What is the "Square Meal System"?
Starting solids? Square Baby has got you 100% covered.
Our Square Meal System offers 100% Daily Nutrition meal plans -- customized to your kiddo. We create perfectly balanced meals that are handmade in small batches with organic whole foods. And they're delivered right to your doorstep!
Boom! Like homemade, but better. All of the fresh-made nutrition...but no prep, cooking, or cleaning for you!
Sounds amazing, right?
How does the Square Meal System work?
STEP 1: 4-6 MONTHS
MEALS: smooth textured, single ingredient purees
- Lil Sweet Pea (pictured above)
- Lil Carrot
- Lil Sweet Potato
- Lil Pear
- Lil Peach
- Lil Mango
HOLY SPIT! When you're first introducing solids, some babies will gobble up their first bites while others will spit it out. Try not to get frustrated (because it can be totally frustrating!). Stay calm and remember that this phase will pass -- so keep trying!
HOW MUCH FOOD IS ENOUGH? In the first days of introducing solids, a bite (or an attempt) can be considered a success! This is truly their introduction phase. To make it easy, our Square Baby 4+ mos single-ingredient purees like "Lil Carrot" offer 4-6 month-olds 100% of their daily recommended servings of fruit or veggies.
IT'S ALL GOOD. During this stage, they are still getting a majority of their nutrition from breastmilk or formula, so don't stress out if you can only get one spoonful successfully in their mouth in this first phase. Your baby is learning how to accept the spoon and how to swallow the food. A lot of change from that warm, familiar milk.
ANY 2 SQUARE MEALS PER DAY = 100% DAILY NUTRITION
STEP 2: 6-8 MONTHS
MEALS: Smooth-textured, balanced meals with veggies, fruit, whole grains, and various proteins. Some also have healthy fats, herbs & spices. Simpler combinations and easier-to-digest foods help ease your baby into solids, develop their palate, and introduce allergens.
- Beet Berry
- Peachy Oatmeal
- Greenie Baby
- Apple Rosemary Lentils
- Minty Green
- Peanut Pumpkin Pie
- Almond Butter & Banana
- Apple Curry Chicken (pictured above)
- Mango Coconut Chicken
- Harvest Feast
- Turkey Tacos
ANY 3 SQUARE MEALS PER DAY = 100% DAILY NUTRITION
STEP 3: 8-12 MONTHS
MEALS: Thicker, chunkier-textured, balanced meals with veggies, fruit, whole grains, protein (some also have healthy fats, herbs & spices). More adventurous flavors. Introduces beans and cruciferous veggies, like cauliflower, as baby's tummy matures and can better tolerate some of the "gassier" foods.
- Mango Rice Pudding
- Baby Blues (pictured above)
- Avocado Greens
- Salmon Mash
- Spinach Dahl
- Veggie Scramble
Introducing Square Meals
At about 6 months, your baby will be ready for a combination of foods from different food groups.
Our Square Meal System™ offers 100% of a baby’s daily nutrition*.
*100% of baby's daily fruit, vegetable, whole grain and protein servings based on USDA recommendations per the baby's age group.
Square = balance
Square Meals are perfectly balanced with fruits, veggies, whole or sprouted grains, and protein. Offering just the right amount of each food group per meal.
Customizable
Our meals are categorized by protein source to help navigate dietary preferences/restrictions and provide a diverse daily diet.
Here's how it works:
Flexible and foolproof
Our A, B, and C Square Meals are completely interchangeable within the system. That means, if you're Vegan and only choose "B" meals, your child has still gotten 100% of their fruits, veggies, whole grains, and protein servings -- they just got protein from beans or lentils. If you're Dairy-Free, choose "B" & "C" meals for 100% daily nutrition. You get the idea ;).
Remember that these are general guidelines, not a prescription for your baby. Parents intuition and baby's cues are most important.
Parent tip
Do NOT adhere to the "clean plate rule". Forcing your baby to finish a meal when he/she is not hungry could override their natural cue to stop eating when they're full.
We've left room for finger foods and more
We purposefully provided enough of each food group to meet at least the minimum recommended servings of each food group for your baby (the USDA provides recommendations in ranges). This way, we're leaving room for additional foods to be added to the diet as we know many parents like to include fortified infant cereals into their purees and offer other table foods as they practice with finger foods.
What about 12+ months?
The USDA provides recommended servings up until "8-12 months" -- that's why we specify "8-12 mos" for the "100% Daily Nutrition" plans. But, of course, after 12 months, your baby will still love our purees! As they start to eat more and more table food, use the purees more as additional foods at mealtime or as a balanced snack!
Here's a few ways your older kiddo will love Square Meals:
- Make them into a SMOOTHIE: Beet Berry, Baby Blues, Peachy Oatmeal & Greenie Baby are wonderful on their own or with added yogurt or banana.
- Use them as a DIP: Try Spinach Dahl with pita chips or Avocado Greens as a guacamole! So good!
- Try them as a SAUCE: Sneak in extra balanced nutrition by pouring over noodles or rice. Our Mango Coconut Chicken & Apple Curry Chicken are amazing over quinoa or brown rice!
- Call them "FRO YO"!: Mango Rice Pudding and Peachy Oatmeal are known to be great as partially frozen. Open a jar and serve as an after-dinner treat!
100% daily nutrition. All squared away.
Reach out if you have any questions hello@squarebaby.com
~Katie and Kendall, cofounders
This blog post is for information purposes only and shouldn’t be used as personal, health, nutritional, or medical advice. Always consult with your pediatrician before making any decisions about your child's health or readiness for various foods.