With my son old enough and independent enough to feed himself, but not quite there with a spoon or fork, feeding time has become a bit of a challenge. He also only has 4 top teeth and 4 bottom, so pretty much most really hard foods are out.
Every lunch and dinner time I scratch my head. OK, what now?
I want to feed him things that are nutritious, but there are only so many pieces of chicken and soft pears I can cut up before I am wondering if he is getting a little annoyed with the same old same old. And while I do buy all the soft foods from the baby aisle and anything organic I can get my hands on geared towards kids his age, I miss the days where I could scoop and feed. I knew then that he was getting a variety of flavors and textures then and now it’s sorta a guess what he is being exposed to. Half of his food he tosses to the dog it seems.
I am counting down the days to when a fork becomes commonplace, let me tell you.
Recently Target sent me some of their Up and Up brand (exclusive to Target) flavored applesauce pouches to let P have a taste test. I already knew I was in for a challenge because he was either going to turn this feeding time into an episode of worlds messiest eaters or throw a fit that mama was trying to feed him instead of letting him do it himself.
But this morning it struck me…
Could I turn applesauce into a finger food?
The pouches come in an easy twist cap that allows the applesauce to come out in a mess free way. I can see how they would be easy to use if you didn’t have a spoon handy and I did squeeze a bit in his mouth which he loved, but at 15 months I wasn’t about to hand him a pouch on his own!
Instead, I took out some parchment paper (probably one of the best inventions ever) and put little dots of applesauce all over it.
Then I put them into the freezer and went about our morning business.
Today when lunch came they were frozen little circles that peeled off super easy, allowed him to pick up easily, and he gobbled them all very happily.
Independence and very little mess!
Target Coupons!
If you want to try this at home with applesauce or any other flavors, you can grab some Target up and up coupons and try to make some baby bites yourself! There are all sorts of “stages” in the pouches and come in a wide variety of flavors like Plum Banana, Pea Pear, and Banana Pumpkin. I fully plan on trying this with other pouches and freezing more snack bites for him to much on during and between meals.
I can advise in this case that the applesauce started to thaw (after all they are only little bites) within about 5 minutes of room temperature, so make sure you freeze and not take out till ready to eat! As always, supervise your child when feeding.
If you think this tip would help another toddler/infant mom, please make sure you pin, stumble, or “like”. This could also be a great snack for teething babies to soothe the pain.
Thank you for stopping by MomDot!
~Trisha
*target pouches provided, cute baby and idea is all my own!
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Madie says
you can also use yogurt and freeze it for a really long time and get a solid food that your kids will love because it melts in there mouth and turns creamy and soft and sweet.
Brandi says
If it thaws won’t it be like Applesauce again? So how long would it take before they thaw out? My kiddo isn’t the biggest fan of eating in a timely manner!
But seriously good idea!! I can’t wait to try it 🙂
JessB says
my 15 month old loves the pouch foods! 🙂 I ordered some reusable ones and they came with toppers called Choome (sounds like chew me). You pop them on the top of the pouch and they can squeeze them pretty hard with out too much of a mess (they can still squeeze it out of they push hard enough:) )
Taryn P says
My 10 month old handles the stages 1 and 2 pouches on her own pretty easily…she sucks the stuff out like she’s drinking from a straw. The 3’s are harder because they’re thicker.
Jeri Wendzel says
They make spoons that screw onto the pouches.
Kari says
What’s the age range in these snacks?
Janice Clark says
When I had a home day care about thirty years ago, favorite snacks included green beans (straight out of the can) and carrot sticks cooked enough to be tender. The applesauce bites sound like a good idea, and of course you could make your own applesauce, although the packaged stuff is more convenient. My youngest granddaughter is past that stage, but her favorites used to be black beans (canned) and blueberries (fresh or frozen).
Elizabeth says
Great Idea…And your son is absolutely adorable!
Jane says
Great idea, I’m definitely going to try this!
Theresa says
Love this idea! My son is 9 months and has been holding the pouches on his own since 6 months! But he enjoys picking up things too. Thanks for the idea!
Alliyah says
I just bought parchment paper and going try! Since my daughter started teething she won’t let us feed her, she wants to feed herself! This is an excellent idea!!!
