Are you tired of spending money on little squeezable fruit pouches for school lunches?
Those little pouches of squeezable fruit or smoothies are all the rage lately, but it’s hard to justify the expense.
Most have added sugar or other ingredients you might not want your kids to eat (like high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and artificial colors).
Lucky for us, you can now purchase reusable pouches! Finally! A way to make homemade fruit puree appealing again! Bonus: This is a great way to sneak some veggies into their smoothies!
My preschooler loves my smoothies so much, she chooses them for dessert! When the ice cream truck rolls around, she asks for a smoothie frozen in an ice pop mold instead.
Related: Top 5 Lunchboxes We’ve Tested
I am happy to give her one because my smoothies are made with fruit, unsweetened yogurt or non-dairy milk, and vegetables. With my reusable pouches, I’m the best mom ever when I send a “dessert” smoothie to school with her lunch or for a snack!
Below is my recipe. Of course, you can fill the smoothie pouches with your favorite smoothie, apple sauce, or puree. At the bottom, you’ll find links to all the pouches in this post.
Sneaky Strawberry-Banana Smoothies
Makes 8 servings (4 to 5 ounces each)
- 2-2 ½ cups plain Greek yogurt
- 1-2 bananas
- 1-2 cups strawberries (fresh or frozen) [2-3 cups fruit total]
- 4 cups torn kale leaves, stems removed (or 2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves, lightly packed)
- Juice from ½ lime or lemon (1 to 1 ½ tablespoons)
- Milk, juice, or water (optional)
Toss everything into a blender and blend until well mixed. I get best results if I start with the kale (or spinach) and lime juice, then add in the fruits, and add the yogurt a dollop at a time until I’m happy with the consistency. Feel free to taste-test as you go to make sure it’s just right!
MOM Tips: If you have browning bananas (or abandoned half-bananas!), cut them into chunks into a freezer bag and freeze until you need them for smoothies (or MOMables “Ice Cream” Sandwiches!)
Red (purple) cabbage or kale look more like berry bits in a smoothie, for those kids who refuse to eat green.
The citrus juice helps to reduce the “green” flavor from the kale or spinach. Orange juice works as well and can add a little sweetness instead of using sweetened yogurt.
If you aren’t making your smoothies in advance and storing them in the fridge to chill, use frozen fruit. That way you don’t have to water them down with ice cubes. Or save the drained water used from boiling vegetables for dinner and freeze that in ice cube trays for some added nutrients in your smoothie ice!
You can adjust the thickness by adding more Greek yogurt to make it thicker, or milk (or non-dairy equivalent,) no-sugar-added juice, or water to make it thinner, or use half regular yogurt and half Greek. The thicker smoothies are fairly easy to extrude by squeezing while sucking on the pouches, but if you’re using a cup or jar, they’re harder to suck through a straw. The pouches are also messier to fill with a thicker smoothie because you need to do it with a spoon or pouch-filling device. It’s too thick for a funnel!
If you have pickier kids, you can start off using sweetened honey, vanilla, or strawberry-flavored yogurt to make it sweeter and get your kids used to enjoying these, then slowly reduce the amount of sweetened yogurt and increase the plain over time. (Another option is to add more fruit. It should have all the sweetening you need!) Eventually, you’ll have no sugar added, and your kids will still love them!
You can freeze the smoothie pouches—they’ll act as their own ice pack, and should thaw by lunch! If you use a freezer jam jar, thaw in the fridge overnight first and send with an ice pack. Or send frozen with a sturdy spoon for breaking up any still-frozen bits.
Pouches shown: Little Green Pouch, Yummi Pouch, Squishy Snak Pak, and Squooshi.
Lindsey
What kind or brand of yogurt is best for pouches? I’m assuming one that isn’t too thick but I’d also like to find one that isn’t overloaded with sugar. Thanks!
MOMables - Laura
Nearly all yogurt brands (even Greek yogurt) works in the pouches.Enjoy!
Dianna
Do you suggest freezing the smoothie right after making it? I filled up three pouches and left two in the fridge for later use. They didn’t taste good by snack time. I noticed the fruit separated from the liquid.
MOMables
Freezing right after you make it will help it stay fresher longer. Hope this works for you!
ivette
Could I wash the Dole squish’ems type pouch and reuse?
