Return to top
featured in… The Huffington Post CookingLight Reader's Digest Women's Health BuzzFeed Glamour Whole Foods Oprah Winfrey Network CNN Food Network Healthline Shape

Hello! I’m Anjali. I’m a board certified health coach, author, wife, mom and food lover from the SF Bay area (now living in Seattle, WA!); with a passion for delicious food and a desire to make healthy eating easy, tasty and fun! Learn more about me here and stay for a while!

Anjali Shah
Home › Healthy Kids

The Best Baby Food Pouches: 2023 Guide

By Anjali Shah on · Last Updated on
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure.

This is your guide to the healthiest and best baby food pouches on the market today! Learn what to avoid, what to buy, and what to look for on the label!

baby food in the grocery store aisle

When your little one transitions to solids, a common question is: should I buy pre-made baby food pouches or make baby food at home? While it doesn’t necessarily have to be an either-or, many of you know that I’m a huge fan of homemade baby food because it’s so easy and you can control all of the ingredients your little one is getting. I shared all of the recipes I used for Layla and Ayan in my baby food cookbook and put many on my blog here!

But there are those times when you’re on the go, or pressed for time, and you don’t have any homemade baby food on hand. Which is when baby food pouches can be a quick and convenient meal for your little one! But there are SO many baby food pouches out there, and not all of them are healthy. Many are filled with processed ingredients and added sugars. This can set your baby up to only appreciate sweet foods and reject vegetables as they get older. So what should you buy? And what should you avoid?

This is your guide to the best baby food pouches available today!

best baby food pouches

Can Some Baby Food Pouches Really Be That Unhealthy?

The food industry knows that babies shouldn’t be having added sugars when they first start solids, right?

Wrong.

As you have probably heard when it comes to buying pre-packaged food, what’s on the front is often misleading. This is also true when it comes to baby food pouches. The front may say spinach and kale, but when you turn it over you’ll find less expensive fillers such as fruit purees, or even fruit juices like apple juice concentrate. Sometimes in a “spinach” pouch the first 3 ingredients are fruits! That’s because, while there may be spinach, the manufacturer is not required to list the percentage of ingredients on the label.

This basically means that your baby is only getting a sweet taste when eating that pouch and isn’t getting exposed to the actual taste of a vegetable. And in those early months of developing tastebuds, getting exposure to all kinds of flavors and tastes is essential to having a baby who doesn’t become a picky eater (who rejects veggies) later on!

best baby food pouches

Why Is It So Confusing To Find The Best Baby Food Pouches For Your Child?

Ingredient labels are confusing, packaging is misleading. I remember when I first gave Layla a baby food pouch and she devoured it. It was a pouch that said “organic super greens” on it. And I remember thinking: “Yeah! She loves greens!” When I turned it over, the ingredients were: bananas, pear, apple, spinach. What??

It has always really bothered me that most baby food pouches (even the ones promoting veggies) contain fruit. Like why add bananas or pears to a carrot & sweet potato pouch? Carrots and sweet potatoes are already naturally sweet – there is no need for fruit purees to make it even sweeter! Since breast milk is naturally sweet, it’s so important that babies learn the other tastes: bitter, sour, pungent, etc. when they start solids. All the fruit purees are essentially taking over your baby’s taste buds, making them think that if food isn’t sweet it’s not worth eating.

On top of that, many pouches that are fruit-forward and look healthy actually have a ton of unnecessary processed ingredients added. Take a look at Gerber’s Fruit & Yogurt Strawberry Banana Pouch.

best baby food pouches

Sugar, Carrot Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavor, Gelatin, Two different types of coloring…

These are all major red-flag ingredients in baby food. What in the world is gelatin doing in a pouch that looks vegetarian-friendly? And for a pouch that is supposed to have apples and strawberries (both of which are rich in fiber), there is less than 1g fiber in the entire pouch because of all of the fillers added. AND this pouch has 14g sugar. That’s as much as 1.5 Fun Sized Milky Way bars, or 1/3 of a can of Coke.

