Josie eating Appled-Yams
One of our beta-testers (Nicole of Oakland, CA) sent us this adorable action shot of her daughter Josie eating Appled-Yams (check out her yummy recipe here) from her Little Green Pouch. She describes her challenge here:
"My daughter is now almost two. Back when she was first starting solid foods, she was much more adventurous with her fruit and veggie intake. Apples, pears, carrots, peas- she ate it all. Now, she knows how to say no, and, sadly, how much better ice cream tastes than broccoli. These days it takes a bit more creativity to sneak in the good stuff but she'll eat just about anything from the pouch :)"
NY Times article about food pouches
I just read this very interesting and timely article from The New York Times, Putting the Squeeze on a Family Ritual, by MATT RICHTEL. Ritchel does an excellent job describing the recent popularity of food pouches and their benefits. At one point Ritchel even calls food pouches “irresistible.” He quotes the owner of Plum Organics as pointing out that pouches allow parents to give “on-the-go nourishment” and “be as flexible as modern life demands.”
Another interesting point that Ritchel highlighted was how pouches allow children to be more independent, giving “the child a little bit of control and confidence.” And I'm not sure about you, but I feel like the sooner we can instill those two traits (independence and confidence) in our kids the better!
Richtel also brings up some valid concerns about the nature of today's society, namely how busy and overbooked our lives really are. He poses the question, “if my two children don't sit at the table [to eat], how will they ever learn manners?” I have to admit I laughed out loud at his next thought, “will they be cast out of polite society, like pirates or hoofed animals?” Though I'm sure this was a joke, I can see his point. I always envisioned nightly dinners of the type you’d seen on sitcoms on Nick at Nite (does that even exist anymore?). But as Ritchel points out, the reality of the world we live in means that “its just necessary to live life on the go.” And he concludes with “I wonder if this is a good thing...”
To that question, I have to say that I agree with Sangita Forth's (the VP of brand marketing at Plum Organics) sentiment, “as a mom, I know that at least I'm giving [my kids] a healthy alternative.” I feel even more strongly about that with our reusable food pouch. I love knowing exactly what I'm feeding my kids. I can make my own mixture of vitamin-rich fresh fruits and veggies, or use the yogurt or applesauce I bought from the store that isn't jam-packed with sugar and preservatives.
I smiled when I read the part of the article where a father described his family’s dinner-table ritual. Each member of the family would “answers four questions” about their day, the things they are thankful for and what they were looking forward to. I'd love to start doing this with my kids. But on the crazy nights when that isn't possible, and the many other times of the day when just a snack is needed, I think the Little Green Pouch is my answer.
What's yours?
Midnight Snack
Every night, right before bed, my oldest son Kelley informs me that he is hungry. To date, I still haven't determined whether he is actually hungry, or whether he is just stalling, although I'm leaning towards the latter. In any event, because I don't want to risk sending my child to bed hungry (mostly because he might wake up earlier for breakfast), I prepare him a midnight snack. We did buttered toast for a while. But he likes to eat his "fourth meal" in my bed while we read stories, and I ended up with crumbs in my sheets, which doesn't make for a good night sleep. Sliced fruit was problematic for "sticky" reasons. And anything that involved utensils was a pure disaster. That's when I decided to whip out my reusable food pouch. No crumbs, no stickiness, no utensils, no mess. Here's Kelley enjoying a healthy late night yogurt snack out of a Little Green Pouch, jammies and all.
Charlotte March Contributes to Little Green Pouch!
We are excited to announce Charlotte March’s contributions to our recipe page! Charlotte has been an active member in the culinary community for over 10 years. After being classically trained at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, Charlotte worked extensively in the kitchens throughout the Bay Area including Zuni Café. Upon returning to New York, Charlotte worked with world-renowned chef Laurent Tourondel to help him open several out-posts of Bistro Laurent Tourondel. For the past several years Charlotte has served as an Associate Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings. In this position Charlotte channels her culinary talents into developing delicious recipes, generating unique web and iPad content, as well as styling food and creating beautiful images for the magazines. We know that you will enjoy Charlotte’s recipes!
In addition to all of the above, check out her amazing book that she co-authored with chef Laurent Tourondel:
We Just Had To Make An Exception For This One
Several weeks ago, we determined that our group of beta testers was definitively closed. But then we received this message from a mom interested in our reusable baby food pouch:
I need a Little Green Pouch for this new chocolate pudding recipe I found on the Whole Foods website.
This is what my 20 month old looks like without it:
How could we possibly say no? So we made an exception, and opened up the group of beta testers to include one more. We hope that our reusable food pouch does the trick for this little one. We have our “before” picture, and are eagerly awaiting the “after”!
Thanks to Melissa Blount of Mount Dora, FL for sharing these hilarious photos.
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