Farm to Baby Menu - Friday March 16th

Like what you see? Visit our store to join Farm to Baby now!

(Source: farmtobabynyc.com)

Farm to Baby Menu - Tuesday March 13th

Meet Farm to Baby this Saturday at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

This Saturday, March 10th, we’ll be at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket from 8am-2pm.  The market is located at Prospect Park West & Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn [map ]

Stop by to meet us and learn more about how you can have fresh, handmade and upright food for your baby delivered right to your door. Plus, we’ll have tasty samples.

The weather forecast indicates that Saturday should be “more sun than clouds” and a lovely 47 degrees, but we’ll be there rain or shine.

Cheers,

Marshall and Lauren
FarmToBabyNYC.com

Farm to Baby Menu - Friday March 9th

Micronutrient loss in shelf-stable foods: How canned food is robbing your baby of vital nutrients

Hello out there, this is Marshall. I’m a Farm to Baby co-founder and doctoral candidate in molecular biology at Princeton University, where my research focuses on metabolism.

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about the loss of micronutrients in stable foods compared to fresh food like Farm to Baby. Parents deserve to know what they are feeding their families, so I’ve assembled data and conclusions from some peer-reviewed scientific and medical literature, which I’ll get to in just a minute. You won’t have to take my word for it–I’ll provide all of the references to the studies so that you could follow up yourself because at Farm to Baby, we think transparency and trust are paramount.

Calories versus Micronutrients

Before talking about what’s lost, I should briefly discuss what nutrients we get from our food. There are the basic building blocks and energy sources: carbohydrates (starches), protein, and lipids (fats). A diet containing only these three items wouldn’t lead someone to starve per se but would result in numerous fatal medical ailments like scurvy (Vitamin C deficiency) or immune system dysfunction (Vitamin A). What keep us in great health are the non-caloric parts of our food: micronutrients, which include vitamins, minerals, and other trace nutrients. While they are in “micro” in quantity in our food, these are of mega importance to growing infants who need to double in size between 6 and 12 months, and a diet rich in micronutrients ensures that she or he will have everything necessary to do so.

Shelf-stabilization and micronutrient loss

The baby food seen on store shelves is cooked twice. Once to soften for pureeing, and again at high heat and pressure to make it shelf-stable, which is often called “canning” or “pasteurization”. That means regardless of packaging–jars, cans, or squeeze-packs–the food was heated to high temperatures to make it stable for the shelf. High-heat processing is also true of products labeled “organic,” a government controlled term that doesn’t relate to processing.

While the calorie content of foods is not damaged by heat, precious micronutrients like Vitamin C do not fare nearly as well. In this table from the review “Nutritional comparison of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables” published in The Journal of Food Science and Agriculture (2007), we can see the data collected from 5 different reports extending all the way back to the 1970s. The results are not good for canned items: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid to scientists) loss ranges from between 62% and 88% for broccoli, carrots, peas, spinach, and green beans. Only beets seem to retain their Vitamin C following canning.

(From Rickman et al. 2007)

Scientists have made similar measurements for carotenes, micronutrients that are made exclusively by plants, which your body uses to make Vitamin A. Your eye can observe the loss of these brightly colored pigments in preserved foods. While chemical analysis is a bit tricky for these molecules, some researchers report that canned fruits lose an astounding 50% of their total carotene content.

So, we conclude that the process of excessive heating destroys precious micronutrients to create foods that are closer to being empty-calories than their fresh counterparts.

Does your food come from a factory or a kitchen?

The process of cooking food by hand in a kitchen–I’m sure you know–differs immensely from food production in a factory. The methods often used in food factories involve plunging fruits and veggies into large vats of water to soften and sanitize, which leeches huge quantities of water soluble vitamins and minerals into the water that is then discarded. At Farm to Baby, we cook food by steaming or roasting, which keeps nutrients in the food destined for your baby.

More than just nutrition, we know that flavor is paramount for babies and parents alike. That’s why we make a food delicious enough that parents admit to snacking on spoonfuls when no one is watching. If you want to taste the difference between our food for babies and their baby food, we’ll be at several markets in Brooklyn in the coming weeks, and we’d love to meet you.

Finally, we cook and package all our food by hand. That means we keep a close watch on the integrity of our product from farm to family, and we are not at risk for automation disasters like glass contamination, which recently caused a recall on jars of baby food.

