A complete, nutritious diet helps your child reach key developmental milestones
Belov is here to help: making mealtime simpler, passing on healthy eating habits from the very first bites and supporting your little one's optimal development. That's what Belov is all about!
A balanced mix of different veggies, a protein and a grain! Plus a few extra ingredients to boost the flavour and add nutrients!
An ingredient list that will put your parent heart at ease! No added sugar or salt, no additives or preservatives.
All our meals are
FAQ
What is flash-freezing?
Flash-freezing is a process that maximizes the preservation of nutrients, colour, taste and smell by bringing food to its freezing point much faster than a regular freezer.
This optimizes how well the meals keep and lets us offer you a practical solution with total peace of mind.
How come there's no water in your meals' ingredient list, when it's almost always an ingredient in prepared baby food?
Before we even started developing our meals, we dug through reviews from a whole range of baby food makers and retailers to see what parents had to say about what was currently on the market. Just like them, we were shocked by the ingredient lists of some products that were still marketed as "nutritious."
Many parents questioned the nutritional quality of purées and meals that listed water among the first ingredients (the earlier an ingredient appears, the larger its quantity compared to the ingredients that follow). Water is essential, we all agree, but it isn't nutritious.
So offering meals with no added water became a core part of our mission! To do that, first, you have to truly care about your little ones' well-being! Second, we developed a process that gives a consistency that's easy to swallow without compromising the texture.
We also made sure to add a drizzle of cold-pressed virgin olive oil (after cooking, in the final step of production) for unmatched smoothness. Olive oil?? Yes indeed! Did you know that lipids (or "fats") are essential for development? They're also what helps us feel full. Don't worry about the amount, it's a very small dose, as you can see from where it sits in the ingredient list!
Finally, as Canada's Food Guide suggests, make water your drink of choice :)
Your meals contain a few priority allergens. Did you think about that?
OH YES! Laurie herself is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts (with a few exceptions), molluscs, and used to be allergic to lentils and beef protein. And those are just her food allergies…
Allergies are part of her everyday life, and she says it all the time: The only thing I hope not to pass on to my future kids is my allergies!! She compares allergies to a predator that follows her everywhere she goes.
Recent studies have shown that delaying the introduction of allergens doesn't lower the risk of developing allergies, quite the opposite. Studies from the past decade instead suggest that early introduction of allergenic foods may help prevent food allergies in high-risk infants. That's why we didn't hesitate to include salmon, edamame (soy), beef (beef protein), chickpeas and lentils in our recipes. Note that it's important to first introduce each ingredient on its own before offering our meals, which contain a variety of foods.
Talk to your doctor before introducing allergens to your baby.
At what age can I start offering your meals to my baby?
The recommended starting age on our packaging, 9 months and up, is based on the typical development of a baby's oral motor skills. That said, our meals are versatile! You can adapt the texture to your baby's development: puréed, mashed or in pieces. So the starting age can vary depending on the texture you choose! Note that it's important to first introduce each ingredient on its own before offering our meals, which contain a variety of foods.
Talk to your doctor to confirm when to introduce complementary foods to your baby.
Why is there no fruit in your meals?
First off, let's not start the tomato debate!! We know full well that, technically, the tomato is a fruit, but it's eaten like a vegetable, raw or cooked.
As mentioned in our answer to the question How come there's no water in your ingredient list, when it's almost always an ingredient in prepared baby food? Before we even started developing our meals, we did countless hours of research through reviews from a whole range of baby food makers and retailers to see what parents had to say about what was currently on the market.
We're very aware that fruit is everywhere in baby food products. Yet many parents mentioned they were worried about having fruit in everything offered to their baby, even in prepared meals like chicken casseroles and beef stews. Their concern mainly came from the fact that fruit in meals helps develop their baby's sweet tooth. Instead, little ones should learn to enjoy the taste of veggies without adding something sweet!
Of course, fruit is great for your little one's health, but let's not forget the super antioxidant and nutritional power of veggies! For these reasons, it was really important to us that our meals contain only vegetables, and to encourage parents to serve fruit on the side at breakfast, as a snack or for dessert instead.
Your meals are called complete. What does that mean?
The new version of Canada's Food Guide released in 2019 highlighted the importance of enjoying a variety of healthy foods EVERY DAY, meaning vegetables and fruits, whole grains and proteins.
Since we really care about meeting the highest nutritional standards to support your little one's optimal development, we made sure all three of these components are found in every one of our meals, in proportions aligned with those suggested by the guide and by the pediatric professionals we worked with on the recipes. Thanks to this formulation, every bite is complete!
