My Yumi Baby Food Review
Is fresh, organic baby food worth it?
Yumi baby food is a prepared meal service dedicated to infants and toddlers. They offer new seasonal flavors every week. The reason for the seasonal flavors is because they order their produce weekly from farms and make everything fresh for you. Their food is packaged, sealed, and dated for your convenience. It can even be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Why I Tried Yumi
As a mom of two kids I find my free time to be very limited. I had dreams of making baby food at home to save a little money, but then Covid-19 hit and I just didn’t know what to do. We try to go to the store once every 2 weeks which means I don’t have as much produce in the home and what I do have I try to keep for the 4 year old to eat. I’ve also found it to be hard to find the time to make enough food for the baby with his current appetite and just needed a little help to get us by.
If you don’t know we fought hard with Gideon to get him to eat and gain weight. He had to have timed feeds and we had to give him a higher calorie formula. (He actually still eats the higher calorie formula.) When he turned 6 months old we started to add solids to his diet and that caused a bunch more issues. Once we solved his gastrointestinal issues we learned that he loved solids.
Our now 9 month old baby eats 16-20 ounces of pureed food a day. This means he eats 4-5 jars of baby food a day. I just wasn’t keeping up on making enough food for him that also offered him some variety to expand his palate and dietary needs.
About Yumi
Yumi was started by two women who wanted to be able to provide their children with proper nutrition. Store brand pre-packaged baby foods tend to be filled with added ingredients that make it shelf stable. This means added preservatives and often added sugars to make it more appealing to babies. Babies just don’t need these things and they wanted to provide a service to families that also wanted to offer highly nutritious options for their children.
The Yumi Baby Food Menu
The Yumi Menu consists of a variety of different types of baby food options for each stage of your child’s development. This means they offer foods starting at Stage 1 and going all the way up to Bites and Puffs. Each stage is a little different and offers the recommended options for a variety of different ages.
Stage 1
Stage 1 Foods are made of single ingredient purees. These are smooth and without any real textures to them. They are recommended for ages 5 months or as a first food when you start them with your little one. For instance we used Stage 1 foods starting at 6 months with our son.
Stage 2
Stage 2 foods are a multi-ingredient puree that is also smooth, but often has a little more texture to the food. This option is a little denser and gives the baby a mixed flavor. It is recommended for babies ages 7+ months. I personally prefer these Stage 2 foods over store bought ones as these have a little more added texture and that is a great early introduction to textures when sensory processing issues run in your family like they do in mine.
Stage 3
Stage 3 foods are purees that are multi-ingredient with seeds or grains mixed into them. These foods are recommended for babies age 9+ months old. I just love the cute names of these foods too!
Stage 4
Stage 4 foods are now no longer pureed, but a chunky mix of multiple ingredients that make for a new texture for your baby. This stage helps prep your baby for moving onto finger foods as they get older. This stage is recommended for age 10+ months.
Bites
Bites are cute little bite sized finger foods that are nutrient dense foods for your little ones. Many store bough finger foods offer empty calories with little to no nutritional value to them. These are recommended for ages 11+ months.
Puffs
Puffs are often given as a first finger food to babies because they dissolve/melt in the baby’s mouth and help them to learn to pick up food and to help them work their pinching skills. Options at the store aren’t vast and these puffs offer more variety.
Yumi Packaging
My Yumi packages arrive safely and cold each and every time. They arrive packaged in a box with insultation and two freezer packs. The freezer packs are almost always still completely frozen when they arrive. I was amazed by this the first time I got my box because it shipped from California and arrived in perfect condition.
Each jar is sealed tight with an airtight plastic seal and the seal is dated with a Best By date on it. One of my favorite features is the resealable lid that has a spot for you to write when you opened the jar of food. This is helpful when sampling new foods because you want to have your baby eat the jar within 24 hours of opening the jar.
Yumi Baby Food Taste Test
We jumped into the game with Yumi a little late, but started with some Stage 1 purees at age 9 months because he was a little behind and still trying out many different foods.
Gideon is a sweet little guy that has had nothing but issues with feeding since birth. At 9 months old we are still packing as many calories as possible into this little guy just so that he stays on his growth curve. We started as simple as possible until we got the okay from his pediatrician, nutritionist, and speech therapist to start introducing the mixed foods.
Gideon has been enjoying his journey into Yumi foods. We are starting to introduce the mixed flavors and will hopefully be trying the Yumi Baby Led Weaning foods and Finger Foods soon. In the meantime Gideon does prefer the less textured foods, but he is slowly adjusting to the more textured foods like the Green Beans. I was actually able to feed a jar to him without a chaser food today! So much progress with this little guy.
The Verdict
The verdict! We are loving everything that is Yumi food. Gideon is enjoying foods that he wouldn’t normally get to try and he is enjoying having fun exploring with them. As you can see in this picture he is even getting a little messy sometimes. This is something I love to see as a mom to children with sensory processing issues. I highly recommend Yumi for you and your little one. Be on the watch for a second post all about the Baby Led Weaning Foods and the Finger Foods.
Get your Yumi Box!
Head on over to Hello Yumi to get your box now. Purchase through my link and get 5 jars for free! I will get points to aid in me getting discounts on their products as well.
