Pouches

Heyjordynhey · February 2014

Ds is anti fruits and veggies he's been like this since doing finger foods. He ate baby food fine no matter what they were. But the texture he doesn't like. We do smoothies every day to get some vitamins into him. But he loves the pouches of applesauce or veggies or anything really. Is it okay to give him the pouches in place of fruits or veggies outside of smoothies. I've tried every way possible to prepare them to get him interested and it's a no go.

fusionbride · February 2014

my opinion is that it is better to keep trying the real fruits and vegetables. I agree with PPs to continue try different forms of preparation. A big hit over here is quiche and casseroles-- sauteed veggies mixed with egg and cheese? what's not to love!

You could try mashes-- like baked butternut squash mashed with butter and cinnamon, or with parmesan; or cooked/mashed carrots with butter and ginger;

And play around with textures-- my LO will only eat cauliflower if it is REALLY mushy-- like I have to steam it for ages and it is practically falling apart-- but then once it is soft like that she gobbles it up as a finger food.

But they usually are quite sweet (even many of the "vegetable" ones have banana or apple puree as the first ingredient), so I don't like to give too much sweet flavored stuff.

If your LO is really only into pureed textures, I'd do pureed veggies (either jarred or homeade) rather than the pouches for regular meals. Occasional pouches are fine, but I wouldn't want to get into daily use...

pb_bride · February 2014

We have never done pouches because I don't want to "sneak in" fruits and veggies to DS. He needs to learn what different fruits and vegetables look, feel, and taste like, and also learns the textures of them. With pouches, there is no difference in textures, and obviously they don't get to see what the fruits and veggies look like in real life. In addition, most of the "vegetable" pouches have fruits as the first ingredients.

OTOH, I know it is hard to have a picky eater and you have to do what you do to get some nutrients in your DS. BUT - I would suggest you give a pouch, BUT still continue to offer real fruits and real vegetables to your DS at every meal every single day. If you stop offering real fruits and veggies and only give him pouches, he will never learn to eat them.

Meery82 · February 2014

I've been conflicted over this as well. DS loves pouches and will eat any kind. He scoffs real fruits and veggies. I've only really seen him eat an Asian pear and a sweet pepper, and only a little bit. Green beans seem to piss him off. I don't want to encourage bad habits, but I don't want him to do without fruits and veggies. My plan is to keep offering the pouches for now but make sure to keep offering real stuff as well. It's annoying because I'll tell DH to make sure to give him something and he says " Oh he won't eat that". Well, no, he definitely won't if you don't offer it to him! I told him you have to be consistent and keep trying.

ELF4321 · February 2014

I don't understand the big deal about avoiding purees - it's the same food, just in a different form/texture. If it's the only way your kid will eat fruits or veggies right now, then give him or her the pouches while still offering them in other forms too. It doesn't have to be either-or.

DD has a pouch almost every day as an on-the-go snack when we're out and about. And she still eats tons of fresh and cooked fruit and veggies each day. Giving purees to fill in nutritional gaps while you continue to work on getting them used to other textures is better than relying on multivitamins, IMO.

maryxc1 · February 2014

I still give my 21 month old pouches about once a day because I can't get him to eat vegetables in any form. I still offer regular vegetables with meals, but I think a pouch is a good snack to supplement the nutritional value he isn't getting. Yes, I would like to get rid of them, but I think there are a lot worse things to feed him.

nanabanana06 · February 2014

No, I'm not a pouch person. My DD was a picky toddler at this age as well. We gave her the pouches to get her fruits and veggies. It turned into a huge habit we had to break. I literally took us over a year to get rid of all the pouches. After that we will not give our DS pouches. I don't want that attachment to be an issue later. He eats great though. His only vice food wise is graham crackers. Which we keep to 1-2 a day. I would find other way of adding veg and fruit to their diet. Try things like putting it in pasta sauce or meatloaf/meatballs. We do this pretty often. I'll grate carrot or zucchini and put it in the sauce. It cooks down enough that you won't notice. Smoothies are also good as long as there is no added sugar. You can add carrot or kale/spinach to those too.

