all things powdered

I really miss having a DPO address.  Here in Addis Ababa we rely on pouch mail that is sent to a US address and then "pouched" over on flights as space is available.  The timeliness isn't the issue (even though things generally do take longer to arrive).  It's the restrictions on liquids that has my panties in a wad.  Everything has to be sixteen ounces or less and that includes pastes and canned goods.  That means no shampoo, no baby food, and heaven forbid...no peanut butter.

There are plenty of work-arounds.  We can simply ask our family members to stick some of these things in a box and send them to us (one 16 ounce or less thing at a time) and we order on Amazon.  Only many vendors won't ship small enough quantities of things.  It's a bit of a challenge.

But I'm typically up for a challenge and I've done some research.  Another overseas parent tipped me off about powdered organic baby food.  I decided to try it since it's all good and well to make my homemade baby food but sometimes I just want to be lazy.  My daughter shouldn't suffer because I want to be a lazy sack.  Welcome NurtureMe baby food.  I ordered a variety pack that comes with four boxes, 8 pouches each of peas, sweet potatoes, apples and pumpkin.  Each pouch is equivalent to one glass jar of baby food.

NurtureMe peas reconstituted

The positive is that it's extremely convenient.  I can throw a pouch in my diaper bag with a spoon, bib, sippy cup and a tupperware bowl of dry baby cereal.  When it's meal time while we are out and about, I simply mix the pouch contents with water until it's the right consistency.  Whatever Ashlynn doesn't eat we refrigerate for the next meal.

yummy peas

Ashlynn really likes it, which is ultimately what gives a product the green light for moms right?  I appreciate that the peas are bright green and taste like fresh sweet peas.  Ashlynn's favorite are the apples and I don't blame her.  They mix up nice and brown and taste like orchard squeezed apple juice.  They taste like real apples not just smooth applesauce.  My least favorite is the sweet potatoes.  They're a little pasty and Ash isn't thrilled with the taste.

Ultimately, I give NurtureMe a thumbs up for convenience and taste.  It's a healthy and convenient alternative to the jarred baby food that I no longer have access to.

homemade zucchini

That being said, homemade baby food is what we rely on mostly in our house.  At $40 for a four pack, (that's 32 pouches, $1.25 per pouch) NurtureMe is not super cheap (especially if you have to pay for shipping costs).  But it's not on the extremely high end either.  Buying local produce and roasting, steaming, and pureeing my own food is definitely cheaper. All the local produce is "organic" here. Homemade isn't significantly more time consuming. It takes about 8 minutes to steam and puree enough zucchini for eight baby meals.  I just freeze it for the week.

homemade zucchini, apples, carrots

I'm not sure I'd recommend solely relying on powdered baby food for the majority of your baby's meals simply because homemade baby food is so easy.  NurtureMe is a nice back up for when you throw open the freezer and realize you've used the last of the baby food and there is no way your hungry baby is going to wait 8 minutes for anything.  It's nice to be able to grab a pouch, add some water and shovel it in the hungry little beast's mouth so she can quickly return to her sweet self.  NurtureMe is perfect for these situations as well as when we go out to eat at a restaurant or when we are traveling.  I'm very grateful this powdered option is available.  I plan on ordering Ashlynn's favorite flavors again!


Low and behold I discovered powdered peanut butter too.  We're going to give this a shot and see how it goes.  I'll let you know what we (Addie and Bella) think of it.