Ella’s Kitchen Pouches

I think deep down I knew it wasn’t gonna be the healthiest options and if it was on the shelves especially (not in a fridge, and not short lifespan) but it was more for convenience and for on the go for me personally - my child is super picky and won’t eat anything at least she has the pouches when I offer everything else and she’ll refuse! But I’m trying to do more homemade blends now and putting them into my Amazon bought pouches and giving that instead for when I’m on the go to rather than buying those pouches, but for at home I’ll stick to just giving what I normal would cook n eat my self

Think there’s a time and a place for them, a few in the cupboard for ‘emergencies’ but generally I would have made something for my daughter when she was weaning, second due in September and I’ll do the same for the second, wouldn’t use as main option but okay when needed!

My baby is 11 months and we started weaning at 6 months. She's barely had pouches tbh, mostly because they taste awful and I've actually enjoyed experimenting with her tbh! I'm on maternity leave, so there's literally been no excuse for me not to cook for her. As a result she has done amazing with BLW, so glad I stuck to it!

I didnt watch the whole show because it annoyed me too much.
If someone isn't using pouches as part of a balanced diet, or as best they can, thats on the individual and not the brand. We found weaning quite stressful in our house and some times the only way I could get any food in her at all, was by way of a pouch. And I won't be made to feel like a bad parent for it, which despite the statement in the show of being mindful to not 'mum shame' I found the entire programme to be really quite 'mum shamey' 😂
My LO is a year now and we still use the fruit pouches sometimes, or the meal pots for a quick meal on the days I'm in work all day and she gets home late from nursery. They're convenient and handy and I'll definitely continue to use as i see fit😊

I used pouches/jars at the very beginning stages of weaning which I think they’re fab for! Otherwise as soon as baby gets the hang of eating I don’t really see the need for them, unless on the go or emergency xx

I cannot imagine a fruit pouch is any worse

Than the chips beans and nuggets mums

Im sure there are few households that SOLELY feed their child pouches and give no vitamins ever.

Fruit pouches are great especially frozen in this weather

When weaning we didnt use them..

I meal prep for her every week.

Recently she had an AWFUL bout of pneumonia and she only wanted soft stuff. None of which my meal preps were. After day 3 of throwing away an entire 8oz meal 3 times a day i'd hand cooked.. she ate ellas meal pouches and mashed food for about 4 days instead. Saved food waste

With my first I brought jar food once, I tried it and it tasted abysmal now when you take the same whole foods listed and recreate it they taste nothing alike.

It should be a one off emergency reach, just like you wouldn't eat take aways daily. There are parents who solely use pouches at every meal though.

I mainly used them for travelling as I travelled a lot with my daughter overseas. A few veg and fruit pouches for out and about, on planes and in places I didn’t have access to a kitchen.

I don’t plan on buying them at all I don’t personally see the point when in my home we cook home made meals everyday so I can just make an appropriate version of what I’m eating for baby

The only pouches I use are the smoothies as my girl likes them/ eats it all . She’s funny with the actual texture of fruit but loves all the flavours of fruit .

It’s super easy and so much cheaper to blend things yourself. And when you make it you get to choose what you put in.

A blender does wonders on peas, frozen sweetcorn, an Apple, steamed carrots.

If there’s any left (there will be!) you can stick it in a jar, or even better, a breast milk bag and pop it in the freezer.

Then all you need to do when you’re heading out is grab a spoon and a breast milk bag full of puree and you’re golden!

Not judging anyone but thought I’d share this as it’s been a fun and easy process.

Some faves are carrot, banana porridge, sweetcorn, avocado and peas (don’t freeze this one tho!)

As long as your wee one is healthy and happy then I don’t think anyone or anything such as a tv documentary has the right to tell you what to feed your child ☺️ You do you mumma!

Sorry but who would Evan feed there baby processed pouches 🤮

My older son loves the banana and coconut pouches, we still use them as a healthy snack - although now I'm questioning healthy 😂. He never really took to many of the other ones. With younger son I use them sometimes for tastes but he mainly likes trying what everyone else is eating and will rarely eat a full pouch. I think they're convenient, too expensive to use them all the time but have a few for back up options or when I need something quick.

definitely watch the new panorama documentary on them unfortunately they’re advertised as being healthy but one pouch often includes over the amount of daily sugar intake and through the process of making them they loose their nutritional content 😭

I don’t think it’s that they’re telling people what to feed a child but just giving parents information so we can make informed decisions and give our children the best nutrition for growth unfortunately many companies basically lie to us

I think people should absolutely listen to the documentary.

It’s investigative journalism - there’s been a lot of misinformation and an essentially a cover up. Panorama cover important topics and current affairs. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is legal action further down the line.

Healthy and happy now sure, but what we feed our babies shapes their future health and what’s ‘easy’ now can lead to problems further down the line. Health is so important and nutrition is an essential tool for building healthy cells.

We have to remember that companies like Ella’s are simply out to make money and don’t give a shit about our kids.

The way I see it, it's a convenience thing when we're out. We have healthy food when we're at home but when we're out and need something convenient we get a McDonald's. The pouches are like the baby equivalent of fast food. It's not the best thing but it's a quick easy way to fill a tummy on the go. I wouldn't eat McDonald's for every meal of the day and I wouldn't feed my baby pouches for every meal.

I missed the doc! What happened?

My little one doesn't have them every day or even every week but they are so handy for those moments in a pinch!

It's the same with everything, everything in moderation.

But what I will say is my LO went through a phase of refusing to eat fruit so I would give the fruit pouches most days just get the nutrients in, once the phase was over, we stopped x

I think pouches of any kind are fine for now and then, if you're out somewhere maybe but personally I never made them my child's whole diet. I wouldn't miss them. I have tasted them and I think I they aren't very nice tbh. Anything that is stable out of the fridge is bound to be full of all sorts too. Don't get me wrong I am not a perfect organic earth mother but i will dodge as much processed food as I can.

Our kids eat applesauce almost daily. To me this seems similar to a pouch. I don’t see the fuss in incorporating fruit/veg pouches into the diet.

This isn't a new thing that has come out, it has always been known that the pouches especially fruit contain a lot of sugar ( non added sugar) due to the sugar in the fruit.
Did I use them yes, when out and about, would I use them again ... Yes.
I didn't always have time to make something, or batch cook or sometimes I had to pick them up whilst out as I forgot to bring something.