shannm · February 2014

Yeah, echoing pp, we avoid pouches too. I think DD had one at a restaurant once. Just don't want it to become a habit.

dns05 · February 2014

I probably wouldn't get into the habit of giving a pouch everyday. If you're feeding him smoothies daily (and you're using both fruit and veggies to make them), he's probably getting the necessary nutrients. The pouches aren't really necessary at that point. I'd keep trying with real fruits and veggies and make the pouches more of a treat. I'm not completely opposed to pouches, but I typically only use them when we're traveling. It's a quick pre-breakfast snack when we stay at hotels. Sometimes DD is hungry right when she wakes up and this tides her over until breakfast. Hopefully, your son will eventually outgrow his pickiness for fruits and veggies.

ateach · February 2014

We do a pouch or 2 a day. She loves them and I don't really see anything wrong with them. We also offer veggies at meals. Sometimes she leaves them, sometimes they are her favorite thing. She rarely has *junk* food (crackers, goldfish, etc). Those are the things I worry more about. Not pouches. She can have pouches forever for all I care! My sister is a nurse and keeps them around as a snack!

jennyelf · February 2014

I think the main problems with pouches are that they are too easy to eat (kids can finish one before they might recognize they are full) the pureeing removes a lot of the fiber (which also makes them feel hungrier again faster), they aren't good for teeth, and when cut with fruit, contain a lot more sugar than the vegetable itself would. I don't believe they are evil but I don't buy them.

Kiddo is presented with food (same food we're eating) and if he eats, great! If he doesn't, oh well. No kid is going to starve themselves and if they are presented with a healthy variety of foods, they will get a balanced diet over the course of a day. There are some meals where kiddo just eats the starch or meat, and other meals where he'll eat only the veggie or fruit and some days where he looks at dinner and says he's not hungry. I try not to stress about it or push food. He'll eat when he eats and if only given healthy options, whatever he does eat at least will be good for him. He's not a perfect eater by any means, but he does eat a varied diet and will at least try foods after it's been in front of him a few times, especially if he gets to feed it to me first (it's like he wants me to prove it's safe to eat and yummy or something).

KatFCo · February 2014

I've never been a big fan of them. I came across these two articles that kind of sealed the deal against them for me. https://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/the_kids/2013/03/pure_organic_buddyfruit_the_case_against_blended_fruit_snacks.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/21/garden/food-pouches-let-little-ones-serve-themselves.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

vamomtobe · February 2014

I couldn't get LO to eat his veggies until I resorted to good 'ol reverse psychology. This will only work if your LO is a little stinker at heart. I make a big deal about how much I LOVE carrots, green beans, whatever's on his plate, and then ask if I can have a bite. He puts some on his fork and offers it to me with a big smile on his face, and just when I'm about to eat it, he shoves the fork into his own mouth and cracks up that he took away mommy's favorite veggies. Mwahaha, jokes on YOU LO.

jennyelf · February 2014

vamomtobe said:

I couldn't get LO to eat his veggies until I resorted to good 'ol reverse psychology. This will only work if your LO is a little stinker at heart. I make a big deal about how much I LOVE carrots, green beans, whatever's on his plate, and then ask if I can have a bite. He puts some on his fork and offers it to me with a big smile on his face, and just when I'm about to eat it, he shoves the fork into his own mouth and cracks up that he took away mommy's favorite veggies. Mwahaha, jokes on YOU LO.

Awesome! I wonder if that's what my LO is doing too. Sometimes he won't eat until I ask if I can have some of his food, then he does the same thing yours does after feeding me the first bite. Next thing I know, he's finished his food and he's trying to steal food from my plate too!

hollygb22 · February 2014

we give pouches.