That’s why reading labels is so important to finding healthy, packaged baby food! So how do you find those pouches? Skip to the end of this post for my list of the healthiest baby food pouches! But first…

Top 5 Tips To Find The Best Baby Food Pouches

  1. Look at the sugar content: Stick to pouches with less than 8g of sugar, but ideally you’ll want to find pouches between 4-6g of sugar. For example, if you look at the front of Ella’s Organic Apples, Green Beans, Raisins pouch, you might think, “green beans are in here, this is great!” But the pouch actually has 13g of sugar from the apples and raisins, while the green beans are a very small addition. 13g sugar is equal to a fun sized milky way bar.
  2. Look to see if the ingredient listed on the front of the package is the first ingredient listed on the back. If you’re buying “spinach and apples,” it’s likely that apples are the dominant flavor. Some companies are more transparent than others on the percentage or amount of each ingredient in the pouch.
  3. Stick to pouches that ONLY have vegetables. These are harder to find, but they do exist. And they actually taste like vegetables! If you do buy one with veggies & fruits, make sure there is <8g sugar, that vegetables are first, and fruits are last on the ingredients list. Beware of labels that make it seem like the pouch only has veggies: there are some deceptive pouches such as Veggie Blends, and Plum Organics Mighty Veggie pouches. These veggie blends also contain fruit, and often has as much or sometimes more sugar than those labeled as fruit blends.
  4. Fiber matters. A good sign that a pouch is either mostly water or fillers is when the fiber content is 1g or less. Aim for pouches with 2g fiber or more.
  5. Avoid ingredients likely to be contaminated with heavy metals. Pouches that have apples, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, and rice are particularly at risk. (For more details: A study done by the Clean Label Project in 2017 found that 65% of baby food products had detectable levels of arsenic, 36% detectable levels of lead, and 58% contained detectable levels of cadmium. A more recent study done by Consumer Reports in August of 2018 found that out of 50 nationally distributed baby food products, every single one of them had trace amounts of at least one of the heave metals which included arsenic, lead, or cadmium. Two-thirds of those tested had worrisome amounts of heavy metals, and 15 of the foods could pose potential health risk. The pouches that included rice and/or sweet potato were more likely to have higher amounts of heavy metal, and organic foods were just as likely to contain heavy metals as their non-organic counterparts.)
healthiest baby food pouches

There are pouches out there that are organic, vegetable-forward, and don’t have any added sugars or fruit juices in them.

So here it is: the healthiest baby food pouches on the market today, the brands I love, and which pouches to buy.

A special shout out to Alison Corey from Keeping the Peas who helped me with some of the research for this post! If a pouch is not listed on this list, it’s likely either high in heavy metals (per the Consumer Reports and Clean Label Project studies) or too high in sugar/fruits/processed ingredients, and should be avoided. But if you have a question about a particular pouch, don’t hesitate to ask in the comments of this post!

What Makes These the Best Baby Food Pouches?

  • They contain between 0-8g of natural sugar; and 0g added sugar
  • They have 2g fiber or more
  • They are all organic
  • They don’t carry a risk of heavy metals

The Best Baby Food Pouches (Organized by Brand)

Holle Organic Baby Food: Holle’s baby food is made in Europe and is certified both Organic and Biodynamic, which means that their farming practices go above and beyond just regular organic standards. All of their baby food is unsweetened, I love these flavors from this brand:

Cerebelly Organic Custom Pouches: All of Cerebelly’s pouches are super healthy and made with 100% organic ingredients. All of their pouches were developed by their founder – a neuroscientist and mom who is dedicated to creating the highest quality baby food possible. The way it works is super simple: you fill out a quick survey that tells Cerebelly your child’s age and what they’re up to. Cerebelly recommends a personalized pack of organic purees with the right blend of nutrients, and it gets shipped right to your door! The best part – they offer 20% off your first order + free shipping with the code: FIRSTORDER20!

Yumi Organic Baby and Toddler Food. Yumi prides itself on creating custom blends for your baby that are 100% organic, made with real food, customized based on your baby’s stage of eating (from Stage 1 purees all the way to snacks and mini meals!). Their food comes in little jars – not pouches – as it’s made fresh and delivered weekly, straight to your door. You can also be confident that Yumi’s food contains no heavy metals, as they partner with trusted farms that are USDA Certified Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified and follow rigorous food safety testing. They look at federal data on soil contamination to find the best farms. Lastly, you get to choose from their range of 60+ unique organic meals you won’t find anywhere else, handpicked by nutritionists to support every milestone! Yumi is also offering 50% off your first order with the code: PICKY50!