Sincerely,

Marshall Louis Reaves

Farm to Baby Co-founder

———————

Here are the references in case you want to track down the data yourself:

Murcia MA, Lopez-Ayerra B, Martinez-Tome M, Vera AM and Garcıa-Carmona F, Evolution of ascorbic acid and peroxidase during industrial processing of broccoli. J Sci Food Agric 80:1882–1886 (2000). 

Howard LA, Wong AD, Perry AK and Klein BP, β-Carotene and ascorbic acid retention in fresh and processed vegetables.  J Food Sci 64:929–936 (1999). 

Weits J, van der Meer MA, Lassche JB, Meyer JC, Steinbuch E and Gersons L, Nutritive value and organoleptic properties of three vegetables fresh and preserved in six different ways. Int J Vitam Res 40:648–658 (1970). 

Jiratanan T and Liu RH, Antioxidant activity of processed table beets (Beta vulgaris var. conditiva) and green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). J Agric Food Chem 52:2659–2670 (2004). 

(Source: farmtobabynyc.com)

Farm to Baby Menu - Tuesday March 6th

Newtown Pippin: A beautiful russeted heirloom apple with complex, slightly tart flavor, the Newtown Pippin originated in 18th century New York and was a colonial favorite (Thomas Jefferson believed it to be peerless). We roast, puree and whip ours until they are incredibly smooth and light. This is definitely not applesauce.

Adirondack Reds and Leeks: Another New York native, the Adirondack potato is unusual in that both its skin and flesh are pigmented. As a general rule, brightly colored foods bear carry important micronutrients, and this pretty pink hue denotes a rich source of antioxidant anthocyanin compounds similar to those found in red fruits like raspberries and cranberries. We added tender leeks to the mix to pump up flavor and nutrition. The leek, the mildest member of the onion family, is loaded with awesome B-vitamins, like folic acid.

Brussel Sprouts: A cultivar of wild cabbage first brought to the United States by French settlers, these edible buds are perhaps the best-loved member of the Brassica family (with kale poised to overtake them any day now). Brussel sprouts pack the nutritional punch you expect from a cruciferous veggie. Ours go down easy in this incredibly silky puree.

Old Henry: A white-skinned sweet potato with creamy, golden flesh, Old Henry is less fibrous than common sweet potatoes, and it cooks up beautifully with an almost pudding-like texture and consistency. Vitamin A abounds.

(Source: farmtobabynyc.com)

Farm to Baby is Fresh

Farm to Baby is Upright

Farm to Baby is Handmade

Mrs. Obama says…

FarmtoBaby
Mrs. Obama says: “It is much easier to get your kids to eat healthier foods if it’s always been a part of their lives.” http://t.co/Q1cphTrX
2/22/12 9:13 AM

Now Recruiting: Brooklyn Babies

We’re recruiting members for our Brooklyn launch.  Beginning in March we’ll be delivering to North Brooklyn (Greenpoint and Williamsburg). We’re also scouting convenient pickup locations in the area to make it even easier for busy parents to participate. Let us know where you’d like to see us so that we can bring better food for babies to your neighborhood.

April 1st marks the start of our South Brooklyn launch, so if you a parent in Park Slope, Fort Greene, or surrounding areas, please join our mailing list so that we can keep you posted on our progress. After we have Brooklyn under our belt, we’ll take Manhattan.

Farm to Baby is born

Hello, New York!

We’re Farm to Baby, and we’re making the best ever food for babies! We use only locally grown produce from farmers who are good stewards to the land. We know that the health of the planet matters just as much to your baby’s future as does her diet. To that end, we also use 100% BPA and phthalate-free reusable glass jars. No toxins, no waste! 

Tired of the same old mush? We’re committed to building broader palates by going beyond the banana! As the calendar turns and the seasons progress, so too does our menu. We only prepare what’s in season because that’s what tastes best. Asparagus in April, fennel in July! Developing a broad palate, preventing a picky eater is Mother Nature’s work. We help her do her job by preparing the best of the bounty each week.

You’re busy–now more than you ever have been. You’ve got your hands full, and we’ve got you covered. When you sign up for our subscription delivery, we’ll make sure you always have a healthy meal for your baby at the ready.  Join our mailing list for details on how to enroll.