Right now its mostly Mott's natural applesauce. I guess I don't see an issue since the applesauce is in the same form as it would be in a jar etc.

She did eat a fair amount of pouches but lost interest. I didn't see an issue with it but she also ate fruits and veggies in non pureed form as well.

Heyjordynhey · February 2014

jennyelf said:
I think the main problems with pouches are that they are too easy to eat (kids can finish one before they might recognize they are full) the pureeing removes a lot of the fiber (which also makes them feel hungrier again faster), they aren't good for teeth, and when cut with fruit, contain a lot more sugar than the vegetable itself would. I don't believe they are evil but I don't buy them.

Kiddo is presented with food (same food we're eating) and if he eats, great! If he doesn't, oh well. No kid is going to starve themselves and if they are presented with a healthy variety of foods, they will get a balanced diet over the course of a day. There are some meals where kiddo just eats the starch or meat, and other meals where he'll eat only the veggie or fruit and some days where he looks at dinner and says he's not hungry. I try not to stress about it or push food. He'll eat when he eats and if only given healthy options, whatever he does eat at least will be good for him. He's not a perfect eater by any means, but he does eat a varied diet and will at least try foods after it's been in front of him a few times, especially if he gets to feed it to me first (it's like he wants me to prove it's safe to eat and yummy or something).

I really liked this thanks! I want to try and start giving him meals that are strictly veggies that way he doesn't have a choice. Even if I get him to eat some once a day.
What kind of meals would y'all recommend with just veggies

KatFCo · February 2014

hollygb22 said:

we give pouches.

Right now its mostly Mott's natural applesauce. I guess I don't see an issue since the applesauce is in the same form as it would be in a jar etc.

She did eat a fair amount of pouches but lost interest. I didn't see an issue with it but she also ate fruits and veggies in non pureed form as well.

They're not all just the same as applesauce. Many pouches have sugar added to them, in the form of "fruit juice." Check the sugar content and compare it to the sugar in a piece of fruit.

emberlee3 · February 2014

I give applesauce pouches as a snack once or twice a week. They are convenient. They don't serve a nutritional purpose, but I'm ok with that.

smileybabyboy · February 2014

jennyelf said:

I think the main problems with pouches are that they are too easy to eat (kids can finish one before they might recognize they are full) the pureeing removes a lot of the fiber (which also makes them feel hungrier again faster), they aren't good for teeth, and when cut with fruit, contain a lot more sugar than the vegetable itself would. I don't believe they are evil but I don't buy them.

Kiddo is presented with food (same food we're eating) and if he eats, great! If he doesn't, oh well. No kid is going to starve themselves and if they are presented with a healthy variety of foods, they will get a balanced diet over the course of a day. There are some meals where kiddo just eats the starch or meat, and other meals where he'll eat only the veggie or fruit and some days where he looks at dinner and says he's not hungry. I try not to stress about it or push food. He'll eat when he eats and if only given healthy options, whatever he does eat at least will be good for him. He's not a perfect eater by any means, but he does eat a varied diet and will at least try foods after it's been in front of him a few times, especially if he gets to feed it to me first (it's like he wants me to prove it's safe to eat and yummy or something).

The fiber is in the pulp. Pureeing food does not lessen the fiber. If you strained the puree and threw out the pulp, then you would be discarding the majority of the fiber. Heating the fruit or vegetable will damage the structure which therefore will also lessen the fiber content.

pb_bride · February 2014

What kind of meals would y'all recommend with just veggies

I would start with roasted sweet potatoes and roasted winter squash. They are pretty sweet (esp after roasting) and they are very soft. DS also likes frozen peas and frozen corn.

