Single use plastic Free Baby Feeding - 5 Top Tips from a Nutritionist

Guest post from Children’s Nutritionist & SOS Feeding Therapist - Penelope Henderson

Many baby feeding products rely on single use plastic, especially store bought food pouches. As a Children’s Nutritionist, I see the value of homemade baby food for both health and sustainability. This doesn’t mean to say single use pouches have to be totally avoided but the UK government recently recommended that parents should not rely on them as everyday meals.

This blog is packed with five realistic, nutrition led tips to reduce plastic while still keeping feeding simple, with a little help from tools like reusable pouches.

1. Make Baby Food in Batches at Home

Making homemade baby food from scratch uses less packaging and you have more control over ingredients, so you know what is going into your baby's food.
Use the same batch to fill multiple reusable pouches or pots and store them in the fridge/freezer. This saves time and avoids relying on plastic packed store bought options.
Use freezer friendly silicone trays for small portions or reusable pouches for larger amounts. 

If you have a group of friends weaning at the same time you could also team up to spread the load and share batches.

2. Use Reusable Food Pouches Instead of Single Use

Single use baby food pouches are convenient but create a lot of plastic waste.
I recommend swapping for reusable pouches.  Fill them with your own blends and take them on the go. They also come in colourful, fun packaging for babies.

Bonus tip - don’t let them suck straight from the spout. Either squeeze onto a spoon or squeeze out into a bowl first. This is because sucking from the spout doesn’t help develop chewing and oral development. Also those baby foods high in sugar create a lot more contact with the teeth when sucked and this is not great for teeth when used this way.

Nom Nom Kids has a fantastic silicone pouch spoon that attaches onto the end of any pouch spout for easy feeding on the go.

However, If you do want to use single use pouches from time to time, then check out my post on Are Baby Food Pouches Healthy, a Nutritionist's take.

3. Choose Safe, Plastic Free Cooking & Storage Tools

There are many alternatives to plastic. Use silicone or bamboo utensils, glass bowls, and stainless steel steamers or blenders as alternatives. These tools will last longer and reduce any microplastic exposure during food preparation.

Also avoid reheating foods in plastic (especially in the microwave) due to the possibility of chemicals leaching into the foods.  Opt for glass or silicone containers instead. Microwavable containers should be fine to use.

4. Plan Simple Baby Meals

It doesn’t have to be complicated cooking baby meals. Focus on a few core ingredients (e.g. sweet potato, lentils, pear) that blend well and freeze easily. Once you get into the habit of doing this regularly it becomes much easier.

Here are some examples:

First tastes (Purees) - Blend soft fruits or veggies into smooth purées or mashed textures.

• ●      Broccoli puree
• ●      Parsnip puree
• ●      Carrot puree

Mixed foods

• ●      Pea and soya bean puree
• ●      Sweetcorn, broccoli and carrot
• ●      Sunday lunch vegetable cheese

Family meals

• ●      Easy baby cottage pie (packed with 5 veg)
• ●      Pizza scrolls
• ●      Pasta with green sauce
• ●      Veg packed tomato sauce
• ●      Baked Spanish omelette

Adding your meals into reusable pouches or reusable sandwich bags makes homemade food feel just as convenient as store-bought without the single use plastic waste.

5. Involve Your Baby in Sustainable Feeding Habits 

Letting your baby choose their reusable pouch, stainless steel cup, or bamboo bowl etc at mealtimes will help build familiarity and reduce the reliance on plasticware.

Finally…

Reducing single use plastics doesn’t mean giving up convenience. Making homemade baby food part of your routine, and using smart swaps like reusable pouches, it’s totally doable. You are not only making nutritious baby food but using less plastic too - its a win win. 

Thank you to Penelope Henderson for this blog post. Penelope's website can be found here where you can find free resources such as 6 steps to calm and happy mealtimes and One meal everyone eats: Secrets to feeding fussy eaters.

Penelope also has 1:1 services and a self paced online course available for parents concerned about fussy eating.

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