I Never Really Understood The Need For "Graduate" Food
Written: Apr 17 '01 (Updated Jul 13 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A wide variety, sales often, Gerber sends coupons
Cons: Some of these you may be able to make yourself for less money
The Bottom Line: A wide variety of food items to choose from - some may appeal to your needs.
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| KMINER's Full Review: Gerber Graduates Baby Food |
Having our first child was a miracle and a blessing. I immediately mentally made out my list of "Never's" (I will never give in to crying, I will never use a pacifier, etc)In my list of "never's" I had decided I was never going to use those silly Graduate products -- weren't they just a gimmick anyway?
Fast forward 11 months later, and my ideas on a number of things have changed ... including what I feed my son. At about 6 months he started eating cereal, and from here on out he would eyeball our plates every night at dinner. Being a first time mom I was very nervous about giving my son "real" food. But I was also concerned about holding him back and also giving him a chance to try a variety of foods.
We started in the bakery section of Gerber Graduates. They make bite sized cookies and crackers in a variety of flavors. We have tried:
Arrowroot Cookies
Veggie Crackers
Animals Crackers
Cereal Snackin' Squares
The Arrowroot look like little circles with the center cut out, and are a nice treat for Colin when teething. They take a while for him to bite through. The Veggie Crackers are coated in a light orange powder, and are bite sized. We use these on days Colin does not get enough vegetables. The Animal crackers are not as big a hit. They are small, but solid, and have a hint of cinnamon on them. The Cereal Snackin' Squares, flavored with a hint of vanilla, work well on days when we don't have a chance to give Colin a bowl of cereal for breakfast.
We have also started using the Fruit Dices in Apple, Peaches, Pears, and Mixed Fruit Chunks. Colin loves the diced fruit, and eagerly looks for foods to pick up with his hands. Since he does not like to drink a lot and hates using a cup, this has been a good way for him to get fruits. Also, he does not like the jarred "mushy" fruits as much, though he will eat them. We buy whole bananas and cut them up, but it is hard to find time to do the same for many other fruits. It is convenient to be able to buy these little jars and use them at home, when traveling, or to send to daycare.
Colin never really developed a taste for the meat sticks, no matter how small or unique we cut them. They come in Turkey, Chicken, and Beef. Colin does enjoy, however, the dinner dices - especially Peas & Chicken, and Corn & White Turkey. They are tiny bites of the above mentioned foods, sitting in a small clear jar in water.
Colin also enjoys some of the microwavable meals - though we feel he has found many of these too "bland" to make worth paying the $.99 for. He has liked the pasta ones with spaghetti sauce, and cheese based ones well. Ham and potatoes au gratin was the biggest hit.
Colin really enjoys the Graduates Yogurt juice blends. They come in a big plastic container, and our area has a Berry Mix and a Fruit Orchard mix. This has been a nice change from just plain whole milk.
We have not purchased any of the veggie dices, as I typically find it easier to just cook extra vegetables, and store them for later on in the week for Colin to eat.
I personally find many of the Gerber Graduates products to be a quick way to help my son to eat well. If I had more time, I might be able to cook and dice up more of my own food for him, but with a full time teaching job, it has become much easier to simply open a jar.
We have never had a problem with this food, it always seems fresh, and we always use it by the sell by date.
Overall we trust the Gerber name, and have been very impressed with the selection of Gerber Graduates foods for our son.
Recommended:
Yes
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