Three Reasons why Hazel Hearts "Once Upon a Farm" Purees

As a newbie toddler-loving mum, I came to the realization that my meal time isn’t always going to involve self-made puree masterpieces.

That’s not real life—that’s just called Pinterest.

And honestly, it’s 100% okay. So, kick drop any of that mum-shaming and celebrate whatever works for you. In my case, pre-made baby purees are what I like to refer to as my mama manna.

I usually bounce around a few option at Target, but when I make it to my local health food store I grab two hearty handfuls of these Once Upon a Farm’s pouches out of the refrigerator.  It’s added a whole new level of toddler-nutrition-goodness to my parenting game.  

I heart Once Upon a Farm because It’s filled with healthy-fats and cold pressed. It’s also super transparent about sourcing and organically grown.  If you are trying to add a bit more “raw” to your toddler feeding routine (but shudder at the thought of blending one more banana) this brand’s your go-to.

Let’s talk cold pressed first: typical shelf-stable baby food is often heated at crazy high temperatures 2-3 times before it ever is scooped up by your toddler’s fancy silicone spoon. Once Upon A Farm (which I’m just going to call OUAF for the sake of my typing fingers) uses high-pressure processing. A bulky three-word term which basically just means it’s cold-pressed to keep flavors, aromas, colors, textures and nutrients of the whole ingredients intact. It’s also the big reason why OUAF’s purees are so much brighter (and happier looking) than some of the other baby food pouches I also tend to grab.

Now for good fats:  Surprisingly, most baby foods are packed with sugars and don’t have any fats, or if they do, they aren’t exactly what you’d call the “high-quality ones”. But OUAF’s recipes all have at least one a healthy and quality fat. Which is great for stable energy levels and nutrient absorption.

And let's settle on sourcing: You can see the exact farms Once Upon A Farm sources from via this link. Their apples are from Broetje Orchards in WA, Carrots from Grimmway Farms in CA, and Butternut Squash from Stahlbush Island Farms in OR.  It just feels empowering knowing where all this prepackaged goodness comes from.

Every OUAF’s ingreident is Certified Organic and Kosher, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Cold-Pressured. They never use any concentrates, pre-processed purees, juices or preservatives.

What’s your favorite way to feed your toddler when you are on the run?  Are there any other nifty tools you’ve found that make mealtime less frantic and more fun? We want to hear about it!

Love,

Hazel and Lemon

Good for You - This really is the good stuff! Non-GMO Project Verified and all packaging is BPA, Phthalate, and PVC free. Once Upon a Farm’s unique HPP (aka cold-pressure) process doesn’t use heat (that can damage nutrients) and  they literally refuse to add sugars, preservatives or (unpronounceable) ingredients to their food. 

Good for Others - Once Upon a Farm are true believers in the golden rule —with a goal to treat our consumers, customers, suppliers, investors and employees with the same high level of dignity and respect that they expect from others. We love their transparent sourcing. Once Upon a Farm gathers most of our ingredients from local farms in California (80% of our ingredients come from local farms within California, 10% from the Western Region of the United States and 10% from abroad with farms). You can see the exact farms Once Upon A Farm sources from via their partners page.

Good for Earth - Once Upon a Farm’s packaging is 100% recyclable. All you have do is pull out your scissors and clip off the spout and the cap-- then throw them both in the recycling bin.  You can also join their “Back to the Farm” recycling program and add some  free recycling envelopes to your order.  Once Upon a Farm also offers some neato upcycling idea on their Pinterest page.  The company choose pouches because take less energy to make and less energy to transport than rigid plastic containers or glass jars and can be recycled many more times than a plastic jar. Once Upon a Farm supports organic farming practices.

C&C Overall - My local health food store is fairly small (it only carries three flavors from OUAF in the refrigerated section) but those three flavors are quite the hit with my toddler!  I’m also obsessed with how bright/colorful the baby food naturally is -- especially the (). Another big plus is the whole healthy-fats ratio the brand focuses on. I also know that Once Upon a Farm has a nifty food subscription but I haven’t tried it yet.