Review: yummy veg and fruit snack for kids- Googly Fruit

When L was smaller we had a little obsession with buying certain veggie pouches for her to eat as it seemed the only way of filling her little stomach with goodness (or so we thought!). Until family member started to mention that L looks jaundice, which was later confirmed by doctors. It wasn't liver jaundice but carotene one which was cause by excessive amounts of carrots in L's meals. 

Upon investigation we found that every single pouch and every single jar L had consisted of small or big amounts of carrots which was the cause for L's orange tint. Since then we are more cautious about what goes into L's mouth and ours for that matter, we try to eat healthy and stay away from nasty ingredients in our food.

Few weeks ago L was very delighted to receive a yummy package from Googly Fruit, who are on a "mission to help kids make a lifelong friendship with fruit and veg...The Googly Fruit range is made from 100% organic fruit and veg with no added nonsense".

We have received a selection of fruit and veg pouches, freeze- dried crunchy fruit pieces and crunchy fruit and veg puffs, Goodly Fruit activity book, sticky googly eyes and "learn your ABC" book all with cute googly characters on the packaging! 

L was very eager to test everything and perhaps would have eaten all at once but eventually picked crunchy strawberry(£1.50)! 

"Our tasty Googly Fruit Made Crunchy are made from 100% fruit. Their secret is that they’ve been freeze-dried to turn them into delicious crunchy bites! They’re additive-free and 100% organic, naturally! From Bella Blueberry and Rory Raspberry to Suzie Strawberry, they’ve all got one thing in common: they’re yummy scrummy and super crunchy!"

The smell was divine and as I have tried them too I can tell you first hand that strawberries taste yummy! The package itself can be re-sealed, same goes for other crunchy fruits from the range. I would love to see veggie crunchy crisps added to the range!

Pouches (£1) "taste them and you'll realise just how good they are. As with all our Googly Fruit products, we don't like nonsense so you won't find any artificial ingredients. Each pouch contains 100% organic fruit and veg (often hidden from your kids) and counts as one of your five-a-day. Don't forget we're super handy and (almost) spill free. 

Fruit ones  have always been my favourite part of weaning, probably L would agree with that, but as this is not about me but about L and other kids wanting to eat more fruit and veg (especially veg for us) I offered L to try a pouch with sweet potato, apple and clementine first. If with the first taste L wasn't sure about it, she didn't mind to try the pouch few more times. I had a little taster too and found that sweet potatoes are slightly overpowering other 2 flavours.

With crunchy puffs (£0.75) "are a great alternative snack to fat-filled crisps. These easy to serve crunch sensations are the ideal size for kids’ little hands - and suitable for small teeth. Once you’ve got a taste for them, you just can’t stop crunching!"

You can't go wrong- great snack, settle flavours, perfect for when out and about or a great, healthy snack for nursery/pre-school.

Googly Fruit branding follows throughout the packaging and activities that can be found on the brand's website and in the paper activity book that can be purchased separately.  Activities help kids to discover the love for fruits and veg through fun colouring, getting to know fruity and veggie characters and much more.

I would love to see how the brand expands it's range and looking forward to see lots and lots of Googly Fruit (and veg) fans! If you would like to give these funky snacks a go you can find them in Superdrugs, Ocado, I have also seen them on Amazon and Kidschoo.com

Disclaimer: We have received products mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Goodness Gracious baby food

L have tried different well - known baby food products, some she food combinations she likes and some she hates. For instance L likes carrot, apple and parsnip pouches from 2 different brands because they are more sweeter and bearable to eat, where as 1 particular brand adds more carrots or carrot flavour is overpowering and L would never eat it.

When we came across Goodness Gracious baby food pouches I was intrigued to see if L will like or dislike them.

"Goodness Gracious Foods serves up an innovative line of organic purees in Switzerland, Europe and all over the world, using recipes that began life in the kitchen of founder Katherine Gubbins.

Goodness Gracious’ food is researched using nutritionists and the ancient healing power of Ayurveda – the Indian traditional health system dating back 5000 years: balancing the mind, body and soul. Whatever you put in your body has an effect. For our babies and children, naturally, we want to give them the best food possible so that they can grow and thrive and live their childhood in the most carefree way".

Pouches from 4 months old:

Apple Puree (£1.10 in Ocado)

I have tried to do apple puree myself but it never tasted right. I don't tend to give L single fruit or veg pouches but if she is not eating anything offered I' willing to try something else. I have offered apple puree pouch as a small snack after L's lunch and I can certainly say that L liked it. I have also tried it myself and it tastes slightly different than your usual apple pure pouch more realistic to what it would taste if I made it.