Serenity Kids

I love Serenity Kids because ALL of their pouches are under 5 grams of sugar! They’re 100% organic, made with super clean ingredients, has no added preservatives or sugars, and were created by a husband and wife team trying to find a better option for baby food for their daughter. Here are all of hte pouches I love – use the code PICKY to get 15% off your first order!

  1. SK – Kabocha Squash, Butternut, Pumpkin, 2g Sugar
  2. SK – Butternut Squash + Spinach, 2g Sugar
  3. SK – Carrot, Spinach and Basil, 3g Sugar
  4. SK – Chicken, Beef, Pork or Wild Salmon (choose your variety here), 2-3g Sugar
  5. SK – Carrots, 4g Sugar
  6. SK – Sweet Potato + Parsnip, 4g Sugar
  7. SK – Mixed Root Veggies, 4g Sugar
  8. SK – Sweet Potato + Spinach, 4g Sugar

White Leaf Provisions: WLP is a family business run by a husband and wife team who are bringing the first 100% regeneratively farmed, biodynamic, organic & GMO-Free baby food line to retail in the US! I love their pouches because the ingredients are so pure, and the majority of them have less than 8 grams of sugar per pouch! And, they are offering all of my readers 10% off your purchase by using the code “PICKYEATS” at checkout! My two favorites are:

  1. WLP – Pumpkin + Nectarine, 5g Sugar
  2. WLP – Peach + Oat, 7g Sugar
  3. WLP – Pumpkin + Nectarine, 5g Sugar
  4. WLP – Peach + Oat, 7g Sugar

Amara Organic – Note: these do not come in a pouch that is ready to serve – they need to be mixed with water or milk and served in a bowl. But these are still a good option if your baby is ok eating from a bowl/spoon and you need an option that saves you time!

  1. Amara – Black Bean and Sweet Corn, 0g Sugar
  2. Amara – Peas, Corn, Carrots, 2g Sugar
  3. Amara – Potato Kale Mash, 2g Sugar
  4. Amara – Pumpkin + Pear, 2g Sugar
  5. Amara – Sweet Potato Raspberry, 5g Sugar
  6. Amara – Oats and Berries, 5g Sugar

Ella’s Kitchen Organic

  1. Ella’s Kitchen Veggie Bean Feast, 1g Sugar
  2. Ella’s Spaghetti and Meatball, 1g Sugar
  3. Ella’s Beefy Stew, 2g Sugar
  4. Ella’s Vegetable and Lentil Bake, 3g Sugar
  5. Ella’s Pears, Peas, and Broccoli, 8g Sugar

Beechnut Organics

  1. Beechnut Peas & Spinach, 2g Sugar
  2. Beechnut Peas, Green Bean and Avocado, 4g
  3. Beechnut Corn, Kale, Quinoa, 4g Sugar
  4. Beechnut Veggies, Squash, Peas, Pear, 6g Sugar
  5. Beechnut Apple, Kiwi, Spinach, 6g Sugar
  6. Beechnut Pear, Pumpkin, Cranberry, 7g Sugar
  7. Beechnut Veggies, Carrots, Zucchini, Pear, 7g Sugar
  8. Beechnut Apple, Black Bean, Raspberry, 8g Sugar

Sprout Organic

  1. Sprout – Green bean, peas, butternut squash, 1g Sugar
  2. Sprout – Butternut squash, chickpea, quinoa, dates, 4g Sugar
  3. Sprout – Butternut Squash, Blueberry, Apple, with Beans, 5g Sugar
  4. Sprout – Mixed Berry Oatmeal, 7g Sugar

Plum Organics

  1. Plum – Hearty Veggie, Pumpkin, Spinach, Chickpea and Broccoli, 1g Sugar
  2. Plum – Hearty Veggie, Corn, Kale, Carrot and Tomato, 1g Sugar
  3. Plum – Hearty Veggie, Butternut Squash, Carrot, Chickpea and Corn, 1g Sugar
  4. Plum – Hearty Veggie, Carrots, Beans, Spinach and Tomato, 2g Sugar
  5. Plum – Stage 3 Meals, Carrot, Spinach, Turkey, Corn, Apple, Potato, Celery, Onion, 2g Sugar
  6. Plum – Stage 3 Meals, Carrot, Chickpea, Pea, Beef, Tomato, Celery, Date, Onion, 4g Sugar
  7. Plum – Eat Your Colors Red, 5g Sugar
  8. Plum – Eat Your Colors Orange, 5g Sugar
  9. Plum – Pear, Green Bean and Greek Yogurt, 6g Sugar
  10. Plum – Pear Spinach and Pea, 6g Sugar
  11. Plum – Pear, Purple Carrot and Blueberry, 7g Sugar
  12. Plum – Eat Your Colors Green, 7g Sugar
  13. Plum – Mighty 4 – Guava, Banana, Black Bean, Carrot, Oat, 7g Sugar
  14. Plum – Mighty 4 – Pear, Cherry, Blackberry, Strawberry, Spinach, 7g Sugar

