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My kids, particularly my 2-year-old son, are hooked on applesauce pouches. Sometimes applesauce is literally the only thing my son will agree to eat. Because I’m aware of how damaging single use plastic can be to the environment, a growing feeling of guilt was gnawing at me. Solution? Purchase refillable pouches. This way I avoid creating unnecessary waste and I save a few bucks.
Cost Analysis
I bought 10 pouches from Amazon for $9.99. Store bought, disposable applesauce pouches cost about $7.49 for twelve 3.2 ounce pouches ($0.20 per ounce). A 48 ounce glass jar of generic applesauce costs $2.79 ($0.06 per ounce). As long as I use the refillable pouches twice, they pay for themselves. Also, the empty glass applesauce jar can be washed and reused indefinitely.
Store bought, disposable yogurt pouches cost $1.69 for one 3.5 ounce pouch of yogurt ($0.48 per ounce). A 32 ounce container of yogurt costs $3.99 ($0.12 per ounce). Again, using the pouches for yogurt creates immediate savings. I realize I’m committing the ultimate sin because I’m still creating plastic waste, but positive change happens one step at a time.
Picking and Choosing
Another perk of filling your own pouches is that you can fill them with whatever you want. Some of the pre-loaded applesauce pouches I’ve seen at the store contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup. I opt for boring sugar-free applesauce and organic yogurt. You could go absolutely wild with what you jam into these bad boys, though. If you can turn a food into a slurry, you can deliver it to your child with one of these pouches.
Cleaning
I wash the pouches at the end of each day, which requires a bottle brush and a straw cleaning brush. I doubt they’d be cleaned effectively in a dishwasher because of their design. They clean up easily enough by hand, but it’s one more item to add to your to-do list, which I understand may already be overflowing. If time is money in your world, these may not be the best choice for you.
Fail
This is what failing better looks like. The fail is that we were creating unnecessary waste and throwing money away.
Better
We saw the error of our ways, spent a little time researching, and modified our lives to make better decisions.