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10/05/06 // Iced is nice for baby

From the Miami Herald

Ellen Kanner
ellenink@aol.com

I can’t get that song Ice Ice Baby out of my head. I’m not a Vanilla Ice fan (is anyone?), but I’m a fan of the new wave of frozen organic baby foods.

Organic baby food comes in jars, of course, but nutrition experts say frozen beats jarred for preserving the nutrients in produce. To serve, just pop a frozen cup or cube in the microwave or a saucepan. No processing, no preservatives, just pure organic fruit, vegetable and grain purées with amazingly bright flavor.

Plum Organics (4 ounces, $2.89-$3.49) has eight offerings, from a smooth blend of pears and apples for infants 6 months and up to a chunkier mélange of spinach, peas, brown rice and barley for the 9-months-and-up set. I gave that super-greens multigrain a tentative taste and wound up finishing the whole thing. It’s totally delicious.

So is Happy Baby (10.2 ounces, $4.99), which adds attitude and spice. Each package contains two flavors, half a dozen cubes of each, like baby dhal (say it), pureed red lentils, potatoes and carrots with a whisper of cinnamon and coriander. It’s paired with mama grain, puréed banana, quinoa and black beans There are three purées for babies 6 months and up and three more textured ones for more mature tots.

Both brands are in the freezer section at Wild Oats, Whole Foods and other health food stores. If shopping time is at a premium, consider Baby Cubes (a bag of 10 (1-ounce cubes), $4.98), available only online at mynami.com and delivered straight to you. They come in the two textures and a whopping 21 flavors, from the usual suspects like carrots and peas to mango and, of all things, rutabaga. Order nine bags or more and delivery and shipping is free.

Frozen organic baby food is nourishment pleasing both palates and parents. Ice, ice, baby.

Ellen Kanner writes biweekly about vegetarian concerns.">Miami Herald”>Miami Herald