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.

L eats- Cow & Gate Friends range

Introducing veggies to children can be tricky! But now thanks to Cow & Gate's newest range Friends, parents can breathe a sigh of relief. 

Babies are often more receptive to the sweet tastes of fruit rather than bitter tasting vegetables. But, the earlier and more frequently babies are exposed to a variety of vegetable flavours during weaning, the more likely they will learn to accept them.

Friends begins with the starter pack, including four single vegetable varieties allowing parents to introduce a variety of distinct vegetable tastes in the early stages of weaning:

 

Cauliflower

A surprisingly good flavoured pouch.. good taste and L was uncertain to begin with but the flavour seemed to grow on her. A major cauliflower taste to it (obviously), but a quite surprising pure taste to it.. definitely a second best behind the broccoli pouch.

Pea

Now I am not a big fan of peas (I am sure a lot of you can relate to that) and I do not think L is either.. she clearly did not like the flavour as a lot of it did not end up in her tummy, but instead on her hands, bib and clothes. However as with all of my flavour reviews, this is a personal preference and your baby maybe love the flavour.. in simple terms, after a quick taste the answer was 'not for me or L'.

Carrot

I personally have never been a big fan of boiled carrots and therefore did not expect too much from the flavour (other than the overpowering flavour of carrot). But the flavour was ok (carroty – if that is even a word).. but other than my thoughts on the vegetable, the puree was rather watery and did not lack the kind of consistency you get from a carrot or even a carrot soup, perhaps a more thicker puree would be better.

Broccoli

A lovely puree in general, L loved it and seemed to enjoy the flavour. It was a little bit watery but similar to all the puree's, I tried it and really did enjoy it. Nice broccoli taste and does exactly what it says on the pouch, no complains about this flavour. One of the best flavours so far..

As baby begins to enjoy and recognise the single vegetable tastes, the Friends range expands to vegetable varieties with flavour combinations including cheese, pasta and chicken. 

Cauliflower, potato and cheese

                                      
This puree had a good consistency and L was able to eat it. It took her a little while to get used to the puree. I have tasted it myself (as I am self confessed baby puree lover) and I must say I couldn't taste much apart from the cauliflower.

Broccoli, potato and chicken

                                      
Now I will not lie, I was particularly looking forward to this flavour as L has not had a taste of meat yet, so the chicken aspect I was interested in. L took to it quite well, the ingredients were purified well without any massive chunks, which helped as L seems to be gagging on large pieces at the moment. As with a previous pouch I couldn't taste chicken or potato as the broccoli was way too overpowering.

Carrot, potato and beef

This pouch wasn't L's favourite due to it having a carroty taste, but I hope we will improve it at some point.

Positive points regarding general appearance:

• All of purees are purified which means them easier for L to eat
• The Cow & Gate branding stands out and the vegetable character idea is excellent, especially the phone app interaction. The packaging is also very good with an easy to squeeze re-sealable pouch and a cap to cover for later
• There are a good variety of flavours, and made with no added salt, sugar, additives or preservatives
• Size of purees are good. I received two sizes, small sachets for starter feeds and larger for developed eaters

Negatives:

• It would be more ideal if you could refrigerate for more than 24 hours
• Not available yet from major supermarkets

Flavours:

Available in Starter Pack (My First Spoon) inclusive of all flavours, RRP £2.79 at Ocado:

o Carrot

o Broccoli

o Peas

o Cauliflower

Single pouches available for 'discover' stage, single pouch RRP £0.95 available at Ocado:

o Carrot, beef, potato

o Broccoli, chicken, potato

o Peas, sweetcorn, potato

o Cauliflower, cheese, potato

Single pouches available for 'explorer' stage, single pouch RRP £1.29 available at Ocado:

o Carrot, beef, tomato, pasta

o Broccoli, chicken, rice

o Peas, fish, potato

o Cauliflower, pasta, cheese

Single pouches available for 'friends forever' stage, single pouch RRP £1.79 available at Ocado:

o Carrot, lentil, ham

o Broccoli, cheese, pasta

o Peas, potato, sole fish

o Cauliflower, potato, beef

Now for the very cool bit, meet the vegetable characters (as mentioned above):

                        

Claire Carrot, Chris Cauliflower, Bella Broccoli and Peter Pea

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