Question can you bake them aswell so they’ll last longer?
Alison says
Thank u for sharing!!! I made them
Today… Great idea!!! My 11 month old loves them 🙂
Nathalie Balduck says
My daughter doesn’t eat apples, so I’m going to try this. Today!!
Hope it works!
Jessica says
I LOVE this idea mostly because I have a child with a dairy allergy and he cannot have those yogurt dots. This is perfect! Plus there are so many different flavor combinations in those packs, you could make several kinds. Thank you so much for sharing! Great idea!
Trisha says
thanks jessica!
brandy says
thanks for the idea! I bet my older minions will love this! 🙂 I love all the other freezing suggestions too. I sometimes feel bad giving them the “same old thing” 🙂
Brittany says
You should let him have the pouch! Although I am grateful for the idea, I LOVE the pouches. Baby Gourmet makes ones that are certified organic and I couldn’t live without them for my 15 month old! I’ve been giving them to him on his own for about 3 months now. They are a lifesaver when were out and about.
Nicole says
My 2 year old loves the apple sauce in the pouches and we get them at Costco. It’s the perfect afternoon snack while I prepare dinner and when she’s done she loves to throw them away herself. what a life saver these things are. I know she will love the frozen apple sauce dots, can’t wait to make them for her.
Alycia says
Anyone tried this w Wax paper instead of parchment paper?
Trisha says
I havent on this but I find that wax paper is more sticky than parchement in general.
Tammy says
I tried these they worked, but they had to be eaten very quickly cause they melted fast
chris says
You can also do this with yogurt. We’ve used regular and greek yogurts. Put it in a ziploc bag, snip a corner and pipe onto the parchment and freeze. Perfect for our 14 month old trying to get his molars, and his 6 and 9 year old brothers also enjoy “sneaking” some.
WENDI says
thank you! when my first daughter was that age i always wondered if she was getting tired of the same old same old too. Now i have my 2nd daughter with 7 teeth, 11mths. I want to give my 2 1/2 year old different healthy snacks to because giving her whole apples goes so fast and other foods like blueberries do too. I can’t wait to do it.
Rhonda - A Born Unique Mom says
This is a brilliant idea! I saw it on pinterest and just had to read your post. Your son is adorable and I really enjoyed visiting Mom Dot. Happy Blogging! 🙂
Jen says
Why would you buy the expensive pouches for this? Just buy a jar of unsweetened applesauce, put it in a ziplock and snip the corner to “pipe” the applesauce in small circles. For a variety of flavors use homemade baby food or cheaper jars. Fun idea to freeze little dots esp for a cool summer treat. We’ve done this successfully with yogurt as well. But if it’s going to be something to do at home save money from buying the pouches!
Trisha says
Yes, someone could use any food really. For my house, I prefer the variety of flavors and the food already pureed, which saves me much time.
Lori says
Great idea,we use the pouches when traveling . My 4 yr old who doesn’t like anything loves the banana blueberry
Julie says
Oh! I’ll have to try freezing them! I usually foo process wilted spinach & cored, peeled apples, put them on parchment and bake them on a low heat. They come out like fruit leather, so a little tough for my littlest.
Lauren says
OK, funny story. My 17mo son LOVES these pouches – he gets one most days. One day, there was an air bubble in the top, and it popped when I handed it to him and squirted puree just below his eye. He was so surprised at that, that he started convulsively squeezing the pouch, getting more and more puree all over him. It was funny later … 🙂
Missy says
Have any of you who have tried this had any problems of choking? Or how might I reduce the possibility??
Trisha says
I haven’t but you need to be careful on your child’s age and also the sizing. My son has teeth and they soften up quick. As with all food you need to be present when you feed child to monitor.
