If you don't find the answer to your question here, please feel free to e-mail me at fran@ohbabyfoods.com.

How do I know when my baby is ready for purees?

When baby intently watches others eat or drink, makes chewing or new motions with the tongue, can sit up without too much help, has good head control, and can turn away on his or her own, baby may be ready for purees.  Most babies start by the age of 6 months.  If in doubt, ask your pediatrician.  Some parents begin their babies' eating adventure with rice or other grain cereal.  This is an option, but is not necessary.  We skipped the cereals and went right to the good stuff when our baby turned 5 months.

Which puree should I start with?

Start with a STAGE 1 food.  My baby started with warmed Sweet Potato Boogie mixed with expressed breast milk, a 2:1 ratio of puree:breast milk.  If baby doesn't like it the first time its introduced, don't worry.  Try it again in a few days.  We took a two week break with our baby who closed her lips when the spoon got close to them.  After two weeks, she opened wide and leaned towards the spoon!     

How often and how much should I feed my baby the same puree?

When introducing baby to a new ingredient, she should be fed the same food for 3-5 days.  This way, a potential allergy or food intolerance would have plenty of time to show up and be identified.  Young babies won't be able to eat an entire serving of Oh Baby Foods™, but will work up to that soon.

How do I know if my baby has allergies?

An allergic reaction could take many forms.  If your baby suddenly experiences a rash, diarrhea, constipation, gas, fussiness, wheezing, trouble breathing, swollen or itchy mouth or tongue after a meal, it could be due to an allergy or food intolerance.  We recommend introducing a new food in the morning, so that you can keep a watchful eye on baby during the day.  Allergies, as opposed to food intolerances, can be serious.  If you suspect an allergy, call your pediatrician. When introducing baby to a new ingredient, she should be fed the same food for 3-5 days.  This way, a potential allergy would have plenty of time to show up and be identified.

What's so great about frozen foods vs. jarred?

Frozen baby food is clear winner for us and our satisfied little clientele. 

Reason #1: nutrition. We gently cook our ingredients only to the temperature needed to be easily edible by babies' new digestive systems.  Everything in our kitchen is either baked, steamed, or left raw (like our blueberries).  In order to kill any bacterial spores that live in anaerobic environments and give foods a long shelf-stable life, jarred foods are cooked to very high temperatures, which can break down a vital part of the the food and nutrient structure.

Reason #2: delight for the senses.  Have you compared our frozen foods to the jarred stuff?  If so, we don't need to tell you that the color, smell, texture, and of course taste, are undeniably superior.  We encourage you to conduct your own taste test.

Reason #3: environmentally responsible. Because frozen foods do not require the thermal process of their jarred counterpart, fewer resources such as water, gas, and fuel are used.  The plastics used to protect our foods weigh much less than glass, so they require less fuel to transport.  Because Oh Baby Foods™ are made and sold in the same geographical region, our transportation needs are less than other nationally-produced brands of jarred (and frozen) baby foods.  Frozen foods do require more energy to store, but the benefits of weight, geography, and process far outweigh the environmental costs of producing and transporting jarred foods.  All of these factors affect our bottom dollar and bring down your retail cost.

I've never heard of your brand.  How do I know Oh Baby Foods™ is safe?

We come from a long line of good cooks, and good farmers.  We know where and how all of our ingredients are raised and harvested.  We can trace each ingredient back to the family farm where it was raised.  We know what goes into the soil and the careful manner in which our farmers tend to their family lands.  We test each batch of veggies for microorganisms and for taste. 

We make each serving of Oh Baby Foods™ ourselves, in small batches, in our certified kitchen.  Our kitchen is kept immaculate and has never received a violation.  Baby foods are most often processed in large plants with ingredients shipped in from other agricultural regions and other countries.  They are sometimes produced on food lines that also process allergenic foods.  Since we are the only ones to use our kitchen, we know that only safe and clean ingredients are prepared there; we don't share our kitchen with a restaurant.  Incidentally, this enables us to ensure our facility is spotless and that quality controls that meet our standards are used each time the lights are on.

A third party private firm takes random and scheduled samples of our finished product and kitchen surfaces, which is, again, above and beyond what is required. Our written safety plan and processing procedures were designed by our food scientist.

We pasteurize the finished Oh Baby Foods™ packets, before quickly freezing and sealing.  The entire process takes place in our kitchen, where we can ensure safety.   Fran makes certain that our quality assurance plan is carried out “to a T.”

How do I prepare and serve Oh Baby Foods™ for my baby?

Oh Baby Foods™ can be prepared in any number of ways.  Keep frozen until ready to eat. 

• Remove puree from container and heat in saucepan or microwave (be aware of "hot spots" if microwaved), or put unopened container in a bowl of warm water. 

• Thaw in fridge and eat chilled or warm.* 

• May be eaten right out of the container for less mess!!

• Thin with breast milk, formula, or grain cereal for brand new eaters.

• Leftover thawed food may be refrigerated for up to 48 hours. Throw out after 48 hours.

• Do not refreeze or rethaw Oh Baby Foods™.

* Be aware that textures may change after being frozen.  We recommend heating all Oh Baby Foods™ flavors for optimum taste.

Your mission says you support regional agriculture.  How?

We are fans of the Agrarian lifestyle chosen by hardworking families in our area.  We buy directly from regional farmers, giving them a new and exciting outlet for their crops.  We have strict guidelines for our farmers, which not only contributes to healthy babies, but also to healthy farmland.  This may, in turn, enable our current farmers to pass on their land to future generations.

The economic impact Oh Baby Foods™ has on the
region is three-fold.  We have a direct impact by purchasing agricultural products; these purchases have an indirect impact due to agricultural suppliers purchasing farm items from other area businesses; and we augment induced impacts by generating revenues since we sell our products only in the region.

Another bonus: we offset our carbon footprint by making an annual contribution to a carbon sequestration project on a U.S. farm.  Although it’s not in our region, this is yet another way we support agriculture.