This meal kit from Thistle isn’t for you — it’s for your baby

Why buy baby food when you can make your own? That’s certainly the question food delivery startup Thistle is leveraging now that it has introduced a brand new product line called Thistle Baby. Promising weekly deliveries of nutritious, organic, and pre-prepped ingredients you can use to make your very own baby food, Thistle wants to ensure that your child eats just as well (if not better) than you do.

While Thistle previously seemed rather set against meal kits (the firm focuses instead on delivering ready-to-eat plates to its customers), the company has changed its tune when it comes to the smallest of its user base. As co-founder Shiri Avnery told TechCrunch, “When I became a mom, I would buy things at the grocery and feel like they were not up to my quality standards all the time. Even a lot of the healthier options are over-processed, pureed, with a watery consistency. They also don’t taste like real fruits or veggies. And you’re left wondering how long this has been on the shelf and in what kind of conditions.”

So to do away with all that wondering, Avnery decided to take matters into her own hands with husband and co-founder Ashwin Cheriyan. The finished product was Thistle Baby. Subscribers receive a box of organic, flash-frozen produce that comes pre-washed, chopped, and portioned according to different recipes.

To actually make the baby food, simply open a recipe pouch and steam the ingredients. Then blend everything together for a meal baby can eat. Thistle Baby promises busy parents that they’ll be able to make meals in less than 15 minutes.

As Cheriyan told TechCrunch, “We think this takes 80 percent of the hassle out of making the food at home. And because you steam, puree, and add spices on your own, you start to really learn your baby’s preferences, while instilling healthy eating habits as early as possible.”