave a baby alone while it's eating anything because they can still choke.

I really can't vouch for all of the claims that Gerber makes about Zwieback Toast. They say it has a nutty flavor but I have to admit that I've never tried one so I'm not sure how they really taste. They must have a pleasant taste though because Courtney enjoyed them very much. She also liked gumming on them when her teeth were bothering her. Gerber claims that they help babies learn to self feed but I wouldn't say that was the case with us. French fries is what helped Courtney to learn to self feed whereas she treated the Zwieback Toast as just another item to put in her mouth. However, if given the choice between a toy to chew on or the Zwieback Toast, Courtney always chose the Zwieback Toast. Gerber claims that they're the right size and shape for a baby to grasp in their hand and this I found to be true. They are a good size, not too big and not too small. Now the last claim that they're wholesome is somewhat debatable. I see no real nutritional value in these as the vitamin and mineral content is virtually zero. They don't add extra fat and there is very minimal carbs and calories so that could be a good thing except babies at that age really do need the fat and calories as they expend a lot of energy during the day not to mention all the growing they do. However, as these are just a snack and not their main food, I don't think they really need to be loaded with vitamins. They should be getting all their nutritional needs through their normal daily intake of food and not from a small snack. Reading their ingredients though can be scary because I have no idea what half of that stuff is.

Overall, Gerber Zwieback Toast became a staple in our house from the time that Courtney was about 8 or 9 months old until she got all of her teeth in. I bathed her every other day (although sometimes she did require a daily bath depending on how messy she got during the day) so she ate either a Zwieback Toast or Biter Biscuit on those days and it became a before bath routine for us. As a snack they're wonderful and I think you'll find that your baby enjoys them as much as mine did.

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Recommended: Yes