Do you give your children pre made meals/pouches?

[soapylaces]

Wondering if you give your babies/toddlers the pre made baby meals from pouch or tray? I do, as it's very convenient. My dd loves them too!

I'm feeling a bit guilty about it as a conversion came up about it with friends and they've never bought them. I just don't know how they do it without, even on the odd occasion.

If you do, how frequently do you you use them?

@Dandy0911 I had a friend like that who couldn't be out for her DS nap time in case he turned into a pumpkin 😂😂

I hadn’t realised that you were meant to feel shame for relying on pouches and jars. Thank goodness Mn wasn’t around when I was buying a trolley load!

@Dandy0911

Yep! DD is nearly 9 months. At child minder 3 times a week so I always send her with an Ella's pouch, fruit and a yogurt.

At home she basically eats whatever we eat.
Mornings she will either have toast, weetabix or yogurt with a fruit Ella's pouch.

Absolutely zero shame! They've been a godsend especially when out and about.
A friend of mine is so Anti Pouches she has become quite unsocial and withdrawn now as she won't come for lunches with her friends due to her DS needing his home cooked defrosted mashed potato.

Love Ella's pouches!

@Dandy0911 your friend sounds strange 🙈 I haven’t used any pouches yet as I’m managing to cook while I’m on Mat leave but I’ll still happily go out and about with DS! I have an insulated food flask that i use 🤷🏻‍♀️ Cook his food before we go out, stick it in the flask and he gets it whenever when we’re out 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also keep pouch spoons in the changing bag incase we’re out at any point and I need to grab him a pouch!

Yes, not solely but especially when trying new things. There's no way I'd be cooking Jamaican Jerk pork for everyone as it would take too long so LO got to try new flavours and I didn't feel bad if it got thrown on the floor.

Not pouches or jars but I sometimes get one of the children’s lasagnes or pasta bakes for a quick meal if needed.

Yep, we still use them now and she's 3! she loves a fruit pouch in her lunchbox, calls them her smoothies.

No, but I did BLW and didn’t give them any purée either.

My lo is 7 months and i use pouches/jars im not the most extravagant cook so this way she can have way more of a variety than the foods I cook.
From next week I'm going to start introducing more finger foods to her.

I did, especially the fruit pouches, but DS was also partial to a jar of Orchard Chicken (which was mostly carrots). It was incredibly handy when we were out and about.

I don't think you should be ashamed exactly but it's worth recognising that they're mainly fruit and cost a lot for what they are plus processing will remove some of the nutritional benefit.

Mine had the odd pouch, especially the ones you used to get free at IKEA. I couldn't be bothered with spoon feeding so we never did jars. Mainly the kids have what we have, though that ends up restricting what we have!

I do think it's not ideal to only ever give kids pouches and jars.

Never used them with any of my 3. Personal preference

I bought the more savoury ones, not all of them contain fruit. From about 6-12 months, DD would have one at lunch or dinner with the other meal being soft finger foods. Breakfast she had yoghurt or fruit.
There are various schemes for recycling the pouches, my Tesco and Sainsbury’s let you put them with the plastic bag recycling.
I found the range of flavours really good, and if you read the ingredients then it is stuff you would use at home. Some people have the time to make things at home, some people don’t! DD is 17 months now and she just eats what we eat.
Don’t feel guilty about how you choose to feed your child!

My biggest gripe is that they are watered down and really expensive for what you get.

Weaned both children BLW having what we were eating at the table. When first child was 7 months, we went on holiday so I bought a selection of pouches in case hotel food was unsuitable. She refused to touch a single one - when I tried it, I understood why. The taste does not even vaguely resemble actual food and was extremely watery. After that, I only even bought the fruit ones to mix into plain yoghurt

They are very convenient when out and about but you pay a premium price for the convenience

I could afford to and to be honest, despite the lack of added ingredients, it's still processed food and I wouldn't be happy having fed him that. I just froze portions of whatever I was cooking. It wasn't difficult.

I used jars with Ds1 as I went back to work pretty quickly and did 12 hour shifts and didn't have the time or energy to make home made. I rarely did for me. Ds2 and DD I made everything from scratch as I was a SAHM.

I like the Tilda rice pouches, they are handy if you go away for a weekend and want to go out for food. All the ingredients are recognisable and they are quite tasty, I have been known to eat the leftovers

I never gave mine jars because the first one I ever opened was off (within BBE date) and smelled and looked horrible.
That just put me off forever.
I even complained to the company (I don't do that habitually but was really pissed off) and they sent me a voucher as compensation. I bought some formula with it.

but I used Ella's kitchen pouches a lot. they were fantastic for travelling and out & about

With DC1 I swore I would make all food from scratch, just give them what we were having etc etc. When I went back to work it nearly broke me - we had no time to cook stuff for us that wasn't too processed/salty/sugary for DC so a pouch after nursery saved my sanity. The Ella's kitchen and For Aisha ones have quite a good range of interesting flavours. Not cheap though! And they are fab for out and about.

DC2 has pouches too but isn't hugely bothered as eats much more finger food (mostly due to me not having as much time to sit and do spoon feeding)

I'm feeling a bit guilty about it as a conversion came up about it with friends and they've never bought them. I just don't know how they do it without, even on the odd occasion

I bet they have bought them and aren't saying.

I do. I have ridiculously picky eaters (right from the beginning- I still don't get it?!) and pouches were the only thing I managed to get in them to keep an eye on how much they were eating. The fussiness around the food is slooooooowly getting better for one DC but the second still makes me want to tear my hair out at mealtimes. The pouches have been a saviour. I'll often add my own food into the pouches to vary them up a bit.

I never have. They just seem like a lot more effort. I’m lazy.

You'll get a lot of people on here talking about how they've only ever fed their children the freshest of foods, handmade from scratch, and how they'd never do anything different.

I understand mum guilt 100% but you have to ask yourself is your baby fed, safe and loved? If the answer is yes, you really can't go far wrong. There's plenty and plenty of time to expand their diet as they get older. I was a baby in the early 90s and was raised on a childhood diet of pizza, chips, beans on toast, sausages, fish fingers - you know the type of thing. And I am absolutely fine!

@Parker231

I hadn’t realised that you were meant to feel shame for relying on pouches and jars. Thank goodness Mn wasn’t around when I was buying a trolley load!

100% this

I plan to use them and will feel no shame they are available for a reason.

I used them for Ds along with finger foods, fruit and toast, porridge etc.
I know people are very judgmental about them but Ds was never as keen on my lovingly prepared stuff.

I use them for out and about or if we're having something not suitable for DD for some reason. They're very handy. And, unlike what some PPs have said, I've had a taste and thought they were rather good!

Also, the fruit pouches deal excellently with constipation!