Have you thought about offering your meals in portions?
OF COURSE!! During our different tasting phases with baby taste-testers, we asked parents to measure how much their baby ate. Our goal was to settle on a specific weight so we could offer our meals in pre-set portions!
Well, dear parents, you won't be surprised to read that NOTHING is more unpredictable than a baby's appetite, not even the weather!! It's not just about one baby's appetite compared to another's. NOPE!! The same baby can have a completely different appetite from one day to the next! This can be explained (among other things!!) by: how much milk they drank during the day and night, how well they slept, the size of breakfast and snacks, age, growth stage, mood, teething, how much water they drank with the meal, whether they're a big eater or not…
After plenty of brainstorms, we concluded that THE best solution was to let parents portion meals themselves for their little one. The GOOD NEWS is that our meals are easy to portion, since they're not full of water (so it's not a block of ice!!). You can easily cut off the amount you want with a spatula, a spoon or a knife, to name just a few!
PRO tip: We recommend starting with a small portion and adjusting if it's not enough. That way, you avoid food waste 😊 Don't forget to put the unused portion back in the freezer until the next meal!!
How many meals are in one product?
As mentioned in the previous question "Have you thought about offering your meals in portions?", it was impossible to settle on a precise weight that would exactly match every baby's appetite. For example, a 9-month-old might eat 25 grams, and a 6-month-old might eat just as much. Many factors affect our adorable babies' appetites (lots of examples above!!) So it's your baby's appetite that will determine how many meals you get per tray.
To this day, Flavie, who's almost 3, devours Belov every day. Yes, yes, our meals are nutritious, even for kids her age, and let's face it, dear parents, 24 hours in a day is NOT ENOUGH 😅 At her age, she sometimes eats half the tray, sometimes three quarters, depending on her appetite!
Are your meals meant for baby-led weaning (BLW)?
Our meals are meant for ALL babies in Québec, NO MATTER which method the parent chooses. Our goal is to offer healthy, tasty food without sorting kids by one approach or another. Each method has its advantages (and its drawbacks!!) and what matters, FIRST AND FOREMOST, is that your little one gets all the essential nutrients for healthy development.
It's worth pointing out that even with baby-led weaning, purées are part of baby's diet, and even with the traditional approach, pieces are part of baby's diet!! Yes, really. Most of us associate baby-led weaning with pieces and traditional feeding with purées. But what actually sets one method apart from the other is whether baby brings the food to their own mouth, rather than with help from mom or dad. If baby uses a spoon to eat yogurt or applesauce on their own, that's definitely baby-led weaning! At a few months old, they probably won't have royal table manners with their spoon, but they'll be just as cute!
Finally, don't feel guilty about taking a personalized approach! In reality, observing your baby should come first, and ultimately you need to adapt to them! Let's keep in mind that the most important thing is making sure baby gets all the essential nutrients for healthy development through food, which plays a key role here! And let's not forget that iron-rich foods are essential!
Why do you leave the skin on most of the vegetables in your meals?
We've all heard that you should peel vegetables before eating them. This advice seems legit, but it's not always necessary! To understand why, you have to look at the nutritional value of vegetable skins. For most vegetables (and even fruits!), the skin is packed with micronutrients in MUCH higher proportions than the flesh itself. In fact, vegetables (and fruits!) are mostly water, some up to 95%. For example, eggplant skin contains fibre, flavonoids and magnesium, while the flesh is about 90% water! So by keeping the skin on, the nutrient content is more significant! That said, it's true that for some little ones, vegetable skins can be harder to handle. That's why it's important to stay alert and follow your child's skill development to decide whether they're ready to eat a meal with unpeeled vegetables.
Talk to your doctor before introducing unpeeled vegetables to your baby.
Why is texture front and centre in each of your product lines?
First of all, our biggest wish is to be your everyday NINJA ally. In other words, to help you as a parent for as long as possible and not leave you stuck with a solution that becomes outdated too quickly! To be an everyday nutrition ally, we had to offer products that would suit baby as early as possible in their development and would stay nutritious as their needs keep changing.
So rather than going with puréed meals, we bet on TEXTURED MEALS! That said, it's true that texture preference is personal. To each their own, as they say! Our goal is to offer nutritious meals to all little ones, so here's the good news: OUR MEALS ARE VERSATILE! You can serve them as they are, in pieces, or adapt the texture to baby's preference and skill development: mashed or puréed. We can't say it enough, every baby is unique and it's important to listen to their needs rather than impose one texture or another (pieces, mashed, puréed).
