Starting solids with your baby is a really exciting time in their development. I remember looking at all the colorful jars of purée on Pinterest and couldn’t wait to expose my son to all those wonderful tastes.
Homemade blends felt like the right route for my son as I knew the nutritional value of fresh ingredients would be much higher compared to the store-bought food packets.
But when I actually got down to making fresh meals twice a day, I quickly realized that the whole process took a lot of time.
Each fresh meal needed me to buy the ingredients, chop, steam and blend them. On top of that, there was a ton of washing needed with all the food trays and blender equipment.
I was already finding it hard coping with milk-feeds, diaper changes, naps, and household chores (as well as dealing with a terrible little sleeper). Basically I was very tired most of the time and making fresh meals three times a day became an added stress.
If I was working at the time or if he was my second child, I definitely wouldn’t have even been able to attempt making purées from scratch.
I also found it hard to know what exactly to feed my son. I wanted to expose him to a lot of new foods each week but I wasn’t sure how to go about introducing them. Or exactly what he should be eating at what stage.
After doing some research, I found that I wasn’t alone. Formulating balanced meals for babies can get a little tricky.
For instance, certain ingredients should be avoided because of their high nitrate content. And if your child is exclusively breast-fed, it’s also important to feed her enough iron-rich foods which may be lacking in breastmilk.
That’s why when I heard about Yumi’s baby food delivery services, I was definitely intrigued.
They do all the work of carefully designing and preparing baby purées on your behalf that are nutritionally-balanced and fresh.
They use some ingredients that I never would have thought to try with my baby and all of their foods are organic.
Plus, they send it straight to your door in pre-portioned containers.
I liked that I would get the convenience of store-bought baby food, but with the nutritional benefits of fresh, homemade purées – so the best of both worlds really.
In this review, I will go into what Yumi’s organic baby meals are like and how they formulate different meal options for baby. So you can decide if it’s right for you.
In this guide, I will talk about:
- What are Fresh Baby Food Delivery Services?
- Summary Table: Yumi Fresh Baby Food
- Full Yumi Baby Food Review
- Is Yumi Better Than Alternative Ways of Feeding Your Baby?
- Would I Recommend Yumi Baby Food?
50% off with code MASANDPAS: Yumi
What are Fresh Baby Food Delivery Services?
Fresh baby food delivery services cook and prepare fresh meals for babies and deliver them to your home each week.
As they work on a subscription basis, you don’t have to worry about ordering the meals each week. You set your preferred meal plan and they will rotate the appropriate recipes for baby’s age.
They usually cater to the 4-12 month age group and provide purées of different textures, baby led weaning meals or finger food for older babies.
There’s a lot of emphasis on making these meals healthy and nutritious.
This means that all their ingredients are usually organic — meaning no nasty pesticides, fertilizers, or chemicals are used to grow them.
They also expose babies to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. This not only provides them with different nutrients as they grow but also helps to reduce picky eating later on in life.
Some recent studies also claim that babies should be trying a large variety of foods early on, as it may lower the incidence of allergies in later life. So this could be an added benefit to having a fresh meal delivery service which formulates meals with a wide range of ingredients for you.
Unlike store-bought baby food jars, these meals are completely fresh and properly balanced.
This means they don’t contain any preservatives to make them last years on the shelf. And sugar-levels are also kept to a minimum by using whole ingredients — not fruit concentrates.
Yumi Fresh Baby Food: Summary Table
Today I’m taking an in-depth look at Yumi — a new and hugely popular baby meal delivery service that’s even got celebrities like Jessica Alba and Molly Sims as fans!
They make and deliver fresh baby meals and snacks each week.
Their meals are categorized into 7 stages ranging from soft purees to pinchable food pieces and finger food for older babies. Meals are pre-portioned into convenient little jars.
They make and deliver fresh baby meals each week.
These are either blends and purées for babies, baby led weaning meal plans or finger food for older babies. Meals are pre-portioned into convenient little jars.
All their recipes are organic and carefully formulated by nutritionists to meet your baby’s dietary needs.
