Peas of Mind: A Healthy and Quick Toddler’s Meal

Kids and greens, why can’t they just along?  Some of you are lucky enough to have kids that swallow up their green beans and ask for seconds, but for the most part, in order to feed kids healthy food you have to dress it up in a chicken nugget costume and douse it in ketchup! So what are the alternatives? In the past, I’ve been tempted to pick up a few of those Gerber toddlerTV dinners and Lunchables but who knows what preservatives theycontain?  We try to buy as much organic food as possible which can be achallenge when it comes to prepared kid food. One company in San Francisco has found the perfect costume for veggies, and the company name is a perfect match, Peas of Mind.

Peas of Mind is a frozen food company that has invented “Puffets.” Intended as an all-in-one meal for kids 12 months and older, or a super healthy snack for older toddlers, each Puffet is about the size and shape of a hockey puck and can be eaten with your hands. There are four Puffet flavors: Eat Your Greens, Carrot Risotto, Nanna’s Banana and Black Bean Polenta. All flavors contain organic ingredients including fruits, vegetables, and grains. They are individually wrapped and frozen, and sold four Puffets per box.

We tried the Carrot Risotto, which was my favorite (and also contains yams which sweetens it a bit), and Nanna’s Banana, which is basically a noodle kugel and which Anya clearly preferred probably because it’s slightly sweet (but no added sugar or preservatives-woo hoo!). The other flavors include Eat Your Greens (which has broccoli and spinach) and Black Bean Polenta. All of the flavors are high in protein and contain the good kind of fat (including omega 3s which is important for proper brain function and development).  As they contain whole milk and eggs, only childrenwithout allergies to these things and over the age of 1 should eat them. (Click the extended post for the ingredient lists and nutrition facts.)

The company tells me that some parents are serving Puffets in lunch boxes, since they are individually wrapped and pre-cooked, can be defrosted overnight in the fridge, and are a perfect on-the-go snack. And, believe it or not, parents have found Puffets incredibly satisfying as a pick-me-up during the day. I don’t know about that… but the next time I’m looking for an afternoon snack, I might be tempted to try the Eat Your Greens which is high in protein and low in carbs.

We really fight the urge to serve Anya a steady diet of the easy but popular kid foods like chicken nuggets and mac and cheese because we want her to develop healthy eating habits.  Now is the time to start, not when she’s in elementary school, going for a lunch of cookies and soda and tossing out her whole lunch bag (like Josh used to do!). I’m all for any company that helps us serve healthy and tasty foods!

They are available in grocery stores in some areas (right now just the west coast) and online.

– Danielle