It’s time to start your baby on solid foods—congrats! You and your baby have reached a big milestone.
If you’re anything like us, you may feel overwhelmed at where to start. It seems that everyone has an opinion on what’s best for babies when it comes to, well, just about everything—and starting solid foods is no exception.
Whether you’re taking the puree approach, diving straight into baby-led weaning, or some combination of the two, the most important thing is starting your baby off with a healthy and balanced diet. This means a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products (that don’t include milk since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastmilk or formula until 12 months before offering them whole milk).
With so many baby food options out there today, it’s easy to get confused and to wonder what’s best or if there’s really any difference.
Is Organic Baby Food Actually Better?
Nutritionally, no. When it comes to chemicals and pesticides, yes.
Research does not suggest that organic food provides major nutritional benefits over non-organic food, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). However, organic baby foods may have lower levels of certain pesticides and other chemicals, the AAP says.
The one thing all experts agree on is that offering your baby a wide variety of healthy options, whether they’re organic or not, is what matters most.
When Should I Start Giving My Baby Solids?
Most experts recommend waiting until your baby is 6 months old to start solids.
The AAP advises that you make sure your baby is physically ready for solids—they should be able to hold their head up and sit in a high chair or infant seat with good head control.
Another sign of readiness? They open their mouth when food comes their way or when they watch you eating. They may even reach for your food.
What Kind of Food Should I Give My Baby First?
To prevent choking, it’s best to start babies on soft or pureed food. Initially, you may want to limit foods to a single ingredient at a time for a few days to watch for any reactions before introducing a new one. After a couple months, your baby’s diet should include lots of different types of food, including breastmilk and/or formula, fruits, vegetables, meat, cereal, eggs, and fish.
Our Favorite Organic Baby Food Brands
Best Organic Baby Food Overall
Once Upon a Farm products are sourced from organic farms and are USDA certified organic and Non-GMO Project verified. Their recipes are cold-pressed processed, which helps keep in the nutrients, taste, and texture. They are also free from preservatives, added colors or flavors, and refined sugars and have received the Clean Label Project purity award, meaning the products have been tested by a third-party for more than 400 contaminants like heavy metals, chemicals, pesticides, and other toxins—and they’ve met the highest purity standard.
Bonus: Once Upon a Farm has committed to providing a million meals to kids in need by the end of 2024 through their partnership with Save the Children.
Best Organic Baby Food Subscription
Little Spoon uses organic, non-GMO ingredients, along with cold-pressure processing to keep more nutrients in. Their Babyblends recipes use more than 100 ingredients to get your baby exposed to lots of healthy foods from a young age.
They are Clean Label Project certified, meeting the highest standards for being free of heavy metals, pesticide residues, plasticizers, and other chemicals of concern. Plus, the packaging is fully recyclable.
All subscriptions are fully customizable and can be skipped, paused, or canceled at any time—without any strings attached.
Use code EVERY35MOM for 35% off your first order!
Best Personalized Organic Baby Food
Cerebelly is the only baby food that delivers 16 key brain-supporting nutrients in addition to being all organic, non-GMO, veggie first, no added sugar, and Clean Purity Label certified (meaning they’ve been independently tested to be free from more than 400 contaminants including heavy metals, toxins, plastics, and more).
You answer a few questions about your baby, like age and what developmental milestones they’re hitting, and based on your answers, Cerebelly recommends a combination specific to the nutrient needs for your baby’s developmental window.
Best Budget Organic Baby Food
Organic products can cost up to 40% more than non-organic ones. That’s why we love Mama Bear, Amazon’s brand of organic baby food pouches and other products. It is USDA certified organic, non-GMO, and free from artificial flavors and colors—at a lower cost than some other organic options out there.
Best Big Name Brand Organic Baby Food
Before you write off the big name brand baby food, Gerber also offers organic baby food options that are USDA certified organic, are non-GMO, and contain no artificial colors or flavors. Their price point also comes in slightly lower than many of the other popular organic options.
also available on Amazon
