When the Teen was born, Mrs. MM and I read every well regarded “how to raise a baby” book to prepare for our new role as parents. The Baby had no more living grandmothers, and only one living grandfather, who had no advice whatsoever regarding child rearing. So we had an opportunity to do it our way, without any help (interference?) from ancestors. Once the Baby had moved on from milk to solid food, I decided that we would try to make as much of her “baby food” ourselves, from the best ingredients and without any additives or preservatives. I read somewhere that the brain’s development in the first couple of years of life is phenomenal, and not only sufficient nutrition in terms of caloric intake, but the quality of that nutrition is important as well. Ultimately, I figured the first year of life was probably the ONLY YEAR where we could completely control the quality of food intake, as later years would be influenced by peers, eating out, etc. So for several months we made mashed bananas, applesauce, mashed carrots, peas, etc. from the best produce I could find. For many months, NOTHING was added to the food, making it incredibly bland I am sure, but also as all natural as possible…
So I was thrilled to run across a couple of wonderful young entrepreneurs at a weekend market, offering a line of all-natural baby food. How I wish they were in business 15 years ago! Better yet, one of these ladies is a niece of ours by marriage! She explained that the food is made from the best produce they can source, in small batches, and well, its basically as good as doing it yourself, if not better and without the hassle. I tasted all of the flavors of baby food they had on offer and it was mostly bland, as no salt or sugar was added, but the essence of apple, or carrot or squash was clearly evident. Terrific stuff for busy parents who want to feed their kids well…
On another visit, they had two kinds of cookies on offer, for slightly older kids, those starting to teeth perhaps. Again, they were appropriately bland, but the banana base flavor was definitely appealing. And yes, I did buy and taste all of these products myself. :)
If you are interested in the “Oh Baby” line of products, visit their website for more information, or you can see what they have on offer at the Mercato Centrale at Fort Bonifacio on Saturdays and Sundays from 6am to 2pm. Brava ladies! And good luck with the new venture!
22 Responses
Wow, first one to comment! I read your blog each day, thank you.
likes this! i’m now 20 yrs old but i still crave for baby foods like.. Cerelac. :))
FGell… Cerelac… yummy. until now, pinapapak ko pa din ang Cerelac, heheheh kahit d na ako baby.
i am with you in this, MM! i made my own baby food for my two boys. not once did they ever get to eat from those bottled baby food from the stores. i was (and i believe, still am) meticulous with what i fed my sons..
so kudos to the people behind Oh Baby products — i think it is admirable that they translated their passion into something as concrete as this. and i think many people are grateful they did.
btw, will they be offering their products to cebu? i know lots of people over here will appreciate them, not to mention my two sisters-in-law who are both in the family way.:)
I second the motion…on home-made baby food! They’re so much cheaper and healthier and they’re not really difficult to make. One of my personal ‘gauges’ of whether or not a pediatrician is good is if he/she automatically prescribes Cerelac or Gerber to older babies rather than encouraging natural, home-made mashed food.
I am with you on the homemade baby food! Aside from it being a healthier and more natural alternative, it also give parents the chance to kinda “guide” their children’s introduction in flavors…I like to add herbs like basil and dill to my baby’s food so she gets a taste for flavors our of the usual baby food line. It’s also a chance to introduce food that you eventually want them to like. I guess, eventually, you can’t avoid them running into junk food and sweets, but if you establish early on a taste for the “better things” then we have a fighting chance! :) Also, it’s actually not that difficult :)
I just read about them in this month’s issue of YUMMY mag, also happens to feature Joey (#6 up there) as their newest columnist! :)
Homemade baby food is always the best!
Congrats to the mom-chefs of Oh Baby, well done.
Homemade baby food is the best but i think the reason why people go directly to gerber or cerelac is the convenience. However, with a bit of creativity, time and effort, parents can still give their babies real and nutritious food without sacrificing a lot of their time especially those who are busy with work.
What worked for me when my son was starting to eat was ground rice, ground monggo, and ground malunggay leaves. The ground rice and munggo is cooked like you would make lugaw. I mix a bit of water and a lot of malunggay leaves then place the mixture in ice cube trays. So every day, i add an ice cube of ground malunggay to the rice, or mixed rice and munggo lugaw. For added taste and variety, whatever viand or soup we’re having, I add to this mixture. Since we don’t use MSG at home, I can do this.
A lot of people, and actually parenting books I read as well, say that if babies are used to just commercial baby food they become picky eaters. That was one of my motivations for not going that route. My son, now a toddler, eats whatever I prepare for him so I guess it’s true.