Happy Family Organics

  1. HF – Hearty Meals, Root Vegetables, Turkey and Quinoa, 2g Sugar
  2. HF – Hearty Meals, Harvest Vegetables, Chicken and Quinoa, 2g Sugar
  3. HF – Hearty Meals, Vegetable Beef Medley, 3g Sugar
  4. HF – Green Beans, Spinach, and Pears, 4g Sugar
  5. HF – Zucchini, Pear, Chickpea, Kale 5g Sugar
  6. HF – Purple Carrots, Banana, Avocado, and Quinoa, 6g Sugar
  7. HF – Zucchini, Apples, Peas, Quinoa, and Basil, 6g Sugar
  8. HF – Pear, Green Beans, Peas + Super Chia,  6g Sugar
  9. HF – Pears, Kale, and Spinach, 7g Sugar
  10. HF – Black Beans, Beets and Bananas, 7g Sugar
  11. HF – Pears, Pumpkin, Peaches, and Granola, 7g Sugar
  12. HF – Pears, Peas, Broccoli, 7g Sugar in the new formulation
  13. HF – Pumpkin, Apples, Peached and Cinnamon, 8g
  14. HF – Pears, Squash, and Blackberries, 8g Sugar
  15. HF – Pears, Zucchini, Peas, 8g Sugar
  16. HF – Pears, Pumpkin, Passionfruit, 8g Sugar

Earth’s Best

  1. EB – Broccoli, Red Lentil, Oat, 1g Sugar
  2. EB – Spinach & Potato, 1g Sugar
  3. EB – Carrots & Broccoli, 2g Sugar
  4. EB – Winter Squash, 2g Sugar
  5. EB – Summer Vegetable Dinner, 2g Sugar
  6. EB – Corn & Butternut Squash, 3g Sugar
  7. EB – Peas & Brown Rice, 4g Sugar
  8. EB – Zucchini & Broccoli Medley, 4g Sugar
  9. EB – Spring Vegetables & Pasta, 4g Sugar

Note: If you are in Canada, Baby Gourmet has a couple of good options (e.g. their roasted squash and fruit medley has only 6 grams of sugar!), and their savory meals are low in sugar as well!

I used many of the pouches on this list (prioritizing the flavors listed in bold since those contain only veggies) for my kids when I needed a meal on the go. One thing to note on these pouches is that even if you use them regularly, it’s still important to incorporate a variety of finger foods so your baby becomes familiar with the different textures and flavors of non-pureed food.

healthiest baby food pouches

I know the baby food aisle can be overwhelming at times, but I hope this post helps you find the healthiest baby food pouches with confidence! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment on this post or contact me here! I respond to every single message I get! 🙂

Looking for the best baby products? Learn more about my favorite kids daily multivitamin that is included in my article on best multivitamin for kids. Or check out these fantastic products for your kids:

You may also like...

106 responses to “The Best Baby Food Pouches: 2023 Guide”

Newer Comments »

  1. My little guy will turn 6 months in 2 weeks. With my first I skipped cereals and started him with Avocados. Wondering if I should do the same for baby number two or if I should buy oatmeal cereal?

    Reply

    • Hi Julie! You can skip cereal and start with avocados — that’s generally what I recommend! You can do a bunch of different veggies purees and then give him actual cooked oatmeal (just grind up organic rolled oats into a “flour” and cook them the way you would regular oatmeal, and serve that to your baby). Hope that helps!

      Reply

  2. Wonderful post and just what I was looking for
    When researching pouches!

    I read some replies and you suggest NOT using puffs or melts

    What would you suggest for alternatives for these for snacking on the go? And for diff textures for
    Snacking? (Planning a trip and need pouches and snacks)

    Thank you!

