10 Benefits of Cold-Pressed Baby Food

What’s the difference between cold-pressed baby food and shelf-stable baby food? …Just about everything. From our farm fresh ingredients to our cold pressure process, our baby food blends are as close to homemade as it gets (without making it yourself)! 

 

Once Upon a Farm Cold-Pressed Baby Food Benefits

Farm Fresh Ingredients

All of our whole fruits and vegetables and good fats are Certified Organic and Non-GMO Project verified. We only partner with certified organic farms and pick our produce at the peak of the season! Unlike shelf-stable brands, we never use any pre-processed purees, preservatives or juice concentrates.

Unique Recipes

Our unique recipe combinations have been formulated, tested and approved by moms, an expert infant nutritionist and a board-certified pediatrician, as well as countless little ones. We also include good fats for stable energy levels and nutrient absorption in all Stage 2 (7+ months), Stage 3 (9+ months) and Stage 4 (12+ months) blends as well as our cold-pressed smoothies, whereas most shelf-stable blends are completely void of good fats.

Cold Pressure

We use Cold Pressure (also known as High Pressure Pascalization (HPP)) to cold press our blends. Once they are packaged and sealed, cold pressure applies water pressure equivalent to 5x the pressure at the deepest part of the ocean to destroy any potential food borne bacteria while extending shelf life a bit so we can get farm fresh blends to retailers near you.

Shelf-stable brands use high heat or thermal pasteurization. While this process also keeps food safe from harmful food-borne bacteria, it completely destroys the food and the result is a jam like substance that has been condensed down into simple sugars.

Nutrition

Our organic baby food blends are as fresh as it gets (without making it yourself). The cold pressure process mentioned above keeps the nutrient content, taste and texture of each fruit and vegetable intact, so it’s just like eating farm fresh produce. In fact, studies show that certain cold-pressed foods may actually contain more nutrients than fresh food as cold pressure has been shown to affect the bioavailability of certain nutrients. (1)

The extremely high temperatures shelf-stable products are subjected to (often twice, above 185 degrees) kill off vital nutrients, enzymes and healthy bacteria that are critical for healthy growth and development.

Taste

You shouldn’t be afraid to eat what your baby eats. Our blends taste exactly like the whole fruits, veggies and good fats used to make them with nothing added, subtracted or distorted. In blind taste tests of Magic Velvet Mango versus a fresh blended mango, tasters can’t tell the difference! The taste of shelf-stable brands simply doesn’t compare.

Color & Texture

The truth is in the color (and the texture!). The best test for this is to cut open a fresh mango and compare it to our Magic Velvet Mango. The color and texture is identical because we use one ingredient and one ingredient only – farm fresh mango! Shelf-stable mango options often contain lemon juice concentrate, citric acid, water and pre-boiled mango, have a thin consistency similar to juice and do not taste at all like a fresh picked mango.

Cold Storage

From farm to family, we keep our blends cold which is why you’ll find us in the fridge, not on the shelf. After all, fresh food is perishable and isn’t meant to sit on a shelf for months or years! Due to the high heat process, additives and preservatives in shelf-stable options, those blends can sit on the shelf for up to two years which in some cases is older than the baby eating them.

Transparent Packaging

We were the first pouched baby food to use transparent packaging. All of our baby food blends include a clear window on the back so you can see the color and texture of the ingredients inside. All of our applesauces have a clear back panel as well, so there’s no guessing what your baby’s food looks like!

Not Just for Babies

Baby food isn’t just for babies anymore. Our organic baby food blends, applesauces and smoothies are delicious for older kids and adults as well! If you can sneak some, they’re perfect as a topper for yogurt or oatmeal, as the base of a smoothie bowl (or smoothie ingredient) and even on top of ice cream! Here are some other healthy recipes. Sure, shelf-stable options could also be used as ingredients or snacks, but we’ve tried them and we prefer the farm fresh alternative Let us know what you think!

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Sources

1. “Explore scientific, technical, and medical research on ScienceDirect.” ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books., www.sciencedirect.com/. Accessed 14 Sept. 2017.