To think pouches are awful?

[AIBUnamechanger9]

I have two DCs and have never fed them from pouches. I see babies and toddlers sucking on them everywhere and it seems horrible for their teeth? Also for having a routine of eating at mealtimes or teaching them to eat properly. I recently spoke with a friend (who I am quite close with and believe she’s a wonderful mum) and she told me her 8 and 10 yo children still eat from pouches, especially if they’re on a day out, etc.

AIBU to despair at the prevalence of pouch feeding?

I tried to make my own baby food for ds2 and dd but it was definitely time consuming and both are fussy eaters. DS1 (11yrs older) had pre prepared baby food and was a much better eater. A mix of both is fine, don’t be so judgmental of your friends and others

I was one of those lazy people who had a poorly baby. He needed purées well beyond 6 months. He also needed high calorie milk and then drinks, which are not ideal either, but they kept him alive and out of hospital and helped him gain weight.

I made purées for home use, but when we were out it was handy to be able to take a pouch. Taking out a baby with complex medical needs is hard work at the best of times.

There are so many reasons that children might have a different diet - it’s bizarre that people can’t see beyond their own experience and simply assume lazy, neglectful parenting.

Do you have a link to that research? Id love to read it.

I only ask because I would have thought my dc's SEN was due to a genetic neurological difference in their brain development (I've got it, one of my parents has it, one of their parents had it - that's 4 generations - how far back does this research go?) but if this research proves it was caused by Ella's Kitchen then maybe I can launch a lawsuit or something.

Presumably you aren't being serious with this
comment @exerciseshmexercise ?

There are many different types of SEN and no one is saying they are caused by food.

Rather poor nutrition can exacerbate existing conditions.

But if you are being serious then yes, diet can affect brain neurology - there is evidence by Prof John Stein from Oxford Uni on the role of long chain fatty acids on brain development and performance (in dyslexia and ADHD and maybe dyspraxia.)

Does your exotic pet have puréed fruit?

For those of us who were weaning during the food shortages before and during lockdown 1, pouches and ready made meals were essentials as we weren't entirely sure when we would next be able to get a reliable supply of various things to introduce tastes and when the supply chain would stabilise.
My daughter was blw, but we used the pouches to introduce flavours she would not have otherwise had (due to shortages) by integrating them into other meals. At 4.5 she is an excellent eater.

Likewise anyone with allergies. They are helpful for when you are out and about and have a baby with severe allergies who needs to avoid cross contamination (like my relative's child).

YABU for despairing.
People use pouches for different reasons and a lot of them have high quality ingredients.

On the edge of my seat to hear how 100% pureed organic peas in a pouch is processed foods which gives children SEN, but pureed peas in your kitchen by you and your saintly ability to be “bothered” is not.

Two huge factors: Water content and pasteurisation. You can see this yourself by buying ready-made 100% carrot purees and comparing that to a homemade version. The one you make at home is going to be much thicker because you have steamed and blended pure carrots. If you taste test store bought pouches or jars, you immediately notice they have a much thinner consistency. Some contain up to 30% water. Water is not a declarable ingredient because it occurs naturally inside fruit & veg so for all the posters braying about "100% veg" ingredients list, that's how they scam you with marketing.

Also the pea puree you make at home is only safe to eat for a few days, as with all home cooked food. You won't think of trying to store pea puree at room temp for weeks. The industrial pasteurisation process done on pouches destroys the bacteria but also a huge amount of nutritional and fibre content.

Yes

And yet… we don’t seem to have killed all the kids who ate pouches over the last two decades! So maybe, just maybe, even if they are not as perfect nutritionally as fresh they’re actually…ok..?

That's not my comment you've quoted.

The comment I quoted did indeed say that.

How is frozen baby food as convenient as food you can buy in a shop when out and serve immediately?

She not a lizard she a mammal. And they love it, they just don’t do well on it. Poor condition and health. People used to use them all the time because of the convenience but now they aren’t recommended.

If pasteurization gives kids SEN, what do we do about pastured milk?

I cook pretty much all my meals (inc for the kids) from scratch at home. But when out and about it’s easier to pop a pouch or two in the bag when it’s meal time because babies don’t need the salt from adults meals and the pouches don’t need refrigeration.

I never said anything about SEN. What a truly bizarre response. I was just talking about the proven reduction in nutritional benefits inside heat-treated food containing fruit and veg.

Oh no, it’s not what you wrote at all, is it? Good try, though. Apple sauce has lots of added sugar. So it’s not the same thing as pureed apple.

I also fail to see how 100% pureed peas, or 100% pureed sweet potato is a scam. Or how adding water affects anything.

Pureeing fruits and vegetables does not break down the nutrients sufficiently to affect their value (Johns Hopkins Medicine). Blending does not destroy fibre. Pasteurisation does not significantly reduce the nutritional contents of food. A simple google is all it takes.

But surely this happens with home made apple and strawberry purée?

Pink - prompted by this thread I went and found some research I read years ago. Extra water, apple as the main constituent, sweetness / free sugars and lack of nutrient density etc in pouches are legitimate concerns - have a read.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59f75004f09ca48694070f3b/t/5a93f885085229b264ff6086/1519646858256/Baby_Food_in_the_UK+_2017.pdf

Obviously not a problem when pouches are used occasionally, but if (for example) you were aiming for the highest calorie density for a child who needed to gain weight, the report suggests home made food (if the baby will eat it) would be likely to be more calorie dense.

I also fail to see how 100% pureed peas, or 100% pureed sweet potato is a scam. Or how adding water affects anything.

So you genuinely believe that 60g pureed vegetables + 40ml water has the same nutritional benefits at 100g of pure pureed vegetables?

That was me. And yeah, i might have been being sarcastic about the lawsuit. It was in response to that poster saying

"The main reasons there are some many health problems these days including SEN problems that research has proved is the result of poor processed food being consumed the last few generations."

Which i find really interesting, and that's why i asked for the link so i can have a read, because it's apparently been PROVEN that many SEN problems is the result of processed food over generations. I can see how feeding a child with ADHD a can of red bull could have an immediate effect on them. But not how processed food has had an impact over generations, because processed food is a fairly recent invention.

I also wondered how many generations, because my grandparents didn't have access to processed food when feeding their children. My parents couldn't afford processed baby jars. My children were fed about 80-90% fresh food. But we are all affected.

YABU.

I have a 2 year old. I always planned to just cook from scratch for him. In reality, it isn't always easy (I still do cook for him the majority of the time). As a PP has experienced, my son was very much a 'don't put me down' baby too. OK when he was tiny in a sling, but harder as he grew! Pouches are great for when I'm out and about, haven't had time to prepare something myself, and handy when he's going through a fussy phase too. He's always been on the small side and quite fussy with food, so I'm often just happy that he's eating something! He's always been great with fruit so I don't get the fruit ones, just the vegetable or yoghurt ones. I don't tend to get the meal ones. He doesn't eat them straight from the pouch either, but with a spoon.

Pouches are 80% watered-down apple sauce

even the ones with no apple in?

Same.

Not for savoury food but DD had the fruit puree ones with Weetabix as a toddler.

She had yoghurt ones for the most of primary school in her lunch box and we had them on days out with us, no need for a spoon and no exploding yoghurt tub disaster (been there, done it, had a stinking handbag).

Thank you! I read something exactly the same as that a few years back, maybe referencing the study hence why we skipped pouched unless out of sheer convenience whilst on the go.

Also interesting to see that that vast majority of Ella's Kitchen pouches contain almost 50% water. I was being too generous with my estimate of 30%.