At dinner, 99% of the time, we have a starch, a protein, and a vegetable. So the meal consists of these 3 things and DS gets to choose and pick whatever he wants to eat from that. I never cook separate for him, but I make sure that our dinners are appropriate for him in terms of easy to chew/gnaw. As PP said, at some meals, DS will eat mostly starch and nothing else. At the next meal he'll eat mostly veggies. Then he may only eat meat for the next meal. I don't stress... over the course of a week, I do realize he gets a fairly balanced diet. Some meals he eats lots and some meals he barely eats. DS is on the pickier side of the eating spectrum and I used to worry a lot (and get frustrated). But I read "Fearless Feeding" and it saved my sanity. And DS is eating better now that I don't stress or get frustrated about what he does or does not eat.

DS loves fruits in general, but there are definitely some favorites and some not-so-favorites. When you say your LO is anti-fruit, how many have you tried and how many times have you offered? I try to rotate different fruits so we don't get into a rut, and also change according to season. Every morning he gets a plate of fruits (2-3 different types) and gets fruits after lunch and dinner. Throughout the day, he is exposed to about 5-6 different kinds of fruits. eg, this morning he got kiwi, melon, and pear. At lunch he had more kiwi, plus pineapple. After dinner he usually gets a banana. We also do a fruit & yogurt smoothie at snack time and I usually put some strawberries in his smoothie. So just today alone, he gets 6 different kinds of fruits. Yesterday morning his fruit plate had persimmon, pear, and strawberry.

hollygb22 · February 2014

KatFCo said:

hollygb22 said:

we give pouches.

Right now its mostly Mott's natural applesauce. I guess I don't see an issue since the applesauce is in the same form as it would be in a jar etc.

She did eat a fair amount of pouches but lost interest. I didn't see an issue with it but she also ate fruits and veggies in non pureed form as well.

They're not all just the same as applesauce. Many pouches have sugar added to them, in the form of "fruit juice." Check the sugar content and compare it to the sugar in a piece of fruit.

The mott's natural applesauce does not have added sugar to it. The ingredients are apples, water, and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

I was referring to that particular brand. Any other variation of Mott's (per my recollection) does have added sugar. I was referring to the consistency of a product like applesauce and how the form of it in a pouch is similiar to how it is normally served in a jar. I can see the point of other moms with the pouches..ex the fruit/veggies are pureed and not in the same form you would normally eat them.

kerbear135 · February 2014

I will give DD a pouch as a snack. She loves any fruit or veggie we've given her so far, but as we're not big fruit eaters ourselves, I find it's the easiest way for me to make sure she gets some fruit each day. I only allow her 1 a day, and she gets the pouch and cup of water for a snack and is fine. I do try to look for the no sugar added ones because we haven't found a pouch that had something DD didn't like in it.

ttimmerman · February 2014

We don't do pouches past the pureed food stage either. I never gave them to DD as a baby, she only tried them when I gave them to DS when he was doing purees, and she really liked them...I think they seemed more like a junk food type of thing to her! I let her have some here and there, but once DS was done with purees, we don't get them anymore. I would much rather have them get used to eating the regular fruits and veggies, even if that means they're not getting quite as large a range (like they'll eat peas for dinner for nights on end, but not touch squash, but they may have eaten squash in a pouch).

twinkletoes3126 · February 2014

We do pouches pretty frequently, maybe once or twice a day. He loves them and I can get vegetables in him. I offer him fresh vegetables constantly but he is going through a vegetable strike. I also love pouches if we are out and about and it's snack time.

jennyelf · February 2014

theresat858 said:

smileybabyboy said:

jennyelf said:

I think the main problems with pouches are that they are too easy to eat (kids can finish one before they might recognize they are full) the pureeing removes a lot of the fiber (which also makes them feel hungrier again faster), they aren't good for teeth, and when cut with fruit, contain a lot more sugar than the vegetable itself would. I don't believe they are evil but I don't buy them.

