Baby Food as a Toddler Snack?
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| My toddler loves eating what she calls “Squeezies.” Photo by M.Adcock |
A friend once told me she gave baby food to her 3 year old as a snack. “Hasn’t he moved on to solids?” I asked and pictured a toddler scooping drippy baby food out of a glass jar. My friend clarified she gave her son only baby food that came in pouches. In this way he ate more vegetables and fruit since he thought it was fun to squeeze the pouches. Companies like Plum Organics, Sprout, and Happy Baby all sell baby food in pouches and they’re all organic.
What is baby food? It’s simply pureed food. Adults eat blended foods like tomato soup and applesauce. Baby food is the same, just packaged differently.
Food manufacturers have already produced products for kids in squeezable packaging. Yoplait GoGurt is a long thin tear-top pouch filled with yogurt. Earth’s Best just launched a line of yogurt smoothies in packaging similar to the baby food pouches. French-based Materne sells applesauce in a pouch under the “GoGo Squeez” brand in the U.S.
Some parents may question providing kids with packaged versus fresh produce. I don’t think the question is about replacing fresh foods, but more of getting picky toddlers to eat additional servings.
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| One of the many brands of baby food pouches available. Image from babiesrus.com |
Like many toddlers, my daughter is open to eating fresh fruits and vegetables, but not all of the time. I tried the Plum Organics pouch with her and it worked to overcome her pickiness. She calls them “Squeezies” and loves to well…squeeze them. I love that the Stage 1 and 2 pouches have resealable caps. The pouches are convenient when traveling and don’t need refrigeration unless opened. Plum Organics does offer a line of pureed snacks for toddlers called, “Mish Mash,” but these are smaller in size than the Stage 2 pouches and come in fewer varieties.
The baby food pouch volume range from 3 oz. to 4.22 oz. and price from about $1.19-$1.49 depending on the brand and size. The key is to purchase in bulk when they’re on sale, often for $1.00 each. For example, Babies R Us recently promoted the baby food pouches 10/$10.
Sure it may be less expensive to make your own baby food, but that’s not the point. For toddlers, it’s the squeeze factor that makes them want to eat more fruits and vegetables.
What other ways have you used baby food besides their intended use for babies?
Disclosure: Author did not receive any samples or compensation for this post. All opinions stated are those of the author.
Great post! We have the same issue with our 16 month old daughter. She wasn’t a picky eater until about a month ago – now all she wants is carbs – bread, pasta, tortilla wraps – not as many veggies and fruits as before. The pouches are great (Ella’s, Happy Baby, Sprout) I feel like she’s getting more nutrients at least. I have been on a mission as of late though to make my own pouches for her – has anyone else thought of this? Making pureed vegetables and placing them in refillable pouches. I’ve found some water bottles at REI that seem like they might work, but how to get the food in there? Anyone else thinking about trying this, rather than buying pouches ALL the time?
Hi. Just came across your site and tripped over the photo first, then the post. Basically, my daughter is the same and I would rather her snack on these than candy. Of course the real thing would be even better but I’m happy to fallback on the next best thing!
Good Stuff!
AW
I made all my son’s food until he started on solids and then I found all these awesome purees and yeah, he loves them for snack.
If we hadn’t had pouches, my daughter would have hardly ever consumed a vegetable. She still has at least one per day. I say the vehicle doesn’t matter as long as the spinach goes in!
So funny, I have a post coming up on this same topic. I have been giving Happy Tots to my girls for the past few weeks. They work like a charm for me! 🙂
I’ll be sure to add a link to your post!
I really like these as well. We’re using them with Matthew now, but Sarah is interested in trying them too. She’s a great eater, so not sure she needs it, but like you said, if it’s fun and nutritious as a supplement, why not?
I LOVE this stuff. It’s a good way to sneak fruit and veggies in without your kids knowing or when they refuse to eat. 🙂
This mirrors our experience. For our twins we used baby food as a “side” at meal times as they grew into toddlers. That worked until they were about 3 1/2 years old, when they suddenly decided that they are done with baby food completely. We think it was a combination of them wanting to be ‘big’ kids as well as developing a more mature sense of taste. Regardless, we certainly appreciated the additional nourishment they got from baby foods in the early toddler days.
Interesting point. My only concern is getting too much natural sugar from the fruits, which are in every pouch combination except Sprout’s. They have some great vegetable-only pouches to help train babies and kids to appreciate their veggies.
Ummm, your post makes it seem kind of wierd for anyone other than a baby to eat baby food. So, if a full grown adult enjoys baby food bananas and squash, is that wierd?
Seriously, it’s a great idea. Our son, even at 5 years old, relished the opportunity to finish his sister’s baby food no matter how it was prepared–jar, pouch, pureed at home–and increased his intake of vegetables as a result. Not the meats though–no one who knows better will eat those things!
I think we’ll give the pouches a try for our daughter who now has deceided, at 19 months, that she should only eat bread and grapes. Thanks!
Interesting article. It is a quick and easy way to get those extra vitamins. Looks like some adults are even eating baby food from jars. See this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/14/baby-food-diet-fad-continues_n_876990.html
Amy
What are the other ingredients in the ‘squeezes’ besides fruits and vegetables? Are there any additives or preservatives? While I could see this as a fun way to give the kids extra servings if you’re on the road or supplementing that quick Micky Dee’s trip, it certainly doesn’t replace the real things!
– Michelle
Your baby is so cute!
I never purchased baby food for Eric (mind you, it was 29 years ago!) I made it! I pureed whatever I wanted to in the food processor and froze it in ice cube trays. I popped out the cubes and stored them in plastic bags in the freezer. When I wanted it, I defrosted it in the microwave. I think the prices for these baby foods are horrible, and, as young parents, we didn’t have the money for fancy food. He ate healthy food (even though I did give him liver, spinach and beets!) and liked most of it. And we didn’t break the bank!