Here’s a quick look at what they have to offer:
Age Range | 6 months – 11 months+ |
Stages | 7 stages (puree to finger food) |
Ingredients | Organic Made fresh |
Free From | Preservatives GMOs Added sugar Fortification Big 9 allergens Gluten Dairy |
Meal Plans | Starters Only – Single ingredient purées. 6 Month Pack – Single ingredient and combination purées which adjust for baby’s age and development. Baby Led Weaning Pack – Finger foods and chunky ingredient combinations. Immunity Pack – Meal combinations with superfoods and immunity-boosting ingredients. |
Meal Frequency | 1 meal per day 2 meals per day 3 meals per day (Delivered weekly) |
Amount in each jar | 4 oz |
Packaging | BPS and BPA free plastic jars |
Free shipping | Yes |
Delivers to | Most of the US (48 contiguous United States) |
Pricing | $3-$4.30 per jar |
Special Offers | 3 free nutritional coaching sessions offered |
Reviews | Scored 4.6/5 stars from 1,051 reviews |
Special Offers | 50% off your first order with code MASANDPAS: Yumi |
Yumi Baby Food Review
The co-founder of Yumi Angela Sutherland, is a mom herself and understands the desire of parents wanting to feed their child the best.
When she had her first child, she started researching the importance of healthy eating. She came across a study that stated that during the first 1,000 days of a child’s life (from conception to age two) nutrition was more important than any other time.
This is because the nutrients that a foetus and young child receives is being used to build organs and nurture neuron development in the brain. This study confirmed to her that eating fresh, healthy food early on was more important than ever.
However, what was sold in grocery stores at the time was mostly high-sugar, preservative-filled baby food that was ‘older than her baby’.
She knew she wanted to do better for her child (and every child’s) diet. With this need in mind, she teamed up with her long-time friend Evelyn Rusli to start Yumi.
Their aim is to help other parents to give their babies fresh, healthy meals without all the preparation work.
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off first orderS for our readers, using code MASANDPAS: Yumi
What’s Special About Yumi Baby Meals?
As I looked through the Yumi website, it became clear to me that providing babies with fresh, nutritious food is a core mission for the company.
However there are a few key features that set them apart from other baby foods. I’ve listed the key features below.
Organic Ingredients
All ingredients used by Yumi are USDA certified organic.
This was very important to me especially after discovering that many normal fruits and vegetables may be full of chemicals (like pesticides, antibiotics, chemical fertilizers) that could be harmful to a young baby’s health.
Made Fresh
Yumi meals are also made fresh every week in their LA kitchens, exactly like you would make them at home.
Fresh ingredients are purchased every week and they are gently steamed, sautéed, or roasted before blending. And that’s it!
Free From Chemicals, Preservatives and Added Sugars
No additives, extra sugar, or fortified chemicals. This was an important factor to me because I found other services saying they used fresh ingredients, but would add applesauce or fruit-concentrates to their recipes.
So I really liked that Yumi only uses 100% fresh, whole ingredients.
This also means that all sugar content is natural and comes from the fresh fruits and vegetables they use.
In an age where unnecessary sugar is often added to baby food, I felt that it’s great that Yumi is helping kids learn to enjoy the natural tastes of food from a young age.
Pediatrician & Nutritionist-Formulated Meals
Figuring out what to feed your baby can be confusing as there are certain nutrients that they need more of (like iron), and different food textures need to be introduced at the right time.
With Yumi they take the guesswork out of the process for you. Their recipes are formulated with the input of experts like pediatricians and nutritionists, and there are always at least 5 micronutrients in every meal. You can be assured that your baby is getting the right nutrient and texture exposure.
Meals are Free From Common Allergens
For added peace of mind, Yumi promises its meals are big-8 allergen-free (Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, and soy), as well as being gluten and dairy-free.
Meals Are Made Using a Large Variety of Ingredients
It’s really important to introduce different tastes and textures to your baby at this early stage. Not only does variety help to fill your baby’s nutritional needs, it also helps to reduce picky eating later on.
Yumi makes sure your baby is getting a good variety of ingredients in her meals by changing up their menus every week! Plus, they have over 70 recipes that they rotate around.
Help Baby to Transition Through Textures
In terms of texture, they start off with smooth, single-ingredient purées to help your baby make the transition from milk to food.
Then, they gradually expose your baby to chunkier textures as your baby gets better at her chewing and swallowing motor skills. The entire transition is gentle so you can be sure that your baby won’t be getting a sudden change in texture that’s too drastic.
Here’s a look at Yumi’s main texture stages:
- Stage 1: First food singles (Thin, single-ingredient purée, 6+ months)
- Stage 2: Graduated singles (Thicker, single-ingredient purée, 6+ months)
- Stage 3: Duos (Two-ingredient blends, 7+ months)
- Stage 4: Mashables (Smooth, multi-ingredient purée, 8+ months)
- Stage 5: Mashables (Textured, multi-ingredient purée, 9+ months)
- Stage 6: Pinchables (Small pieces of food that babies can mash between fingers, 10+ months)
- Stage 7: Bites (Small finger food, 11+ months)
Yumi Milestone Plan Meal Recommendations
When signing up, Yumi makes nutritionist-selected meal recommendations based on your baby’s age.