Pear Puree (£1.10 in Ocado)

Pear puree tasted strong but not too bad, same as apple puree pouches it tasted like a home-made puree.

Apple, Apricot & Cinnamon Puree (£1.28 in Ocado)

When I saw the combination of flavours I thought that it is different but wasn't really sure if L would like that, but she did and finished it all! I have tied it myself as well- overpowering apricot with a small cinnamon hint. 


Banana, Plum & Quinoa Puree (£1.28 in Ocado)

L has never tried quinoa before and I was a little bit worried that she wouldn't take it. Overpowering sweet babana flavour with quinoa texture. The pouch is a little bit too sweet for me, but L didn't mind it.

Carrot, Broccoli, Quinoa & Pea Puree (£1.28 in Ocado)

This is L's least favourite, she is not a big fan of carrots, peas and broccoli in general hence I didn't expect miracles. As I have tasted the pouch myself I couldn't taste carrot or peas as broccoli was overpowering but L just didn't like it regardless.

Pouches from 8 months old and older:

Chicken, Sweet Potato & Spinach Puree with Mint & Lemon Juice (£1.51)
L wasn't keen on this pouch either. She rarely accepts a chicken flavour pouch but will eat a chicken and veg jar, very specific I know. 

The moment I offered the pouch L didn't like it straight away and after few attempts didn't accept it. I of course have tried it myself, I could taste chicken and mint, the texture was a little bit "heavy" for me. I could taste spinach and if L was happy to eat it I think I would put it in a blender one more time.

Organic Mango, Coconut Milk & Brown Rice Puree (£1.28 in Ocado)

L has never tried coconut milk or brown rice and knowing how fussy she is with food I didn't think that she would try the pouch, but she did! When I have tried it myself I couldn't feel any rice, but it certainly had an overpowering mango taste to it.

Pros: Seeing how L eats this pouches I would like to try new flavours.Cons: the pouches don't really have any information in English language apart from attached "bookmark". At first I thought that the bookmark is merely a decoration and didn't look at it properly. I tried to read the words in French to see if they make sense to me, as I didn't want to give L something without checking the ingredients. I think it would be ideal if the label in English language would be glued to the actual pouch.

You can find Goodness Gracious pouches on sale in the UK via Ocado, Wholefoods and Planet Organic as well as quite a few smaller Organic and healthfood shops.
Disclaimer: I was sent items mentioned above for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

L eats- Ella's kitchen

L is a big fan of pouches, when she is not in the mood to eat solid food or a jar, pouches are always a saviour! I was so delighted to receive Ella's Kitchen products for a review as was eyeing them up in my local supermarket for ages.

Our mission is to develop healthy eating habits that last a lifetime by offering a range of tasty, natural and healthy 100% organic foods for babies and kids, which are handy for mums + dads and fun for little ones.
We think it's important to always approach things from a child's point of view. So, we've taken simple, natural ingredients that ooze goodness and created foods, and packaging, that should really connect with kids - with flavours, colours, textures and even names that will appeal to all of their senses.

We have received: 

- from 4 months pouches: parsnips, prunes, peas
- from 6 months pouches: lots of lentils, parsnips & peas; cauliflower cheese with butter beans; tomato and lentil bake with red peppers
- baby finger food range

Parsnips pouch (70g, £0.79) 

Contains organic parsnips 75%, water 25%. 
It tastes smooth, the parsnip flavour is there but it is not overpowering. L have tried parsnip pouch for the first time and at first wasn't sure about it and wouldn't suck straight from a pouch but the moment I put it on a spoon she accepted it without a problem.

Peas pouch (70g, £0.79) 

Contains organic peas 50%, water 50% and are L's least favourite.
I have tried it myself and it seems that regardless of a brand peas purees have a strong flavour which you can either like or hate.

Prunes pouch (70g, £0.79)

Contains organic prunes 100%. 
This pouch was a well needed "medicine" for constipated L and it did it's trick well. As prunes are quite sweet in general, it had a strong flavour but not too bad. It was a little bit messy though as I allowed L to hold the pouch and due to the dark colour the mess was more obvious than with other flavours.

The orange one pouch (90g) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic apples 51%, organic mangoes 30%, organic bananas 10%, organic coconuts 9%, a dash of organic lemon juice concentrate. 
I can't seem to find a single pouch for sale but you can purchase a pack of 5 pouches for £3.25. I have noticed previously that mango is a very overpowering flavour that is the case with the orange one, having said that it tasted nice and L finished it in few seconds.