We highlight the word textured on our packaging, and we're really talking about ALL textures, as long as the one you choose suits baby 😊 Introducing different textures should be safe and enjoyable for our little ones.
As for our oat blends, we wanted to give baby the comforting experience of a more traditional oatmeal! What's more, Belov is all about innovating!! Putting yet another traditional cereal on the shelves, what you might call a "powdered" cereal, wasn't in line with Belov's mission. Our tasty blends can even be added to baby's favourite recipes: muffins, pancakes, etc.! OHH YESSS! And since they're iron-enriched, we help you meet the recommended daily intake! OHHH WOOOWWWW!
Up to what age can I offer your meals?
Our products are designed for ages 6 to 24 months. This period covers the introduction of complementary foods and runs until the end of the crucial first 1,000 days of life (including pregnancy). This phase plays a key role in a person's lifelong health, and it's the perfect chance for parents to offer all the benefits of a healthy, varied diet! Plus, during a child's first months of life, adding salt or sugar to your little one's meals is not recommended (WHO, 2009), and our products are in line with that. HOORAAAY!
On our packaging, the recommended age of introduction is indeed 9+ months, but the texture can be adapted for earlier introduction (see the question "At what age can I start offering your meals to my baby?")
In REALITY, our products can also support the nutritional needs of young children, and even adults. YES, REALLY! Of course, we know our portions are a teeny bit too small for an adult! Still, we encourage you to taste the Belov difference. You'll be pleasantly surprised by the quality and flavour of our products. We PINKY PROMISE, neither baby nor you will make a face!
Check with your doctor about introducing complementary foods and your baby's nutritional needs.
Why do you recommend preparing the meals on the stovetop rather than in the microwave?
We prefer the stovetop method for a few reasons!
First, we learned about the toxicity of certain materials when they're heated. More specifically, even though some plastics are advertised as "microwave safe", particles can still migrate… It's all pretty complex, so for what comes next, we're putting on our super SCIENTIST hats!!
There are many types of plastic, and each one has its own melting point. However, even if a plastic's melting point, say PET, is 255°C, the particles it's made of start moving when it's heated. How can you heat plastic at home? It's pretty simple, dear parents!!! When we reheat food in the microwave in a plastic container, the container's temperature rises too, which gets its particles moving and can cause those particles to migrate into the food. Not very SHARP, let's be honest…
Since this information isn't exactly common knowledge (we practically had a chemistry class to understand it all haha), we prefer to go with stovetop cooking. That way, we avoid adding to baby's exposure to plastic particles migrating into their food. HOWEVER!!! If you use a glass or porcelain container to reheat baby's food in the microwave, no need to worry: there's no potential particle migration with those materials 😊
Second (and a lot less complex), we prefer this method for the end result! The food gently simmers over low heat for a few minutes, giving you an unbeatable harmony of flavours!
What's more, you'll notice the aroma is even stronger, and oh so pleasant for everyone who gets a good whiff of our meals!! Finally, maybe it's just us, but using a small pot and stirring a few times while it cooks makes us feel like we spent hours whipping up this delicious meal for baby. IT'S LIKE A REWARD!! Keep it simple 😉
Why do you suggest adding water when cooking the meals?
We added this suggestion to the stovetop instructions to keep the meal from sticking to the bottom of the pot. As the ingredients thaw, the part touching the bottom of the pot could BURN!! Baby may not be able to talk yet, but they'll definitely let you know they're not a fan if you serve them a burnt meal! So by adding water, the ingredients can gently thaw and then simmer, giving baby a smooth and delicious meal 😊 As suggested on our packaging, you can even replace the water with any other binding liquid: broth, sauce, vegetable purée, etc. Of course, whatever you choose should have no added salt or sugar ! Also, parents who decide to introduce our meals before 9 months can make the different textures easier to handle by adding more of their chosen binding liquid, or even by mashing the meal with a fork or puréeing it.
For microwave preparation, adding a binding liquid is optional, depending on your microwave's power and, of course, on baby's ability to handle the pieces as they are, or whether you'd rather offer a different texture (mashed or puréed). For example, if you want to offer the meal mashed, adding water or another binding liquid will give you a smoother texture!
The key thing to remember is that, as a parent, YOU are the BEST OBSERVER of your little one 😊 Every child is unique, and so is their development. Moving on to textures can be a worrying step for parents, so it's better to be extra careful! If you'd like to gradually offer baby grainier textures and eventually move on to pieces without a binding liquid, that's perfect too! Let's remember that what matters most isn't the method or the texture, but that baby gets all the essential nutrients for healthy development!
