Love-hate food pouches

I have a serious love-hate relationship with food pouches. You know, those pureed baby foods that come in a squeezey pouch. I only buy the variety that has both fruits and veggies – it makes me feel better.

My kids freaking LOVE them. It’s funny, because H would never eat purees as an infant. But obviously out of a pouch they are delicious and wonderful and meant to be eaten. And B loves them, too. He can mostly do it all himself and doesn’t have to stop being busy.

So yes, they are great. They get my kids, who are not big eaters, to eat. They get them to eat fruits and veggies, which they do eat without issues, but if it comes to “snacking” and not sitting down for a meal, H would otherwise request cheese, granola bars, crackers, etc. All things I’d rather not give her anyway, because they are not even close to being as nutritious as fruits and veggies – real, whole foods. (And yes, my kids eat all those things. They just aren’t my first pick). Plus, B has a wheat and dairy sensitivity, so trying to negate that when his sister wants things that contain those are a whole other issue. But I digress.

Yes, the love is there. My kids can eat them like they are going out of style. Some days, the fruit and veggie food pouches are the only things they consume other than water and breast milk. So it makes me feel good.

On the other hand, they’re a crutch. Kids didn’t eat much lunch or dinner, give them a food pouch. Kids are too busy to sit down and eat with me, give them a food pouch and move on.

And I don’t really love that. But it’s my doing, of course.

Not to mention they are expensive. I try to stock-up when they go on sale for $1, but that isn’t often enough for as many as my kids eat. So I just got stuck buying them for like $1.67 a pop…and I bought like 30. Yeah, you do that math. That should last us the week. Maybe two depending on how they eat.

And of course, it’s the worst when J is gone, which is seemingly all the time. I don’t love making dinner as it is, and I try to keep us crazy busy when he’s gone so I don’t feel so alone, and then it’s like wham! Dinnertime. And I forgot to set anything out to thaw. So it’ll take FOREVER before I can cook something. So, hey kids, have some fruit pouches and an avocado and mommy will eat…probably nothing…maybe a smoothie. And there, we’re all set.

I hate food pouches.

I love food pouches.