    Reply

    • Hi Liz! Unfortunately all of the pre-made baby oatmeal brands (even the organic ones) are likely high in heavy metals. Rice cereals are not healthy – they’re high in heavy metals and arsenic, they’re really refined and basically just are empty calories. And the puffs are even worse – high in sugar, processed ingredients, empty calories, and make babies crave sweet things. So I wouldn’t recommend any of those! For oatmeal, I’d just recommend grinding up rolled oats into a flour like consistency, and cooking it the way you would regular oatmeal. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  5. This is such an amazingly clear and informative post. It was invaluable when researching healthy options for pouches I could buy on amazon ahead of a short weekend vacation. Thank you, thank you!

    Reply

  6. Hi! For now, I’ve been making my baby’s food and I plan to continue , but as she grows, I know this will be tougher as she’s more on the go. I’d like to know, out of these pouches, which are the best ? I have not seen the Ella’s or the second one listed in stores, are they typically only available online?

    Reply

    • Hi Emily! It’s great that you’re planning ahead! And honestly, all of the pouches on this list are pretty comparable (e.g. they’re all organic, low in sugar, etc). Most of them are only available online because even if a particular brand is available in grocery stores — the pouches most grocery stores carry are usually the sweeter ones that I wouldn’t recommend (e.g. more than 8g sugar per serving). So if you’re choosing between the pouches on this list, I’d go with the flavors your child is most likely to enjoy, and feel free to mix and match brands too — e.g. all of your pouches don’t have to come from just one brand since they are all pretty comparable! Hope that helps!

      Reply

      • Hi, thank you for the list of healthy pouches. My husband has been making all of our daughter’s meals since she started solids at 6 months (just turned a year), but with his busy work schedule it is getting more difficult. One thing I noticed was that I give her beachnut oatmeal whole grain in the mornings sometimes…should I not be doing this? Also I have just started giving her stoneyfield organic kids yogurt, but just read it has 9g sugar….are these two bad options I’ve been filling my baby with?

      • Hi Sheryl! I’m so glad you found this post helpful! To your question — there’s a chance that the pre-made baby oatmeals have a higher amount of heavy metals than regular, organic rolled oats. So instead of using Beechnut’s oatmeal, I’d just recommend grinding up organic rolled oats yourself into a fine powder, and cooking that the way you would regular oatmeal for your daughter. For Stonyfield Organic Kids Yogurt – it depends on which one you’re using. Are you using the plain, whole milk kids yogurt? Or is it flavored (like strawberry, vanilla, blueberry, etc.)? If it’s flavored, I wouldn’t use it because the flavored varieties have a bunch of added sugar. If it’s plain organic whole milk yogurt, that’s totally fine – the sugar you see on the label will be the naturally occurring lactose found in milk and yogurt. So basically, for yogurt, plain and unflavored is the way to go. Hope that helps!

  7. This is such great information! My baby is 4 months are starting foods soon and I’m excited to have more information to buy the best foods! I am curious if the gerber organic pouches are okay? I was checking all the requirements you listed and it seemed like some qualified. Could you give me some insight on those? Thank you:)

    Reply

    • Hi Brit! I actually haven’t found any Gerber Organic pouches to be healthy enough — they either fall into one of two categories: 1) Has sweet potatoes or rice cereal or baby oatmeal added — all of which run the risk of heavy metal contamination or 2) Has 10g sugar or more per serving. I’d recommend one of the pouches on my list instead!

      Reply

  8. Hi!
    I noticed on the juice & Drinks Shopping List 5. Ella’s Kitchen Superr Sweet Potato + mango smoothie Drink
    1st ingredient is apple then sweet potato
    Sugar content is 9
    This product is listed on your top 5 juice and drink list.
    I’m confused I read to avoid sweet potato
    Why is Apple first ingredient and thought best to avoid apple.

    Reply

    • Hi Marie! Can you show me where you saw the Ella’s Kitchen Sweet Potato Mango Smoothie listed in my post? Because I just double checked and it’s not on my list of top baby food pouches. You are right that sweet potato is best to be avoided and if it’s more than 8g sugar you should also avoid it. Apple is totally fine to have in moderation though. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  9. I wanted to know if the fruits in Happy Baby baby food are mixed together or placed separately in the pouch/package on top of each other. I asked because I opened a pouch and each pureed fruit came out separately not mixed together.

    Reply

    • Hi Marilyn! I think they are mixed together, but because there are no thickeners or emulsifiers added, they may separate in the package. I’d just squeeze the package around before you open it to help the purees mix if you notice that they have separated before giving it to your little one!

