question about baby food in US

[elorapet]

our trip is getting closer and suddenly I noticed that I don't have a clue what kind of baby food you have in US. We are first timers in US and our DS is having his 1year birthday couple of days before our trip.

Gladly DS is not a picky eater so I am not worried if baby food in US is different that ours, I am sure he will eat it anyway . But there are couple of questions I have:

do you have instant porridge ? like you just mix hot water and the flakes and after couple of minutes it is ready. (hope you understand what I mean, I am not sure how to explain this in english )

is there microwave owens in disney restaurants where you can heat the food for you baby? like do you ask somebody to do it for you or is there place where you can do it by yourself?

is it allowed to bring the food for the baby with you or do Disney expect that you buy it from the park?

sorry if these are the most stupid questions you have ever seen, but as said we have never been in US before and I am trying the minimize the amout of stuff I need to bring with me from home. (enough luggage anyways )

 

[WildGrits]

Baby food is sort of region specific. There is Gerber, Beech Nut, and Heinz as the big ones. Porridge is called cereal here and comes in different types. The single grains are Rice, Oatmeal and Barley. Then the older ones are a multigrain. We also have cereals with added flavors like apple, banana, and mixed fruit.

For ordering to be delivered to your room, check out www.gardengrocer.com.

For hot water, try running water thru the coffee maker, without the coffee basket. Or you shoulkd be able to get it free at any food center.

I never had a problem bringing baby food into the parks. I can't remember seeing it sold there.

 

[Honeymooner04]

Like the PP said, porridge is called baby cereal here and you can buy it in rice, oatmeal, barley and I'm sure other flavors. I don't believe most rooms on property at Disney have microwaves but the food courts should have them. We had no problems bringing baby food in any of the parks every time we took my daughter. Also, make sure you check out the baby care centers in each of the parks as they have microwaves, changing tables, high chairs, etc. to use while in the parks. They also have essentials to purchase if you should forget something. Have a great trip!

 

[WildGrits]

I agree with Honeymooner04.

Those Carnation Baby Care Centers are a God Send.

 

[elorapet]

thank you for the info. I really appreciate it.

one more question. I was checking the gardengrocer website and there was first, second and third foods for children. In Finland the babyfoods are categorized by age (like 4 months, 5-6months, 8 months and 1 year), so is the third foods like for 8 months old babies?
is there similar food for 1 year old child?

 

[Katy Belle]

Hello!

I am originally from the USA and now live in Qatar. We took our son to the UK when he was 10 months old and were surprised in the differences in baby food. The food in the UK is highly seasoned, with herbs and things. I'm not sure how yours is? In the USA its usually just steamed and blended, no salt, not herbs, just plain veg. or fruit. Our baby actually smelled different after eating it for 10 days

Third Stage foods usually are chunky. Like the chicken and noodles will have tiny chunks of chicken and noodles plus the blended veg. Stage two foods are blended, but not as thinly as stage 1. Gerber Graduates usually have foods that toddlers can pick up and eat. Small chunks of meat, cooked pasta.

I hope that was helpful. Also, I do think you need to bring the baby food with you into the park. To my knowledge you can't purchase it in the park. You can, of course, feed a baby from your plate. Buffets usually are good, mashed potatoes, etc.

Good luck! I hope you have a fantastic, magical trip!
Katy

 

[elorapet]

I am originally from the USA and now live in Qatar. We took our son to the UK when he was 10 months old and were surprised in the differences in baby food. The food in the UK is highly seasoned, with herbs and things. I'm not sure how yours is? In the USA its usually just steamed and blended, no salt, not herbs, just plain veg. or fruit. Our baby actually smelled different after eating it for 10 days

the food in USA sounds more like the food we have in Finland! Finnish baby food doesn't have any salt or not that much herbs either. And our fruity ones are mostly without suger.

Third Stage foods usually are chunky. Like the chicken and noodles will have tiny chunks of chicken and noodles plus the blended veg. Stage two foods are blended, but not as thinly as stage 1. Gerber Graduates usually have foods that toddlers can pick up and eat. Small chunks of meat, cooked pasta.

sounds like the thrid stage is the one for us!

I hope that was helpful. Also, I do think you need to bring the baby food with you into the park. To my knowledge you can't purchase it in the park. You can, of course, feed a baby from your plate. Buffets usually are good, mashed potatoes, etc.

Good luck! I hope you have a fantastic, magical trip!
Katy

this was very helpful. thank you so much!
Petra

 

[barrett7890]

we are from the UK and have just returned from a holiday in the US with our 10 months old. I found the baby food in the US had much more salt than the UK! (but that may just be the brand we used)

We had no problems taking food into the parks. We also used the "toddler" food as our daughter likes lumps so she can feed herself.


cami
x

 

[karliebug]

also,you will be able to get tablefood like applesauce and macaroni and cheese and other choices at restaurants.

