Our little ones love squeeze pouches of baby food.  I don’t know why; there’s just something about them.  Pouches also make it easier to portion out food when you’re out and about than traditional jars do.  A number of companies recently have come out with reusable, refillable pouches.  I have no idea who was first!  But so many of them have unfortunate aspects to their design.

Some have the cap off to the side, at an angle.  This is not a fatal flaw, but it does seem that it would make it difficult to use a baby food organizer (like this or this) with the pouches.  Some seem they would just be super-hard to clean.  The worst is that a number of them have the openings (for filling) on the bottom!  This just seems like a really bad idea to me.  What if it pops open, or you thought you had it sealed, but left a tiny gap?  What a mess!

That’s why I was thrilled to find the GoFreshBaby pouches.  I was sent a set to review, and I’m impressed that they avoid all of the design pitfalls and even add a few “bonus” features in their design.

The placement of the zipper seal is about as perfect as I can imagine.  It’s angled along the top.  This allows it to be as close to the top as possible while allowing for the spout.  So little risk of leakage if you have trouble getting something sealed (or a child decides to open it).  The angle should also help keep it from popping open under the pressure of squeezing the food upward.  Meanwhile, the spout is along the actual top edge so it should store in hanging-style organizers.

The zipper seals are quite solid, but there’s an extra-wide “margin” to allow you to get a good grip when you need to pull them open.  The pouches are translucent, so you can see what’s inside.  I like that this makes it easier to tell when you’ve gotten them good and clean.

The markings on the outside include all the information you need, too.  That they are dishwasher- and freezer-safe but not microwave-safe is noted right on the pouches so you don’t have to try to remember.  (And anyone helping with the dishes will know!)  There are spaces for writing a name and the contents so you know what’s what and can send them to the babysitter if necessary.  There are even measurements noted along the edge so you know approximately how much food you’ve put in a given pouch, or how much your child has eaten!

The company will even sell you replacement caps, which is great, because you know it’s just a matter of time before lids go missing.  The caps are the only thing I didn’t like about these.  I found the actual screw-top hard to get on and off; it didn’t just work smoothly for me.  The neck has these weird little ridges at the bottom where I think the cap is supposed to sort of “lock” into place.  But when I got them screwed down that far, little tabs on the caps just snapped loose.  (Maybe the lids are meant to be disposable, and that’s why replacements are available?)

I found these slightly finicky to work with, but I think that’s just the nature of a pouch, not anything to do with this specific brand.  The plastic is a little stiff, so I find it a little tricky to get the gusset on the bottom to open up.  It may be that these will “soften up” with time and use.  If you choose to spoon your purée in, I recommend using a baby spoon; that makes it easier to get the food past the zipper.

I made a simple, raw purée – tossed four average-size carrots into the Vitamix (peeled, because ours had been in the fridge for a while and were growing “hair”; otherwise, they don’t need peeling for the Vitamix) and about 1-2 Tbsp. of water, then ran it until it was more-or-less smooth.  I tried a funnel first, but my funnel with the large hole was missing, and the ones that were left were just too narrow to let the purée through.  Spooning it in with a regular spoon, I got lots of purée in the zippers.

Of course, I tried to wipe it off before sealing the pouch, but I did a very imperfect job.  Still, the pouch sealed completely, and I didn’t have any leaks.  With the next pouch I used a baby spoon and that worked much better!

These are a great non-messy way for the slightly older crowd to consume smoothies, too!