Product Review & Giveaway: Happy Baby

It’s not often I get jazzed about food products for little ones. But when my youngest started solids last year, I remember loving the Happy Baby Frozen meals I picked up at Whole Foods. I recently tried the products they have for toddlers and got giddy all over again.

But before I go on, let me tell you about the company…

According to their website, Happy Baby “…is committed to making baby and toddler food as healthy and delicious as homemade with the essential nutrients needed for optimal growth and development.”

I like that the company has both a medical and nutrition advisor: Dr. Robert Sears and Amy Marlow, MPH, RD. And to top it off, HAPPY BABY works with Project Peanut Butter to help feed starving children in Malawi. Every package purchased goes towards this effort.

I’m going to review the products we’ve tried followed by information on how you can win some great (free) stuff.

Happy Baby Frozen: I’ll admit it. I wasn’t as gung ho about making baby food the second time around. I was working and dealing with a poor-sleeping (but cute) little guy. The Happy Baby Frozen Meals include a variety of nutritious foods perfect for baby — greens, squash, salmon, peas, brown rice and chicken. They come in three textures: simple puree (6+ months), Smooth combos (7+) and Sorta chunky (9+).

All of these homemade meals are made with whole, organic foods. I love that they include salmon and chicken in addition to the fruits and veggies. The ones we tried had a good flavor and my little guy polished them off.

Happy Bellies: These are organic, whole grain cereals with added DHA and probiotics. These cereals (also iron-fortified) make a great first food for baby. As I recommended in my cereal post, infant cereals can extend beyond the first year of life since the first two years are when children are at the highest risk for iron deficiency.

Each 3 Tbsp of cereal contains 16mg of DHA which can go towards meeting your little one’s needs. They also contain live and active cultures (probiotics). While these ingredients are not necessary, they are nice additions. My son ate this up like he usually eats his cereal.

Happy Bites: These products are designed for toddlers but can be for older kids too. There are six varieties including breakfast pocket, fish bites, mac & cheese, salmon stix and veggie tots.

We tried the salmon stix and veggie tots. Unlike regular fish sticks, the Salmon Stix contain 520mg of DHA and EPA (for more on the benefits/amounts of DHA kids need see article). They taste really good and make simple finger foods. My 3-year old tried one with some ketchup.

The veggies tots are a mix of potatoes, carrots, corn, red peppers and other healthful ingredients. They are a good source of vitamin A and an excellent source of vitamin C. I cut these into little pieces and gave to my little one as a snack. Both of these products tasted delicious (I can eat them too, right?).

Check out some of Happy Baby’s other products including Happy Puffs, Happy Melts and Happy Tots.They also have downloadable feeding guides developed by health professionals. This is some good stuff.

After trying (and liking) their products, I approached Happy Baby and they were generous enough to offer some product for this giveaway. The following gift basket ($72 value) contains:

• 1 HAPPYBABY tote (16”w x 12”h x 6”d)
• 1 organic cotton HAPPYBABY| bib
• 1 organic cotton HAPPYBABY| t-shirt
• 3 canisters of HAPPYBELLIES organic cereal | Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Multi-Grain
• 3 canisters of HAPPYBABYPUFFS organic baby snacks | Apple, Apple/Banana, Greens
• 8 FREE trial coupons for HAPPYBABY frozen meals of your choice
• Infant and toddler Nutrition Guide written by Dr. Sears and Amy Marlow, RD MPH CDN
• FAQ on Probiotics & DHA
• HAPPYFAMILY Recipes

Here’s what you have to do to enter the Happy Baby giveaway:

1) Leave a comment saying why you need healthy and convenient food products for your kids.

2) For another entry, sign up for Raise Healthy Eaters’ email updates or RSS Feed. If you already subscribe, tell at least one friend about Raise Healthy Eaters. Leave another comment saying what you did.

3) To increase your chances further, become a facebook fan of Raise Healthy Eaters. If you are already a fan (now called like), suggest some of your friends become fans. Leave another comment saying what you did.

4) And for a bonus entry, tweet this post, share this post on Facebook or become a fan of Happy Family. Again, let me know you did it by leaving another comment.

This giveaway is short and sweet and will end Sunday the 25th at midnight. The winner will be picked at random.org. Good luck!

Tagged as: giveaway, Happy Baby, organic baby food, Product reviews, toddler snacks