      Reply

  10. Have you looked into Serenity Kids food pouches? None of them contain fruit, just curious what you think of them.

    Reply

      • This is very helpful!
        I recently took a CPR class and yogurt was mentioned as a choking hazard for babies and toddlers. I saw a message regarding the mention of better types of yogurt and thought I’d share that information with you if you want to check into it.

      • Hi Kristin! I’m curious how plain, whole milk yogurt is a choking hazard for toddlers and babies who are well into solids? Given how thin it is, I’d be surprised that it would be a choking hazard — so please send me the info you have at pickyeats@gmail.com. Thanks!

  11. Hello-
    I was wondering how is moms can see if a product has heavy metals in it? I didn’t even know about this and although i made all my daughters baby foods once she got a little older i would allow pitches and she loves the sweet potato one and I’m worried that she has been ingesting heavy metals for some time! Ugh. What on the label would show this?

    Reply

    • Hi Jessica! That’s a great question! Unfortunately, there is no way for parents to know whether a particular pouch has heavy metals in it or not – it’s not indicated anywhere on the label! Isn’t that crazy? Instead, I’d recommend avoiding pouches that have foods likely to have heavy metal contamination — mainly: anything with rice, anything with other baby cereals – e.g. oatmeal/rice cereal/etc. and anything with sweet potatoes. If you do that you should be able to avoid the concerning levels of heavy metals in baby food! Hope that helps!

      Reply

    • I read that using store bought baby oatmeal isn’t a good idea. How can you make your own baby oatmeal? And can you recommend a good oatmeal to use?

      Reply

      • Hi Emily! I agree, I wouldn’t use store bought baby oatmeal. I would recommend just grinding up these organic rolled oats in a food processor to make an “oat flour” and then cooking it the way you would regular oats (e.g. 1 cup ground rolled oats + 2 cups water cooked in the microwave or on the stove top). Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

  12. Hi Anjali

    Great article. Your content is damn useful and handy. I am a new mom who just started organic single grain oat cereal for my little one. She is just 5 months old. As right now pediatrician recommended to introduce one new food in every 3-4 days so I am trying to stick to homemade food. Due to some unavoidable reasons I am travelling to India next week. Is there anything stage 1 purees you can recommend which I can carry for my trip? I will try to cook but would need a backup

    Reply

    • Hi Myriam! I was only looking at Baby Food Pouches that are available in the US so I actually hadn’t heard of Love Child Organics since they are not available in the US — it looks like they’re only available in Canada! Most of their pouches are way too high in sugar, but there are a few pouches that I’d recommend: Kale, Peas and Pears; veggie casserole with lentils + quinoa, ratatouille with lentils + white beans, vegetarian chili with sweet potato + kale, pumpkin risotto with spinach + chickpeas, thanksgiving dinner, mango chicken stew, hearty bolognese. Any of those would be a good choice!

      Reply

  14. Hello! Your articles are very helpful. Wondering if you have heard of the company Little Spoon? I’m getting ready to start baby food; took notes on some of the options you’ve recommended here but was considering ordering from them as well. I’d love to start making it as well but definitely need a convenient option to supplement.

    Reply

    • Hi Stephanie!! I actually hadn’t heard of Little Spoon before you mentioned it, but I looked them up and they look amazing! I would still watch for the sugar content when ordering their purees, because not all of their purees have 8g sugar or less. But I love that it’s fresh, organic and all of their veggie purees (like the broccoli/spinach one) are JUST veggies! That is fantastic! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

  15. Hello There! So all of the pouches on this list have been researched for heavy metal levels? I was so upset when I read that was a problem, but I have not been able to find a “safe” list ANYWHERE so I have been struggling

    Reply

    • Hi Kaitlin! Consumer Reports actually had a great list, and so I used their research when developing my list (so any pouches that Consumer Reports called out as having a risk of heavy metals won’t appear on this list!) In general, sweet potatoes were a big culprit, which is why most of the pouches on my list don’t have sweet potatoes. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

  16. Thank you so much for this list!! I was wondering if you have you looked into the Parent’s Choice brand (Walmart) organic pouches? The butternut squash and carrots, zucchini & broccoli pouches seem to fit all your criteria. There’s other pouches like the green bean medley that match the criteria except that I don’t see fiber listed, so I assume there is no fiber. What do you think?