They’ll progressively introduce 3-4 new flavours each week so that your child will have tried over 100+ ingredients over the course of the plan.
Safe, convenient packaging
Yumi uses 4 oz food jars that are made from BSA and BPA free plastic. They found that these jars were safer than using glass jars which may chip or crack and so could be dangerous for baby.
The design of the individual 4-oz plastic jars is also well thought out. They use special modified atmosphere packaging to ensure food stays fresh without needing preservatives. The jars can also be reused or recycled, but are not microwaveable or dishwasher safe.
The food jars get delivered to your home in an insulated cardboard box with ice packs inside so the food stays sufficiently chilled.
The meals can last in the fridge for 7 days, 2 months in the freezer, and 24 hours once opened.
You can serve the meals chilled or warmed up. Just remember that if you want to microwave the meals that you need to transfer it into a microwave-safe container first.
Yumi Have a Baby Led Weaning Meal Plan Too
You can also choose to go with their baby led weaning plan from 6 months onwards, in which case you will get soft food chunks that baby can grasp from the beginning.
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off first orderS for our readers, using code MASANDPAS: Yumi
What did babies have to say about Yumi’s food?
The vast majority of parents reported that their babies liked the food and many even start to get excited when they see the jars!
Some said their babies were much happier to eat Yumi than the food pouches bought from the grocery store. When parents themselves tried it, many said that they liked it too as it smelled and tasted really fresh.
What did other parents have to say about Yumi?
After reviewing 1,051 verified reviews from the Yumi website I found that they had an overall rating of 4.6/5 stars. Here’s a summary of what most parents had to say:
Yumi Review Summary
Pros:
- Saved time for many parents: This was the biggest positive for parents as making purées at home on your own is extremely time-consuming. Yumi deliveries meant less time cooking and more time with baby!
- Less stress about what to feed baby: Reviewers liked that they didn’t have to think about putting a nutritious menu together for their baby and it was already thought out for them.
- Reduced anxiety for first-time parents: Some said it was daunting trying to figure out what to feed their babies, but Yumi helped to remove any doubt about whether they were giving their child the right food.
- No effort wasted: Some liked the fact that even if their baby didn’t like the food, there would have been no effort wasted on their part because they didn’t have to cook it themselves.
- Great variety: Many liked the wide variety of flavors available and are convinced it will help reduce picky-eating later on. Some stated they wouldn’t have been able to expose their babies to this many tastes if they had made food on their own.
- Many loved that the ingredients were organic: There were many reports on the impressive ingredient freshness and quality.
- Good nutritional value: Many liked having the peace of mind that each recipe is carefully formulated to suit baby nutritional needs.
- No preservatives or nasty additives: Unlike some store-bought packet food.
- Convenient reusable and recyclable packaging: Some parents said they even reused the jars for packing their baby’s daycare meals
- Prompt shipping
- Good customer service: Even those that cancelled their subscription said the customer service was responsive and helpful.
Cons:
- Some babies did not take to the food: I felt this was to be expected with any food, whether homemade or store-bought as different babies will have their preferences.
- Slightly expensive for some: Baby food delivery services are more expensive than making it on your own. However, if you think about all the time and effort that goes into making purées as well as the organic ingredients in them, I feel the extra cost is worth it.
Here’s a look at some real reviews from other parents:
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off first orderS for our readers, using code MASANDPAS: Yumi
How do I get started with Yumi?
I found signing up with Yumi to be very straightforward.
They ask for your child’s date of birth and your postcode. You then select the number of meals you’d like delivered each week: 1, 2 or 3 meals daily.
After that, they’ll make their milestone plan meal recommendations based on your baby’s current developmental stage. Once you’ve made payment, you can change the individual selections based on your own needs.
Here’s an example of what it looks like for a 9-month-old baby on a 1 meal a day plan:
How do I know what meals will be delivered each week?
You will be able to see the new menu each week from your account. Although you can’t pick the individual jar flavors, Yumi allows you to select various 4-jar flavor sets after you’ve signed up.
What if I need to change a delivery?
You can skip a delivery or cancel your subscription at any time through your account on their website.