Cauliflower cheese with butter beans pouch (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic vegetable stock 44% (water and organic vegetables: swedes, parsnips + carrots), organic potatoes 19%, organic cauliflower 15%, organic whole milk 11%, organic cheddar cheese (milk) 6%, organic butter beans 5%. 

Cauliflower has overpowering flavour, but still a nice smooth texture.

Tomato lentil bake with red peppers (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic lentils 46%, organic sweet potatoes 32%, organic red peppers 12%, organic tomatoes 10%.

This is my favourite pouch from Ella's Kitchen, tastes lovely. I must admit I enjoyed a smooth, not overpowering tomotoey-peppery flavour more than L, she is not a big fan of peppers at the moment.

Lots of lentils, parsnips and peas (£1.29) 

Suitable from 6 months and contains organic lentils 48%, organic parsnips 31%, organic peas 21%. 
This pouch has a strong, overpowering flavour of peas. As L doesn't like anything pea related that was our least favourite pouch.

Grab me melty puffs tomatoes leeks (£0.69) 

                Grab me melty puffs strawberries bananas (£0.69)

Ella's kitchen snack range is a great way of developing gripping, picking, grabbing skills and exploring of course.
These grab me melty puffs are suitable from 7 months. L is still a bit uncertain about a new shape and texture but she doesn't mind them at all. They are crispy, melt quickly once in a mouth and have very gentle flavours.

Pick me melty hoops cheese tomatoes (£1.49)
Pick me melty hoops vanilla bananas (£1.49)

These tiny hoops are suitable form 10 months old and are L's new toy. She likes to reach for the and grip few hoop at once. Same as puffs they melt and I’m are perfect for developing finger and thumb ‘pincer grip’.

                       Grip me baby biscuits apple ginger (£1.99)

Grip me baby biscuits are suitable from 10 months old and are great for out and about as they are individually wrapped.

We couldn't taste apple but ginger is certainly there. It will take a little bit of time to get used to a harder texture of biscuits. L tired to bite them but it is a little bit hard at the moment and she found that the easiest way is just to suck on them.

We like Ella's kitchen products for its funky packaging, L's face lights up when she sees colorful packaging and I like that it all products contain healthy ingredients without  hidden additives or nasty stuff. 

Ella's kitchen have kindly sent us jingly apple and funky vintage building blocks to encourage L to ‘pick’, ‘grab’ and ‘grip’. We have thoroughly enjoyed playing with them. I liked building blocks a lot and here is one of our creations.

Disclaimer: I was sent the items mentioned above as well as jinggly apple and building blocks for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Nom Nom Kids weaning pouches

On average every week I buy 10 jars, 10 fruity pouches, pack of 4 fruit pots and a box of porridge. Buying baby food can be quite expensive, so to cut the costs down and to introduce more homemade food, I decided to do my own fruit pouches. 
I came across Nom Nom Kids reusable pouches and when Suzanne-the founder offered me to review the starter set (£20) I jumped at a chance.

Nom Nom Kids reusable pouches for weaning babies & kids on the go. Fill them with home made or bought purees, smoothies, yogurts & baby food and enjoy time and again. Simply fill the pouch, eat and then clean before reusing them. For kids of all ages, from weaning babies to school children. The Nom Nom Kids Pouch has a fun design to encourage kids to eat from them. They are Freezer safe, Dishwasher safe and BPA free.

Nom Nom kids weaning kit includes:

10 reusable pouches

15 caps

non-permanent pen

instructions

recipe card

Before using the kit for the first time I have washed pouches in the warm water. 

To fill the pouch:

- Blow into the spout to fully open the pouch, put the cap on

- Pull the side tabs apart

- Hold the pouch or put it on a side and fill it as far as the top of the window on the back of the pouch (each pouch holds 130ml/4.5oz)

- Seal the zip lock

- Write on the back of the pouch with a non-permanent pen
- Freeze or keep in the fridge for up to 2-3 days

I have cooked few fruity purees which were handy when we were out and about in Pembrokeshire. As L is a fussy eater it will take a while for her to adjust to my home cooking but at least I try!

The pouches have proved to be easy to clean and durable. You can buy a plastic spoon which can fit on the spout but I just let L do the job and squeeze the contents in the mouth. 

If you don't know where to start Nom Nom Kids website has some handy recipes which were tried and tested on Suzanne's little ones!

Disclaimer: I was sent the above kit for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.