Homemade Baby/Toddler Food or Pre-Made Pouch Food – This Parent Says, “Just Do You.”.

Similac Go & Grow Pouch Food Review

Recently I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook regarding the difference between making your own baby/toddler food and purchasing canned or pouch baby/toddler food. The comments on some of these posts have made me laugh and some have made me slightly angry due to the mommy shaming of those parents who decide to purchase pouch food for their kids. As a parent, I have done both. I started out making my daughter homemade baby food when she first started eating, and then switched to baby-led weaning. Now that she is a toddler it can be hard sometimes to get her to want to eat anything other than French fries, pasta, rice, macaroni and cheese, and chicken nuggets.

While she does eat vegetables and I would not consider her a picky eater I still purchase pouch food for her every once in a while. I have to admit they are convenient to have when traveling and my daughter loves them. She views them as a treat. I am not ashamed to purchase them and feed them to my daughter, and neither should any parent. Sometimes it can be more expensive to purchase pouch food, and sometimes if you purchase them on sale, with coupons, and use coupon apps, like Ibotta, then pouch food can cost the same or sometimes less than making your own baby/toddler food. Which ones to choose for your little ones is up to you. I personally feel some are better than others, but there are so many to choose from.

Trying New Things

When Shespeaks and Similac asked me if I would try the Go & Grow by Similac Pouches I said yes because I wanted to possibly be able to suggest another pouch food for parents since there are so many. I am happy to say that the Go & Grow by Similac Pouches did end up passing mine and my daughter’s 3-point inspection. When looking for any baby/toddler pouch or can food at the store I look at its ingredients, price (this includes how often they go on sale, available coupons, and coupon app rebate availability), and lastly my daughters taste test. There has been some pouch food that has passed the ingredients and price tests, but my daughter did not like them at all.

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Ingredients

Before I purchased Go & Grow by Similac pouches I made sure to check the ingredients first. All of the pouches I saw/purchased were certified organic and only contained the fruits and vegetables listed on the front. They did have organic lemon juice and extra DHA, Lutein, and Vitamin E added, but I am ok with that.

Price

The price per pouch was also fair. I went to Walmart and purchased several pouches at a price point of $1.32. I did find a rebate on Ibotta that I was able to claim twice, and I was also able to use their .25 cents off any purchase rebate as well. All in all, I spent $1.00 per pouch. (If I had actual coupons it could have been even cheaper.)

Taste

The last hurdle to pass was my daughter’s taste test. I gave her the Apple, Butternut Squash, Banana, and Blueberry pouch and the first word out of her mouth was “Yum!”. She pretty much finished that pouch off in less than 5 minutes. After she finished it she asked for more, but I told her she would have to wait. Haha! (She was not happy about that.) She also really liked the other flavors I had purchased which were Pear, Blueberry, and Spinach, as well as the Mango, Pear, and Spinach. We still have the Pumpkin, Banana, and Carrot one to try, but I am thinking she will like that one as well.

Result

The end result for our test showed that Go & Grow by Similac pouch food was another pouch food that we would be able to add to our approved list. It passes our 3-point test with flying colors.

As a parent, I want other parents to know that if you end up serving your child homemade baby/toddler food or if you purchase pouch or canned baby/toddler food its ok. Do what you feel is best for your children, family, and budget. Don’t worry about what others think or what they do. As my water bottle says, “Just Do You.”

• If you are interested in purchasing or learning more about Go & Grow by Similac Pouch food you can find them at Walmart here
• Shespeaks.com is also having an awesome giveaway at SheSpeaks.com for a custom 12 x 12 photo book from Walmart photo valued at $50 (or a $50 Walmart Gift Card).
• As I mentioned previously Ibotta also currently has a rebate for Go & Grow by Similac Pouches purchased at Walmart. You can find the rebate here.

Disclosure Statement

Even though this post was developed in partnership with Similac, and I did receive compensation, all opinions are my own. I am a parent myself and would never recommend a product I wouldn’t be comfortable using on or giving to my own child. If your child likes to throw their plates make sure you check out my review of the EzPz Mini Mat.