 

[ursijam]

Gerber also has a complete line of foods they call "Graduates" that are more finger foods and small meals.

They have things such as puffed cereals that are different fruit or vegetable flavors.

A lot of times the only difference between the Stage 1 and Stage 2 foods will be the size of the container and whether or not there is more than one type of food blended together.

A link to the Gerber site for the different types of food.

 

[crusin and lovin it]

Yes we have what you call instant Porridge. We call it baby cereal. We have it with or without Fruit. With the dry food so that the little one does not get to much shock with our food I would suggest bringing your own. If you prefer not to do that there are little grocery stores at most resorts that can accomodate you with any of your needs. Any restaurant at the parks I am sure would be happy to warm up anything that you need in a microwave. At the resort hotels they have microwaves available in the restaurants. I would suggest actually just warming up water wherever you are or asking for hot water at any restaurant. Most of the restaurants will also offer mashed potatoes, vegetables. My husband is seasoned at visiting Disney world with this being his 20 trip in October and my 4th. Disney is fabulous about doing whatever has to be done to make everyone's trip a Magical one. I hope that you enjoy your trip to the United States and to Disney World.

 

[welovewdw]

Just a quick note to add that you can bring baby food into the parks, also you can purchase it at the baby care centers if you forget or run out. You can also purchase formula, bottles, etc at the centers -there is one in each of the 4 parks - they're very nice, and they have a microwave to heat food if needed. (our son eats his room temperature - He wouldn't know what to do if he got hot food! 4th child ) Most restaurants won't heat it for you because of liability issues - at least we've run into that alot (hence the room temperature food.)

Gardengrocer is great - we've used them a few times - also baby food is sold in the Disney resort stores that have groceries - not a huge selection, but enough for an emergency meal or two.

Good luck - have fun on your trip!!

 

[hon_bunnie]

I just wanted to add that we have grits (made from white corn) here. They can be the instant type that mix with hot water or cooked on the stove-top. Traditionally, grits are a southern food and seasoned with salt, pepper and butter. My family likes to add cheese to the grits. So, they are enjoyed by all ages.

 

[Nicolepa]

Just a quick note to add that you can bring baby food into the parks, also you can purchase it at the baby care centers if you forget or run out. You can also purchase formula, bottles, etc at the centers -there is one in each of the 4 parks - they're very nice, and they have a microwave to heat food if needed.

Just wanted to note that the prices in the baby care center will be outragous, so use that as a very last resort!

 

[welovewdw]

Just wanted to note that the prices in the baby care center will be outragous, so use that as a very last resort!

What?!? Disney outrageously expensive??? Say it ain't so!

It is pretty expensive - but it's nice to have as a back up!

 

[NotUrsula]

There are ways to get round the "no heating baby food" liability issues. You can ask them to give you a mug of boiling water and a bowl, then pour in enough for the jars to steep in to warm the food, or you can ask them to bring you a plate warmed in the oven; spoon the pureed food onto the plate and it will warm up to table temp.

One warning I always give to UK parents; don't ask for soft-boiled eggs here for baby; our eggs are not considered safe for soft-boil cooking, and US children (or adults for that matter) do not eat them in restaurants. Having never been to Finland I don't know if that's an issue for you, but I mention it just in case.

 

[zaztooe]

Have you thought about a baby food grinder. THat is what we use for our 8 month old dd. I just take what ever I want from any of our plates and put it in the grinder and put the handle on and turn it. It is awesome. You can feed the baby right out of the bowl on the top of the grinder. I never hav eto pack baby food! YOu can see it a www.stepahead.com Any thing soft I just mush up with a fork, etc. Our dd won't even eat jarred food anymore.

As someone said before the Garden Grocer looks great and I am seriously considering ordering from them. NOt baby food per se but water, banannas(for dd) etc

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[ujpest_doza]

Hello!

I am originally from the USA and now live in Qatar. We took our son to the UK when he was 10 months old and were surprised in the differences in baby food. The food in the UK is highly seasoned, with herbs and things. I'm not sure how yours is? In the USA its usually just steamed and blended, no salt, not herbs, just plain veg. or fruit. Our baby actually smelled different after eating it for 10 days

I can't say i've noticed any baby foods being highly seasoned with herbs or anything. Main brands here are Cow and Gate, Heinz and the one our little one prefers Hipp http://www.hipp.co.uk/products/1_Parsnip_Potato_Cauliflower.html.

We also used a Food Blender to pureé our own dinners eg we may have a Roast Chicken dinner of Chicken, Potatos, Peas, Carrots, Broccoli, Sweetcorn, Turnip etc and use a blender to pureé some for the baby and put it in tupperware tubs and freeze them for future use.

At DLP the baby care centre sold only 1 type of baby food and that was Nestle Carrots and Peas which she seemed to enjoy, but a little bit of variety would have been nice.