Rachel says
Ok, Ladies this was not written about weather to give or not to give pouches, gessh! Seriously I spend enough time cleaning her high chair, floor, curtains, and anything else close to her at meal time that I don’t need to through in another 15 mins of cleaning and an outfit change all for a snack(yes, once in a while is O.K.) But not everyday. This idea is GOLD and my teething 1yr old LOVED them, I didn’t have a pouch so I used the jar stuff and it worked great! I wish when ladies would comment on these blogs they would stick to the topic. I want to know how other moms liked the snack, not you bragging about your baby (let’s face it we all can do that for hours!) and you offer nothing helpful or supportive. Let’s all do a little thinking before we type! -Rant over
Lindsay Marie says
I have an 8 month old and he doesn’t spill a drop! He prefers doing it on his own and its awesome!
I’m gonna try this, but it seems like this would end up being more messy considering they will melt and be difficult to pick up once they do. :-/
Cathy says
Great idea! I am trying this tomorrow!
(Did you mean to write applause in the title or did auto correct getcha?? 😉 )
Trisha says
bwhahahha. Yep. thankyou
Meara says
Love this idea! Thank you. My 15month old does great with the pouches until she decides she’s done and then it’s the worlds biggest mess! I’m sure my 4 year old will
Want in on these as well!
Kendra says
My 14 mo old loved this! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Angela says
This is a fantastic idea for my teething tot!
Heather @ Side of Sneakers says
This is brilliant!! I love the convenience of the pouches but love having him pick things up to feed himself. Definitely trying this!
Makenzie says
My 10 month old can squeeze the pouches now. I had to guide him a little at first but he is very clean about it now. You should let him try. He might surprise you.
Brooke says
This is a great idea! However I think instead of freezing them, i’m going to make them into fruit leather. Kinda like fruit snacks! 😉
J says
For a while my daughter would just squeeze the pouch everywhere then play in it. Now at 15 mos I re introduced the pouches and she surprisingly quickly figured out how to suck it out. I say let him try! It hasn’t been a mess at all and I love getting the organic ones that have kale or spinach in them and figure it is a good easy way to sneak in some greens and. Is excellent for taking out somewhere.
Jennifer Quinn says
Just found this on Pinterest – what a brilliant idea! And your little boy is A.DOR.A.BLE! Thanks for sharing! Will totally re-pin!
Krista says
Thank you so much for the idea. My little guy loved these tonight and kept telling me “more”
Becky says
You can also slice bananas in about 1/2 inch pieces and freeze. They have a creamy almost icecream like flavor!
Becky says
You can also slice a banana and freeze it to be eaten frozen. I would say slices about 1/3 of an inch wide might be best. They taste really creamy and have an ice cream like texture.
Stacey says
I use any baby food and just use an old baby Tylenol dispenser, squeeze up the food and press down lightly to make lil circles.
Amber says
You should look into a reusable pouch like the Sili Squeeze. You can put apple sauce, yogurt or your own creations into them. They are spill proof and you save so much money and make the earth a little more green :o)
Brandy says
My family received these as well, but LOVE what you did with them. Maybe that is how I can get my four year old to try these!
Lindsay says
What a great idea!! My girls actually really like these little pouches, but they’re older and can be trusted with them. You’ve got a marketable product right there, Trisha!
Carrie says
This is a great idea! I give my 16-month old the pouch and she does okay with it…as long as I keep her in her seat. A couple of weeks ago I found her standing in the living room squeezing an entire pouch onto the floor, so I learned that lesson quickly…ha! But, if she’s in her seat, she’s less inclined to make such a mess.
Anyway, this looks like a fun way to serve (and eat) applesauce, I’ll have to try it.
Sara Phillips says
BRILLIANT!!! I know Colin is 4, but I am going to try to make these for him!
I have seen something like this (but with yogurt) on Pinterest.
Cat Davis - Food Family Finds says
That’s a brilliant idea. We use to do the frozen yogurt drops on wax paper but never even thought about using applesauce. love it!
Paula Krueger says
Great idea! Im goinf to let my sister in law know for her daughter that is P’s age.
Tamara says
Such a smart idea! About how long did they take to thaw out?
(Also, I say give him the pouch. I bet he would love it and not make that big of a mess.)
Trisha says
They peel off the parchment immediately so you can eat right then..but probably 5 minutes at room temp and you can start to move the appleasauce a bit. He was well into eating them by then so nothing really thawed on him.
Janette says
That was my question too. Great idea! Thanks for sharing!