Soooooo...Innocent Smoothies? Good for them or equivalent of Fruit Shoots?

[Teuch]

Bearing in mind I have limited access to fresh fruit and have only ever managed to make disgusting smoothies myself...

DS loves the innocent drinks, but I wonder how innocent they really are...

I can't say for sure countryhousehotel, but I'd be very surprised if that wasn't the case. Even 'chilled' fruit drinks are partially heat-treated to prevent spoilage. So that they last more than the 48 hours they would naturally do.

I think that innocent smoothies are fantastic personally. My son has one with breakfast and loves them. It's fruit, fgs.

Teuch - why do you have limited access to fresh fruit?

Re: Ella's pouches - aren't the fruits and vegetables you give any weaning baby heat treated, given that most people cook the fruit and veg in order to puree it? (Or give cooked veg sticks etc, if you're BLW).

Innocent smoothies ferment unless kept chilled, and unless I'm mistaken, that must mean that they are not ultra-heat-treated. They are probably pasteurised, just like all the cows milk we drink. It does affect Vitamin B6, but does not remove all nutrients, to the best of my knowledge. The short shelf life of a smoothie shows that it has been "lightly pasteurised" and therefore as kind to the nutritional value as possible.

Innocent, (see their website) mention in their FAQ that smoothies are high in naturally occurring sugars, which is why they are attractive to children. They also give info about the suitability of their products for babies. They're not trying to hide anything. I don't really see what all the fuss is about.

In the 'Five a day' advice the governmant used to say that only 1 should be in the form of jiuce, as the carbs are deleivered as a 'hit' of sugar.

But a great source of vitamins etc.

Yes, if you can get your kids to eat it as whole fruit, so much the better, but as part of a complex carb (or protien) based breakfast/ lunch they should be fine

live on an island,off another island with okay local shop but the fruit n veg is always a bit past its best. Do big shopping 3-4 weekly so run out of 'fresh' fruit after about a week!

I have tried freezing berries, etc but to be honest the freezer space is better used for milk, bread, meat since I make such crap smoothies anyway!!

I should add, in the summer it's no problem...we have out own veg and summer ferries/better-stocked shop means we have plenty fresh!!

Just in the winter, when you really need to keep up the goodness...

Oh I see. That is tricky. Do you buy tinned fruit? I believe it is OK if it is in juice rather than in syrup. My dds will eat tinned pears and mandarin oranges.

Well OK fruit is better

but for kids like my 2 that won't srink water (one will happily), they're better than the alternatives IMO

So I think they're great

innocents taste much nicer the FS
I have tried a FS and it wasn't pleasant

My dd has sensory issues with food and fruit and veg in general - until very recently she ate literally no fruit ever. I started giving her innocent smoothies in a carton and she will now have about a third of a carton - but the huge bonus for us is that she has now got used to the flavour and feel of fruit in a way which she likes and in the last week or two has eaten a couple of raisins, then half a grape and a couple of bites of apple. Nothing to most children for my dd it is huge. I think there's a place for smoothies as long as you are diligent about dental hygiene.

Excellent debate, loving it. There seems generally in society to be a perception that if something is natural it is good. As my dad used to say, deadly nightshade is natural and thats not good for you. Fruit is full of sugar. Yes its natural sugar but too much aint good for anyone.

Better than Aspartame though, eh jan?

Only on mumsnet could an arguement about innocent smoothies break out!

Without 'natural' sugar we would all be dead.

Yes, it is better to get it from complex carbohydrates, but to treat sugar as if it were some form of poison is faintly mad, unless you are a diabetic.

Did u mean smoothies should be taken in moderation BBW?

we're talking about children not adults, and children do not generally require a restricted calorie diet, unless overweight. They shouldn't eat too much sugar or saturated fat, but you are totally ignoring the fact that fruit shoots are full of artificial sweeteners and preservatives and have no nutritional value. Bonkers.

i mean the argument that fruit shoots are better for you because they have 7 calories less per 100ml, bonkers, bonkers, bonkers.

Obviously any child in the land is going to be better off with tap water than smoothies and better off with real fruit than fruit in a smoothy. Everyone knows that with half a brain. However a smoothie is may be better than some other foods.

Also they are really expensive so anyone on this thread who is buying them regularly for the children must have money to burn.

Just get a better job Xenia.

xenia, i buy them when they are offer.

currently have 2 cartons in the fridge of the innocent kids smoothies (big pack, not the small cartons). they are expensive, but i didnt buy any other 'treats' this week, as the kids wanted the smoothies.

dd's have a small glass of smoothie a day when i have them, as well as their usual fruit and veg. knowing that ultra-fussy dd2 will get an 'extra' portion of her 5 a day is very comforting.

i do make my own smoothies as well, but admittadly not very often.

i prefer real fruit myself.

IIRC the difference between smoothies and juice is that the fruit is generally blemnded rather than extracted,, yes? So they wouldn't copntain cellulose as the cellular wall structiure is broken down but would contain other forms of fibre, esp. if say strawberries and other seeded or indeeed fibrous fruits are used.

So better than juices, because fibre helps moderate the absorption of sugar does it not?

Therefore the hierarchy is water- smoothie- juice

AKA on the scale of it, not bad really