When babies start solids, everyone and their mother-in-law warns you: get ready for constipation. As an immigrant Jewish woman in my late-30s, I considered myself an expert on the topic, and yet babies have a way of making you question everything you thought you knew.
I’ve heard—ok, seen on Instagram—that p-word fruits help babies poop, but many are actually choking hazards and have to be steamed (prunes) or cut into perfectly razor-thin slices (pears).
We discovered an amazing, life-changing hack in a random gift shop on a trip upstate. Made just with organic apples and pears grown in France, this pear sauce seemed too good to be true: shelf-stable, tastes like candy, no added sugar, and available on Target?
Even at her pickiest, Nadia will always choose it in a fridge line-up and inhale it by the spoonful. We used it to flavor her iron-fortified baby oatmeal and froze it in cubes for teething pops. She’ll eat it straight from the jar if we’d let her.
The best part? It lives up to its p-fruit name. After a few bites, you can almost guarantee a diaper change within an hour or two. No dreaded Miralax interventions or fiddling with a Frida Windi while your baby shrieks or dealing with sticky, sugar-laden prunes you have to cut into microscopic pieces. The sauce gained even more value during the toddler years when potty training. Helping her stay regular while learning to go in the toilet felt like solving a daily witch’s riddle.
And the sauce adds a level of tart deliciousness for grown-ups to enjoy too—from Sunday morning pancakes to a fancy cheese plate. It has become a household necessity akin to toilet paper: we hoard a bunch in the pantry at all times.
Here are a few other toddler miracle foods I swear by:
The most delicious shelf-stable way to get fruit in your kids. Perfect for when you’re running low on fresh berries. We throw at least one in the daily snack bag and always pack a few in our carry-on. Delicious in cereal and yogurt too!
Once your kid turns two, they become 90% dip. Sometimes, it seems like Nadia subsists on just crackers and nuggets. This no-sugar added ketchup made with veggies like carrots and squash feels like a win on those days (ok, fine, every day).
From slathering on pancakes to dipping for french toast, jam has also become its own food pyramid. This no-added-sugar variety is as tasty as more popular versions. Each jar is pricey though, so we stockpile whenever they go on sale.
Tastes just like the name brands we grew up on (maybe even better?) but made with just fruit! No food dyes, added sugar, preservatives, gelatins or anything else vilified by wellness influencers. These were so good we were able to use them as daily bribes instead of M&Ms during potty training.
Ok, technically this needs to be refrigerated. But this vegan cheese substitute packs B vitamins and protein while adding a very subtle flavor. Our picky toddler loves it on pizza (while her exhausted parents are grateful to have it for pasta when we inevitably forget to restock the parmesan).
Who else can claim their toddler loved bison? These savory, easy-to-feed pouches are great for the solids transition, convenient to pack, and feature meaty flavor profiles your kid isn’t likely to find on the playground.
Yelena Shuster
Author