Over the past few weeks, my panel of reviewers have been trying and testing a number of brand new organic baby food pouches. Below you will find a review of four different brands of organic baby food pouches for stage one and two of weaning - great for taking out and about or for when you simply haven't the time or inclination to make your own purees.
Baby Zilli
You have to be a pretty brave chef to put your name to a range of pre-prepared baby foods. Aldo Zilli and his celebrity lawyer friend Dean Dunham have 7 children between them so you'd hope they knew a bit about weaning babies! The Baby Zilli range starts from stage one (4-12 months) and features recipes all the way up to stage 4 (toddlers).
We like...
...the combination of flavours sound like things mum and dad would happily sit down and eat. The stage one flavours are Aldo's Fruity Punch (pear, apple and banana) and Tasty Veggie Blend (sweet potato, butternut squash and broccoli).
...the pureed foods actually look and smell quite appealing!
We'd prefer it if...
... the pictures on the packet were of the food rather than the chef. Without larger images of the food it is hard to distinguish from the packaging which flavour is which (or which stage is which).
Plum Baby
The new range of stage one breakfast pouches from Plum Baby are a little different to many others because they offer a mix of both fruit AND cereal while remaining gluten-free which is important for a first weaning puree so as to avoid the risk of allergy. The two new flavours are Banana, Apricot & Oaty Porridge and Prune, Peach & Baby Rice.
We like...
...the mix of cereal and fruit means that you can have an interesting breakfast combination even when away from home.
...carbs for breakfast seems to make baby fuller for longer.
...the cereal (unlike some other baby foods, not mentioned in this post) are naturally sweetened with the fruit alone.
We'd prefer it if...
...there were more flavours on offer.
...the baby rice puree was a little thicker (we love the thickness of Plum's boxes of baby cereals).
Ella's Kitchen
Ella's Kitchen are just launching a new range of stage one baby food pouches that contain nothing but one single fruit to help when you very first start weaning. The first tastes pouches from Ella's Kitchen come in banana, pears, mangoes and apples flavours.
We like...
...the single flavour makes it easy to introduce one new flavour at a time to your weaning baby and can be combined with baby cereals or yoghurts.
...the pouches are really nice and small so are good for taking out and about and mean that there is less waste (tiny tummies don't need much!)
We'd prefer it if...
...there were some savoury single flavours too. When we weaned, we made our own purees for eating at home and lots of the favourites were veggies rather than fruits.
Organix
Organix have launched a range of new stage one savoury pouches.
We like...
...the new recipes such as Sweetcorn, Chicken & Broccoli and Pumpkin, Cheddar & Lentils all sound really tasty and introduce some grown-up tastes.
...the colour of the purees looks brighter and more appealing than many others.
...the packaging is really bright and it is clear what product and ingredients you are getting.
We'd prefer it if...
...the pouches were a bit smaller as we couldn't use them up in one go and it seemed disappointing to offer the same flavours twice in one day.
Baby Zilli
You have to be a pretty brave chef to put your name to a range of pre-prepared baby foods. Aldo Zilli and his celebrity lawyer friend Dean Dunham have 7 children between them so you'd hope they knew a bit about weaning babies! The Baby Zilli range starts from stage one (4-12 months) and features recipes all the way up to stage 4 (toddlers).
We like...
...the combination of flavours sound like things mum and dad would happily sit down and eat. The stage one flavours are Aldo's Fruity Punch (pear, apple and banana) and Tasty Veggie Blend (sweet potato, butternut squash and broccoli).
...the pureed foods actually look and smell quite appealing!
We'd prefer it if...
... the pictures on the packet were of the food rather than the chef. Without larger images of the food it is hard to distinguish from the packaging which flavour is which (or which stage is which).
Plum BabyThe new range of stage one breakfast pouches from Plum Baby are a little different to many others because they offer a mix of both fruit AND cereal while remaining gluten-free which is important for a first weaning puree so as to avoid the risk of allergy. The two new flavours are Banana, Apricot & Oaty Porridge and Prune, Peach & Baby Rice.
We like...
...the mix of cereal and fruit means that you can have an interesting breakfast combination even when away from home.
...carbs for breakfast seems to make baby fuller for longer.
...the cereal (unlike some other baby foods, not mentioned in this post) are naturally sweetened with the fruit alone.
We'd prefer it if...
...there were more flavours on offer.
...the baby rice puree was a little thicker (we love the thickness of Plum's boxes of baby cereals).
Ella's KitchenElla's Kitchen are just launching a new range of stage one baby food pouches that contain nothing but one single fruit to help when you very first start weaning. The first tastes pouches from Ella's Kitchen come in banana, pears, mangoes and apples flavours.
We like...
...the single flavour makes it easy to introduce one new flavour at a time to your weaning baby and can be combined with baby cereals or yoghurts.
...the pouches are really nice and small so are good for taking out and about and mean that there is less waste (tiny tummies don't need much!)
We'd prefer it if...
...there were some savoury single flavours too. When we weaned, we made our own purees for eating at home and lots of the favourites were veggies rather than fruits.
OrganixOrganix have launched a range of new stage one savoury pouches.
We like...
...the new recipes such as Sweetcorn, Chicken & Broccoli and Pumpkin, Cheddar & Lentils all sound really tasty and introduce some grown-up tastes.
...the colour of the purees looks brighter and more appealing than many others.
...the packaging is really bright and it is clear what product and ingredients you are getting.
We'd prefer it if...
...the pouches were a bit smaller as we couldn't use them up in one go and it seemed disappointing to offer the same flavours twice in one day.