    Reply

    • Hi Elvina! I didn’t know that Walmart had an organic pouch brand! So yes! The Butternut squash, root veggies + apples, carrot/zucchini/broccoli, and green beans all would fit the criteria of my list! To your question – the green beans looks like it has 2g fiber – so that actually looks fine to me! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

  17. Hey Anjali! Thanks so much for this post – even though I try to use your book as much as possible to make homemade food, I often don’t have time to cook and get so frustrated that most commercial baby foods are so fruit and sugar heavy! So being able to know beforehand which items are lower in sugar is a big help :). However, I noticed that Earth’s Best Organics wasn’t on the list, although I’ve found that their veggie and protein line of foods is pretty low in sugar. So I was just wondering if there was a reason they didn’t make this list. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Malavika! Great question!! Actually – Earth’s Best has some great options and I’ve updated my post to include them! The reason they weren’t included before was just because most of their healthy options are jars (they only have 2 healthy pouches) and I was looking at pouches only — but now my list is updated to include the jars from Earth’s Best as well! Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

  18. Hi Anjali,

    So when babies start taking solids, they go through a bit of constipation. Pediatricians suggest to take any fruit purées that start with the letter P, like for eg. pear, prunes etc. On the run or while traveling if I have to purchase from the store any of these which brand or brands would you suggest?

    Reply

    • Hi Krithika! I love this pack of Baby Prunes from Plum Organics. It doesn’t have any other fruits added and it is SUPER effective at alleviating constipation – I used it for both of my kids and even used it for my daughter when she was 3 and had a bit of constipation while potty training! That’s the one I’d recommend – you can just buy it in advance and keep it on hand in case you ever need to use it. If you need to mix it with pears (since some babies don’t like the taste of just prunes) – I like this pouch from Mama Bear Organics. I haven’t personally used that brand but I know a lot of moms like it and the ingredients are good! Hope that helps!

      Reply

  19. Thank you for all your helpful baby posts Anjali! Your site has been a great resource for me as a first-time mom. I’ve especially enjoyed your posts about essential baby gear and helping baby sleep.

    Reply

    • Hi Amry! Oh yay! I’m so happy to hear that this post and the others have been helpful to you! I know how overwhelming it can be when you’re a first-time mom (I was certainly overwhelmed when my daughter was born!) So anything I can do to alleviate some of that is what I try to do! 🙂 Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply

  20. Thank you Anjali for this super informative post. I’m a new mom n have just started my baby on solids and I always wondered which among the organic products would be the best. I’ve been trying my best to prep everything at home, but like you said, there are times when traveling we need an alternative.
    Anjali, What is your opinion on multi grain cereals for babies?

    Reply

    • Hi Soumya! Thanks so much!! I was in the same boat as you – I made most food at home but sometimes you really just need an on-the-go option (travel is a great example!) So I’m so glad this post was helpful for you! As for baby cereals, I really like Holle Oatmeal the best because it’s all natural and has no additives or fillers. You can also just take rolled oats, grind them up in a food processor and cook them the way you would cook regular oatmeal! Let me know if you have any other questions!

      Reply

      • Thank you Anjali for the response. I had bought Earth’s Best Oats n using it now. I also saw the multi grain cereal in the aisle. If oats alone along with other fruits n veggies works, then I guess I will go that way.
        Also, by when can I start on a combination of 3+ fruits n veggies?
        Your blog has been an eye opener for me personally in a lot of areas. Thank you so much n hats off for the efforts n time you put in to write specially with young kids.

      • Hi Soumya! Earth’s Best Organic in general is a decent brand but their baby oatmeal ended up testing high for heavy metals (based on a consumer reports study) so if you can switch to something else I would! And you can do combinations of 3+ veggies as soon as your little one has had exposure to them – so that way you know your baby isn’t allergic to any of the veggies or fruits in the combination! Hope that helps and happy to answer any other questions you might have!

Newer Comments »

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Kid Chef Junior
Super Easy Baby Food

Grocery Store Guides

Kid-Friendly Recipes

healthy greek salad

Quick + Easy Meals

Healthy, delicious, plant-based recipes for the whole family (including picky eaters!) to enjoy

By Meal

By Cuisine

By Meal Type

By Diet

Subscribe to newsletter

Copyright 2023 The Picky Eater®, LLC. All rights reserved.