MOMables
unfortunately, the pouches you find at the store for commercial products are not designed to be reused. they only have a single opening.
luckyme623
Hi, great reviews. these pouches seems great, Do you have personal favorite? Thank you. :)
MOMables
they all work great.
Amanda
My kids don’t like yogurt or bananas. Are there any recipes that we can still use for the pouches?
MOMables
any recipe you’d use to make a smoothie that your kids will drink can go in these pouches. enjoy!
Hélène
The 1st thing I thot when I saw those pouches was how much waste! No, not the pouch; all that food left in the pouch that you/they can’t get to unless you/they open the pouch and use a spoon…so why not just eat it with a spoon from a cup???
SMH
Jack
Hi,
Love the frozen pouch idea, how long can i leave in the freezer for? do they last up to 6months/ 1 year?
Also should preservatives be added to the pouch? how long does the child have to drink from the pouch?
I take it you cant re freeze once out?
Thanks jack
MOMables
Pouches can be frozen as is for up to 2-3 months. I don’t add anything to mine to preserve. I just freeze. Make sure you leave room for expansion as well. Once thawed it must be consumed.
Jennifer Saranow Schultz (aka Hint Mama)
Thanks so much again for directing me to this yummy reusable pouch recipe:) I featured it today in a Hint Mama post on reusable food pouch recipes (a lack of recipe ideas was one hurdle keeping me from making the switch to diy food pouches). Here’s the post:
http://hintmama.com/2013/11/18/todays-hint-recipes-for-reusable-food-pouches/
MOMables
Thank you for featuring us Jennifer!
Chrystal
Hi — great article! Can you please tell me where you got the heart and star shaped plastic fruit-skewers? They look so pretty, and fun! Thank you!
Kendra Peterson
Hi! Thanks! I got them from a bake shop that sells cupcake toppers and such. They’re also available on Amazon – search for “pearlized cupcake picks” – they have hearts and stars and butterflies and some cute ones with phrases like “yum” and “so sweet.” They’re the ones with the longer looking picks, since you get some other ones with those search results.
Kendra Peterson
Oh! Also they’re available at allthingsforsale.com – I like them for stuff like bento picks, because instead of having to purchase a single style or set by the dozen, they group one or two of each from different sets together to give you a larger variety in one “lot.”
Michelle Zacharias
Thank you for including my product Squishy Snak Pak in this article. They really are great for children of all ages. I love that I can add some greens to my children’s smoothies and they don’t even know :)
Thanks again,
Michelle
Leticia
Hi! I´m from Argentina. I want to tell you that I follow you since my kids have lunch at school, a few months ago, that´s when i found your page. I just love all your tips and recipes! they´re just GREAT! I´ve incorporated all of them!! thanks for sharing!!!! :) you´re amazing! Leticia
Tracy
How easy are the pouches to clean? Diswasher safe?
MOMables
Tracy, it depends on the brand. some are easier than others. When the kids get home from school and dump their lunch bag contents in the sink, I fill them with warm soapy water and let them soak. After dinner, when I’m cleaning up and emptying the sink-of-doom, I do a final rinse. they aren’t that hard. If you don’t wash within a day, the stuff dries and can cake-on. then… well, you can imagine. :)
Ludicrous Mama
Depends on the brand, but the four shown here are all dishwasher-safe. I keep my old baby bottle brushes in a mug near the sink to swab them out if needed. I’m not exactly known for my speed at getting dishes rinsed and in the dishwasher! I kept that basket thing that is used to wash the bottle nipples and rings in the dishwasher, and put small things in them, like the pouch caps (and bento skewers, silicone cups, etc.)
Becky McCormick
I just made my own pouches this past weekend using Yummi Pouch for my 13 month twins!
MOMables
Awesome!
Shannon Wren Waldis
Hi Momables!
Thanks so much for featuring our Squooshi pouches in your article. What a great post!
We love our pouches for smoothies and they are perfect to go from freezer to the lunchbox…glad you agree!
We’ll have new designs coming out soon for kids of all ages. Please check back in with us for new designs!
Thanks again.
Shannon
MOMables
My Pleasure!!
Ludicrous Mama
I saw those patterned ones on Instagram! I LOVE them!