Remember to make your changes before the cut off time each week, if not your next shipment will still have to be delivered.
How much does each meal cost?
Each meal costs between $3-$4.30 per jar. Shipping is free on all orders in the US.
You can choose to order 1, 2 or 3 meals a day which are delivered each week.
Examples of Yumi’s Baby Food by Age and Texture
Stage 1 (6+ months) | 100% organic peach 100% organic sweet potato |
Stage 2 (6+ months) | 100% organic pea |
Stage 3 (7+ months) | 100% Adzuki bean and pumpkin |
Stage 4 (8+ months) | Sweet potato cheesecake: Beet, chia seed, coconut milk, date, turmeric, vanilla, Japanese sweet potato, adzuki bean |
Stage 5 (9+ months) | Blueberry chia pudding: Banana, blueberry, chia seed, coconut milk, date, quinoa, purple sweet potato |
Stage 6 (10+ months) |
Coconut, peas, and carrot combo: Carrot, coconut milk, cumin, quinoa, onion, pea, bay leaf |
Stage 7 (11+ months) | Cubano Bite: Banana, Spinach, Black Beans, Garlic, Green Banana Flour, Sweet Potato |
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off with code MASANDPAS: Yumi
Is Yumi Better Than Alternative Ways of Feeding Your Baby?
As I mentioned earlier, you can always try making purées for your baby from scratch. But I personally found that doing it all on your own can be extremely tiring (especially if you’re working or if you have more than 1 child).
Yumi does all the meal planning, ingredient ordering and preparing for you and delivers it to your door. So there’s almost zero effort on your part except for choosing the meal pack that you want.
There’s also no need to check that baby’s having enough nutrients or variety of foods in the meals you prepare. Yumi provide all the variety your baby needs at each stage of weaning by consulting with nutritionists.
There’s also the option of feeding your baby store-bought food purées often sold in pouches or jars.
They’re definitely a convenient choice. However, if you’re nutrition-conscious like me, you might be shocked to see some of the ingredients that go into a few of these highly-processed foods. They often contains a lot of sugar from fruit concentrate to make it taste good and cooked at high temperatures to make it shelf-stable. However, the result is a meal for your baby that’s lacking in nutritional value.
I believe these other baby food options could be good if you’re on the go and need a quick meal for baby, but they’re definitely not suited to be your baby’s main source of nutrition.
Fresh food is always the best way to go especially for a young baby’s developing body.
Is Yumi Baby Food Worth It?
I would definitely recommend Yumi to any parent that is thinking of starting their baby on solids. There are so many positive factors to list.
The meals are made from fresh, organic ingredients. They are prepared from scratch and no preservatives, sugars or additives are included. They are delivered to your door every week so you don’t need to worry about shopping or cooking in advance. The meals themselves are formulated by nutritionists and tailored to baby’s age and stage of weaning, so you know that they’re the right foods for baby.
You can even choose the stage of weaning that you want as they now offer both purées and baby led weaning meal packs. And the meals themselves offer a huge variety of ingredients which is great for baby’s palate and general health.
The convenience of getting all of these benefits in meals delivered to your door with no extra work required seems to be one of the main reasons why parents chose Yumi.
I completely understand this because I know making your own food from scratch twice a day takes a lot of effort. Especially if you’re working full time or have a few kids, meal-prepping for baby can become really stressful.
And if you’re a nutrition-conscious parent (like me), I believe Yumi’s focus on providing babies with fresh, organic, whole foods is a big plus. This means you won’t get meals that are mostly fruit-concentrate with minimal amounts of vegetables (which is often found in store-bought food pouches).
I believe Yumi is a great choice for parents of babies starting with solids. It allows you to provide your baby with wholesome, nutritious food they need for their development while taking a big workload off your chest. Try them out and see what you think.
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off first orderS for our readers, using code MASANDPAS: Yumi
Yumi FAQs
Is Yumi FDA-approved?
All Yumi food is prepared in FDA-approved and HACCP-certified kitchens. They are also certified organic by the USDA.
Is Yumi baby food made in the USA?
Yes, they are made in California, USA.
Do you heat up Yumi baby food?
Yumi baby food can be served cold or warm! If you choose to heat it up, the best way to do it is by heating it in a microwave-safe dish in 10-second increments. Alternatively, you can warm the meals in a small pan over the stove over low heat for about 1 minute.
Special Offer on Yumi Baby Meals
50% off first orderS for our readers, using code MASANDPAS: Yumi