CR Woolworths Smiling Tums Apple & Banana Puree With Oats

Woolworths Smiling Tums Apple & Banana Puree With Oats | Chewsday Review

This apple, banana and oat puree pouch is rolling into the baby food aisle looking good, but is it t-oat-ally worth squeezing into the trolley? Wow, that pun was oat-ragous...

Ingredients

Apple puree (43%), banana puree (20%), water, cooked whole grain oats (15%), rice flour, cinnamon.
This puree has added water, likely to help with the smooth consistency. But this doesn’t offer any benefit to your baby. The percentage of water is not clear, but based on where it is in the list of ingredients, we can assume it’s somewhere between 15-20%.
Rice flour is usually added to pre-packaged puree as a thickening agent (maybe to compensate for the water?!).
Allergens: nil.

Positives

The sugar content of 9.2g per 100g is within our guidelines and is made up of natural sugars, as there are no added sugars in this product.
The addition of oats to this puree increases the iron content, which makes this preferable over fruit-only purees.
Sodium and saturated fat are within guidelines, which is expected for a fruit and oat puree.
At $1.00 per pouch ($8.30 per kilo), these pouches are one of the cheapest on the market. They are a more affordable option, in comparison to Rafferty’s Garden Pear and Superberries, which cost $2.30 per pouch ($17.90 per kilo).
This is a convenient option when you need a fruit puree – keep it in the pantry or in a baby bag for emergencies!

Negatives

At 1.9g per serving, the fibre content comes in below our guidelines of 3g per serving.
The water content in this puree is a standard amount for many baby food products. I wouldn’t recommend purees with more than 50% water or that have water as the first ingredient on the list. Purees with no added water are even better!
The total fat is very low. Technically within recommendations, but actually babies do need dietary fats for development and growth. You could serve this alongside something else or add some nut butter or ground seeds, but that really kills the convenience.
Although squeezie packs are less messy than spoons, they don’t help children to develop the biting and chewing skills that they need for other foods. They also don’t let children experience the smell or visual component of foods. I would prefer this puree decanted into a bowl and eaten with a spoon/dipper or spread onto toast.

Marketing

Alternatives

The baby food aisle can be tricky to navigate. This pouch, like others, has its place as a convenient option but isn’t something I would recommend offering regularly.
Homemade puree is always going to be a cheaper option and you can adjust the texture to suit your baby’s skills. Keep squeezie pouches like this for emergency situations or when you’re on-the-go.
Small batch purees (like Tiny Turtles and Le Puree Co) are another convenient option with more variability in flavour and texture.
Baby Mealtimes members can access my guide for choosing pre-packaged puree here.

The composition of food products changes regularly. The nutritional values of the products in this Chewsday Review were correct at the time of publishing.