Kiddo is presented with food (same food we're eating) and if he eats, great! If he doesn't, oh well. No kid is going to starve themselves and if they are presented with a healthy variety of foods, they will get a balanced diet over the course of a day. There are some meals where kiddo just eats the starch or meat, and other meals where he'll eat only the veggie or fruit and some days where he looks at dinner and says he's not hungry. I try not to stress about it or push food. He'll eat when he eats and if only given healthy options, whatever he does eat at least will be good for him. He's not a perfect eater by any means, but he does eat a varied diet and will at least try foods after it's been in front of him a few times, especially if he gets to feed it to me first (it's like he wants me to prove it's safe to eat and yummy or something).

The fiber is in the pulp. Pureeing food does not lessen the fiber. If you strained the puree and threw out the pulp, then you would be discarding the majority of the fiber. Heating the fruit or vegetable will damage the structure which therefore will also lessen the fiber content.

This. Pureeing does not affect the fiber content of foods.

We gave DD a lot of pouches that were just greek yogurt and fresh fruit. It's simply a far easier way of serving food to a toddler who isn't great with a spoon yet. I'd rather put food in a pouch than clean my carpet daily.

Sorry, I should clarify, the process used to make the pouches, destroys a lot of the insoluble fiber,.

Heyjordynhey · February 2014

I'm so glad I got so many answers!
I found the reuseable pouches from Walmart that you can fill yourself.
I have filled them with applesauce out of the jar and yogurt, going to make my own chunky veggie mix then put it in the pouch for him. So far so good!

ah625 · February 2014

Which ones do you give that have high iron content? I'd love to know!

dmhrn13 · February 2014

MrsMuq said:

Tried salad? No? Try it - think spinach/arugula salad with apples, cheese and nuts for starters.

What the what? Please do not give your children this youngnuts. No matter how tiny if one gets stuck in the throat or worse air way, they swell with moisture & kids can get into real trouble.

That aside, all these anti-pouch ladies I guess don't give hummus or apple sauce or anything else like that.

I agree they shouldn't be primary at this point, and yes keep trying especially mixed into things like eggs, but once it a while I give them.

nanabanana06 · February 2014

When did hummus come in pouches?? Why would those of us who don't do pouches nit do applesauce or hummus? My kid can use a spoon. Hummus can be used as a spread. There are other ways to deliver these types of stuff than via pouch.

nanabanana06 · February 2014

Also, I second the salad idea. My 3 year old demolishes a ceasar salad.

nanabanana06 · February 2014

Nicb13 said:

Nana_Osaki06 said:

When did hummus come in pouches?? Why would those of us who don't do pouches nit do applesauce or hummus? My kid can use a spoon. Hummus can be used as a spread. There are other ways to deliver these types of stuff than via pouch.

That sounds really gross! Not sure why, just does.

I know. It sounds gross to me too. Hummus belongs on my veggies or on pita bread with feta. Lol

Goldsgirl9 · February 2014

My child is not a big eater. Never has been. We offer him regular foods and pouches. Some days he wants regular food and some days he prefers pouches we try to both until we can fully transition him to table food. It has been a very stressful and tedious process however he does better all the time. I would just prefer to give him pouches and know he's getting what he needs than trying to force him table food knowing he hates the texture of fruits and some veggies.

nanabanana06 · February 2014

Goldsgirl9 said:
My child is not a big eater. Never has been. We offer him regular foods and pouches. Some days he wants regular food and some days he prefers pouches we try to both until we can fully transition him to table food. It has been a very stressful and tedious process however he does better all the time. I would just prefer to give him pouches and know he's getting what he needs than trying to force him table food knowing he hates the texture of fruits and some veggies.

I'm not questioning what your doing. However, that is similar to what my MIL did with my SO. He at 26 cannot handle the texture of most foods. She catered to his needs as a toddler and he never grew out if that. Now I have to make 2 spaghetti sauces cuz he can't handle the texture of a tomato chunk. It's the big driving factor behind why we did BLW with my son. He may not like the texture of stuff now, but by giving him a cop out he'll never learn to like it.

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