My seven-year-old was raised with homemade baby food. I think he only had a bottle of mash potato with lamb once because we were on the road that time. I feel proud that I didn’t go the easy route. My son is healthy and is seldom sick. He calls homecooked meals “proper food”.
Better to start early with food choices before the babies get hooked on salt and sugar that are now contributing to the high incidence of the metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions ( increased blood pressure, resistance to insulin, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels) that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. The babies are also unlikely to dislike healthier foods later on in life because the increased palatability of the food is not dependent on seasonings but on getting used to natural foods. It is actually preferable to start babies on the less flavorful ones like vegetables for example before giving them fruits which are sweet and more likely to give them the” sweet tooth” later. Oh Baby has got it right!
In the US, it is estimated that over 50 million Americans have the metabolic syndrome. The increasing incidence of metabolic syndrome is observed even in populations who are largely seen as lean, like India for example, but many actually develop increased internal organ fat deposits …as in tampalen? ( don’t mean to be morbid but some actually get morbidly fat!) from heavy consumption of sugars, carbs and processed food ( emphasis on the HEAVY as I don’t mean to turn you all away from MM, sister and Betty q’s delectable recipes).
So, easy on the sugar and salt, you all!
I really enjoy reading this. Living in the US, we (Young Filipino Americans who were born here) don’t have a realization or appreciation that such things existing in the Philippines. Often times we get a little full of ourselves and think of the Philippines as a backwards, third world country, that is plagued by ignorance and opportunists. It doesn’t help that both the US and Philippine media often displays the country in a negative light. It very humbling to read this post and learn that eventough such a thing can happen easily in North America, that it also can happen in the Philippines.
In honesty, its sometimes our own selfishness as Fil-Ams that we forget that there are people and better things in the Philippines.
I feel rather humbled.
I would caution the well intentioned on going straight to homemade though. It does sound good but if you are unaware on correct processing techniques, there may be allergy causing microbes or pathogens that proliferate owing to underprocessing and storage. Caveat.
present tense, it isn’t any more difficult than preparing a meal for yourself. Make your mashed veggies or fruits fresh in sanitary conditions and serve it before it spoils. No difficulties there. The vast majority of the world’s population has always and probably still does make their own baby food at home out of necessity… I am not suggesting everyone start to bottle and preserve their own baby food, rather do it fresh if possible.
this is a wonderful post. how i wish i came across this brand few yrs back. i used to cook and mash all the veggies and fruits myself and it was TEDIOUS and time consuming (i was a working mom then). but it’s definitely a good choice to go all-natural, because now I have no problems feeding the little one with veggies – even ampalaya. all the best to the mommy chefs of oh my baby :)
This reminds me to thank my Mom for her efforts in feeding us, eight siblings, all natural and homemade food. She told us we could not afford bottled baby food, which were imported then, so she had to make her babies’ food from scratch with fresh fruits, veggies, fish, beef, which are the healthier food. Can’t imagine how she managed while working as a teacher. Lucky for today’s babies, they have so much more choices, even cookies for babies!! More power to the mom chefs of Oh Baby!
With 3 kids and my youngest coming to 5th mos. We always see to it that most of their food are home cooked. We do eat out 2-3 times a week but we make sure that the food we order for the kids are balanced. Mcdo is probably once a year if they get invited on a bday party. Good thing that my kids doesn’t like burger.
What worries me is that whenever you buy processed food there’s always chemical or enhancer even to the most simple things like mashed potatoes for baby. I will still choose home cooked food than feed my kids with those chemically laden food.kudos to entrepreneur who believe in real food !
when my son was old enough for solid foods, we would feed him what we were having for the meal. would use a small food mill to grind up the food, apportion it in ice cube trays, freeze, then pop the cubes in ziploc bags, properly identified with date cooked. we never really had to buy any commercial baby food. during meal times, since we could just get whatever he needed from the freezer (different choices available), thaw them out, heat and feed him. he was very rarely sick (now 10 years old) and is not a picky eater. i know the early efforts paid off!!
Wow marketman! Thanks for intoducing this to me. More power to you.:D
where can i buy this product….i want to try this for my 8 mos old baby girl.. ‘m from mindanao….
Hi! Im really interested in knowing where I can find this elusive Oh Baby! I want to try their products for my 8 month old. Care to send me their store location or contact info? their website is not working unfortunately…
Mahru, I suspect they may have closed shop. Not enough people buying their products perhaps… a real shame.