Maximizing Your WIC™ Benefit

By Eileen Thomas, RDN, CSP, LD

Key Takeaways

Quick Overview

This article offers practical tips for WIC participants on how to use pureed baby food benefits beyond spoon-feeding. Written with guidance from a registered pediatric dietitian, it explains that WIC covers pureed baby food up to one year postpartum and suggests creative ways to incorporate purees into everyday meals for older babies and families.
WIC Coverage: Pureed baby food is a WIC benefit starting at 6 months and continues through one year postpartum.
Usage Ideas: Purees can be mixed into yogurt, oatmeal, soups, toast, smoothies, and family meals to extend their use.
Expert Guidance: Tips come from a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist with 7 years of WIC nutrition program experience.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans who receives a monthly benefit from the Women, Infants & Children (WIC™) program, try these tips to make the most of your allotment of baby food cereals and jars! The advice comes from our partner Eileen Thomas, RDN, CSP, LDN. She’s a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Board-Certified Specialist in Pediatric Nutrition. She previously worked for 7 years in the WIC™ nutrition supplemental program helping families make healthy lifestyle choices. Eileen currently works at Lemond Nutrition, a nutrition private practice for children and families. In her free time, she enjoys cooking healthy meals for family and friends, including her young son.

Making the Most of Your WIC™ Benefit

Pureed baby food is a valuable WIC™ benefit offered to babies starting 6 months of age to help provide balanced nutrition as they begin eating solid foods. By 8-10 months of age, you may notice that your little one is more interested in finger foods and what the family is eating than spoon-fed pureed solids. But, did you know that WIC™ participants continue to receive pureed baby foods as a benefit up to one year postpartum! Make the most of your benefit by incorporating Beech-Nut® pureed baby food into healthy meals that even older babies will enjoy.

Ways to Use Pureed Baby Food:

Add pureed fruits to plain whole milk yogurt
Use in place of jelly on toast
Mix pureed fruits into hot cereal
Mix pureed vegetables into soups, stews and casseroles

Try These Easy Baby Food Recipes:

Between smoothies, cereal, turkey burgers and hummus, there are plenty of sweet and savory occasions to use Beech-Nut® purees. For more recipe inspiration for your little one, visit www.beechnut.com/recipes, or click on one of the recipes below.

Tutti Fruit Pancakes, with banana puree

Speedy Spaghetti Sauce, with green bean puree

spaghetti and jars

PB & Puree Sandwich, with prune puree

prune puree sandwich

Quick WIC™ Tip!
Make sure to ask your WIC™ nutritionist for more information on feeding your baby and what foods are appropriate at each stage. If you would like more information about how to sign up for the WIC™ program in your state, you can find helpful information by clicking on the link! Available in English and Spanish.