Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Well it works!

If you have a baby or toddler I'm sure you've seen those cute little food pouches they sell.  Bacon Bit loves them!  And so do I.  They are quite handy when we are in the van traveling or out and about.  Just twist off the top and hand it over.  Bacon Bit can drain one in under a minute I believe, I'm not complaining since he gets a dose of fruit in his diet.  He still prefers mostly veggies and that's ok too!

 There happen to be a few problems with those cute pouches that I'm not overjoyed with however.  The biggest is the cost, for a 3-4 ounce pouch of baby pureed food costs between $1.35-$3!  Not quite budget friendly.  But I have to admit even convenience of them has over ruled our budget a few times.  I was talking to another mom with a toddler the same age as Bacon Bit saying how I wish they made something re-usable like the pouches. Especially since I have a whole tote full of baby food that was given to us that needs to be used up and Bacon Bit makes a HUGE mess with a spoon and bowl of sauce.  She told me that she simply refills them.  I have to admit I had my doubts of messes trying to refill the darn pouch, but she told me to just try it. So I did and I was happily surprised!  Want to refill your own pouches? Here's how!

What you need:
empty baby food pouch with cap
medicine syringe (bigger the better!)
baby food sauce or any kind of pureed sauce





First take your pouch and rinse it out.  I held mine under the water and let it fill up a few times.  You can even add a small drop of dish soap to it.  Once it's filled I hold my finger over the opening and give the pouch a few shakes really good.  Repeat this a few times until the water runs clear. 


Next flatten out your pouch. Make sure there is no air in it.  If there is, I was told when you go to fill it, the puree will spray out of the pouch making a bigger mess!

Now take your syringe and fill it full of your puree.  Hold it over the opening and squeeze the sauce inside.  Repeat until you filled up the pouch.  It's just that simple!
Once it's full, twist the cap back on and either hand it to baby or place it back in the fridge.  I just saved myself a whole lot o' bacon for my pocket!!  And Bacon Bit is very happy to get his favorite pouch sauce more often. 



Now I'm not sure how many times you can refill the pouch, but even if you refill it a few times before tossing it will save you money.  And time wise I am able to refill a pouch in less than 2 minutes.  So not bad at all.  I'm so happy my friend shared this tip with me! I hope it helps some of you too.

19 comments:

  1. They sell spoons that you fill and they can squeeze them to feed themselves and they are much easier to clean. I have a Boon Spoon. LOVE IT!

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  2. I use a sili squeeze for my little boy he loves it.

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  3. I Googled and found your blog! You are my hero! I wish I would have saved all my old pouches to fill them. I won't throw them away now!

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  4. I agree with the others...check out The Sili Co! They are great and much easier to refill.

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  5. Thanks everyone for the sili squeeze idea. We have tried them out. The regular sili squeeze with no leak spout was too hard for Bacon Bit to get anything out of (heck I even tried it and so did little miss Bacon and neither of us could get anything out of it too!). We also tried their Eeze cap as well and that one Bacon Bit like to turn it upside down and pound it on the table making a mess! HA gotta love toddlers. So sadly they didn't work for us. I'm happy to say Bacon Bit's spoon skills are improving and now he happily eats his applesauce out of a bowl like the big kids!

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  6. This is a FANTASTIC idea!! So glad I found your site! Just bought a pack of squeeze applesauce today and going to save my pouches and try this out when I make your yogurt recipe! Thanks for the tip!

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  7. It works great to refill them with pudding too. Just bought a bunch of instant pudding on sale for $0.39 each and mixed them up and refilled 6 of the 4.2 oz squeezies and 2 of the 3 oz squeezies. Not bad for less than $0.50 (including the milk to mix up the pudding)! Thanks again for the tip!

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  8. I found these 'little green pouch'es that are reusable and look identical to the ones you're refilling, which would be a lot easier to use than the Sili Squeeze! I admit I haven't tried them yet, but am about to order and give a try! http://www.littlegreenpouch.com

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  9. These are great. Reusable and easy to fill. http://www.Squooshi.com

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  10. It might be a little faster to fill them if you use a turkey injector. They are so much bigger and look the same as a medicine syringe.

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  11. Turkey baster or a pastry bag and regular tip. I did it a lot when my son was younger.

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  12. The Green pouches are "OK" but nothing more. They are pricey & the seals wear out way too quickly! They aren't the same as the store bought pouches & this is my kind of style! Thanks for sharing!!

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  13. Oh boy.....I love the idea of saving money and serving homemade babyfood, but I can't help but wonder if this is really sanitary and safe :/

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  14. Little green pouches are way better, easier, bigger, and cleaner. But youre a think we!

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  15. Thank you! How long do they last on the fridge? Ever notice mold?

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  16. Thank you! How long do they last on the fridge? Ever notice mold?

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