Heinz Farley's Rusks Original

...Farley's Rusk's are made by Heinz and are for Stage one of weaning, which is four to six months onwards.

Heinz make lots of promises about their foods, and the particular promise they print on the back of the box of rusks is; 'We don't add salt, artificial flavourings and colourings, or modified starches to our baby foods'. I personally think that this promise is quite reassuring to parents because we always want to ensure that we ...
...Care Team
H J Heinz Co Ltd
Hayes
Middx
UB4 8AL

You can contact them also by telephone on 0800 212991.

One last thing - always remember to supervise your little ones whilst they are eating and brush their teeth regularly.


Thanks for taking the time to read my review, Cath. xx
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BACKGROUND

Now that Chloe is ten months old and is still quite small for her age, we have started giving her snacks throughout the day. She normally has one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to go alongside her main meals.

We were thinking about what different things we could give her, and whilst out on one of our frequent shopping trips to Asda's, I discovered that Farley's Rusk's were on offer.

The rusks are normally priced at 97 pence for a box of 9, but they are currently on offer at a box of 18 for a £1. They are available in two varieties - Original and Reduced Sugar. As we are trying to get Chloe to put on weight, we picked up a box of 18 original and put them in the trolley.

PACKAGING

I think that the packaging is very eye catching. The front of the box is blue at the top half and green at the bottom. The words 'Farley's Rusk's' are written in white. There is also a red band going across the bottom with the word 'Original' written in white. The remainder of the front of the box has a couple of rusks on and then a red box which informs us that the product is 'Stage 1'. The centre of the pack has a green box which has a picture of a teddy bear in and the words 'Heinz' written in white at the top.

THE PRODUCT

Farley's Rusk's are made by Heinz and are for Stage one of weaning, which is four to six months onwards.

Heinz make lots of promises about their foods, and the particular promise they print on the back of the box of rusks is; 'We don't add salt, artificial flavourings and colourings, or modified starches to our baby foods'. I personally think that this promise is quite reassuring to parents because we always want to ensure that we give our children the best of everything, and Heinz makes you believe that this will be the best product for your children.

The box also states that they use the finest farm ingredients. They are specially designed for babies and toddlers and are made with the highest quality ingredients. The rusks are also enriched with vitamins and minerals, which are needed for your child to grow healthily. Each rusk also contains one fifth of your little ones iron requirement.

All in all these sound as if they would be really beneficial to introduce into a child's diet. They sound as if they are made with the best of everything and will give my child everything she needs to grow up healthy. All of this though is just words, and the proof they say is in the eating. It's all very well being good for you, but if she doesn't like them, she won't eat them. Anyone of you who has children will know that if your little one does not like something, no amount of 'here comes the big aeroplane' will make them open their mouths to eat it. The only way these will be any good to Chloe is if she actually likes them, so it's onto the tasting part.

SAMPLING THE PRODUCT.

Seeming as Chloe is too young to give me her opinion on these; I had to 'force' myself to sample them. A difficult task, but someone had to do it !!

Upon opening the box, there are two foil packages, each containing nine rusks. I open one of the packets and smell quite a sweet biscuit smell. The smell to me is quite appealing. Upon taking one of the rusks out, I discover that they are the same size as a digestive biscuit, about twice as thick, and are very pale in colour. They feel very hard to the touch.

I place one in my mouth and immediately the piece in my mouth starts to soften. The taste is a sweet, pleasant taste, and I can't really put my finger on what they taste like. The only word I can think of to describe them is 'yummy'.

I also try biting a piece off without letting it soften. It remains quite hard and I can chew it like a normal biscuit.

So if you are not an adult pinching your child's rusks, how do you eat them?

AS A WEANING FOOD MADE WITH MILK OR WATER;

Step one - Very important this - wash your hands.
Step two - Break the Rusk up into pieces and place in a clean bowl.
Step three - Either add some of your babies milk, or some cooled boiled water. I always use baby milk, so I can't comment on how much water to use. I normally add about one fluid ounce of baby milk, as the rusks do absorb quite a bit of fluid.
Step four - Wait until the rusk absorbs the milk and softens. This normally takes about a minute.
Step five - If you need to, crush any remaining lumps of rusk and mix to a paste. You can mix this to a consistency you are comfortable with for feeding your baby. Obviously the more fluid you add, the runnier it becomes. Personally the first few times I used them, I put loads of milk, because I was slightly nervous as she didn't have any teeth and I was afraid she would choke. I gradually decreased the amount of milk I put in to slowly get her used to foods that were not just liquid.

AS A FINGER FOOD;

You can also give the rusk to your little one to eat, without adding any fluid. The rusk will start to soften once they put it in their mouth, and it will help them teething.

I personally think it is best to use which one of these methods you feel most comfortable with. If you are happy for them to hold the biscuit in their hands and munch away, that's fine, but if like me, you are slightly nervous, then I would suggest starting off mashing it with some fluid.

I have given her a rusk in her hand to eat. It does take a long time for her to eat it this way. She puts it in her mouth to soften it and then chews it between her gums. And yes she does get very messy.

Out of the two different ways of feeding, I prefer to give her the rusk mixed with her milk. This is just the way I feel most comfortable. I suppose it has something to do with her not having any teeth yet. I can also have some control over the amount that goes into her mouth in one go. This I put down to my just being a bit nervous.

NUTRITION INFORMATION

I won't list everything that it contains, as this is printed on the side of the box. In short each rusk contains 69 calories (which is good, if like me you are trying to help your baby put on a bit of weight). Each rusk contains 20% of the recommended daily allowance of iron and 15% of calcium.

INGREDIENTS

Again these are printed on the side of the box, so I won't repeat them here. Although I will mention that they contain gluten and wheat.

DIETARY INFORMATION

As with everything else, it is on side of the box, so I won't go into details. The important things it does state are that the rusks do not contain any added salt, is egg free and does not contain any GM ingredients.

MY OPINION

I think these rusks are very nice. They taste good and contain lots of nutrients for your children. Also I find that sometimes Chloe will leave some of her breakfast milk and point blank refuses to drink any more, if I put it into a bowl with a rusk she will take it. It's a good way for me to know that she is getting enough milk.

It is also good to know that I am giving my child something that gives her a fair amount of her recommended daily allowance of Iron, Calcium and Vitamin D, to name a few.

It is reassuring that I am giving her something which hasn't had salt added to it, or any GM ingredients, or preservatives.

I find they are an ideal way to introduce your child to solids because when mixed with milk, you can leave it with a slightly lumpy texture to get them used to the feel of it.

It is good also to use an introduction to finger foods as they are quite easy for a baby to hold between both hands, suck on and then eat. It also gives them something to bite down on it they are teething.

Chloe seemed to love them - she couldn't get enough of them when they were mixed with milk. She also had a good go at eating them in her hand, but she does seem to prefer eating them mashed with milk.

They are not just for babies - I think they are great too. My three and half year old also likes to have one now and then.

WOULD I RECOMMEND

Yes. For an ideal snack food for your little one, which has lots of nutrients and nothing nasty added to them - then these will be ideal for you.

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

If you want to make any comments on the rusks, or want any advice on feeding your baby, you can go to their website which is; tinytums.co.uk or you can write to them at;
Baby Care Team
H J Heinz Co Ltd
Hayes
Middx
UB4 8AL

You can contact them also by telephone on 0800 212991.

One last thing - always remember to supervise your little ones whilst they are eating and brush their teeth regularly.

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, Cath. xx
 

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