Well I had a nice treat in my lunch at work the other day: Another pouch from Little Journey Organics to try! And it has one thing in common with just about all of the rest: there’s apple in it. There is also pear, which isn’t really one of my favorite fruits, and broccoli, which I do like but can’t really imagine being combined with a fruit to create any sort of taste beyond “disgusting”. So let’s see how this one plays out, shall we?
The scent is pretty much all broccoli. There may be some sweetness surrounding it, but the vegetable is clearly the dominant force in the aroma department…let’s hope that it’s not the case with the taste. Perhaps surprisingly, it’s not. I don’t really taste much in the way of pear (maybe that’s by choice), but the broccoli and apple seem to be roughly even in terms of flavor percentage…and it’s not as bad as you would think.
It wouldn’t make the list of my favorites, but the fact that it’s not entirely nauseating has to be a big win in its favor. The apple adds just enough sweet to compliment the serious flavor of the broccoli, somewhat taming it down a little bit. You’ll get the broccoli—quite a bit of it, to be sure, and especially in the aftertaste—but it’s definitely made more palatable by the strong fruit presence.
Now, keep in mind two things: 1) This is coming from someone who likes broccoli. Lots of adults don’t, and even with the added sweetness, I could see them struggling with the taste. And 2) This is also coming from the mouth of an adult. Kids will probably be hit or miss (as it turns out, lots of kids don’t like the taste of broccoli much, either), but if you can get them early enough, they might be more apt to guzzle this down and forge a friendship with the awkward-looking vegetable for the rest of their lives. Like I said, it’s not my favorite, and I wouldn’t ever go out of my way to seek it out, but I do have to say that it’s a lot better, and more drinkable, than I ever would have expected possible.
If you’ve read any of my other reviews for the products in this line, I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s worth reiterating for all the newbies: The ingredients are a huge win, consisting only of organic apple, broccoli, and pear purees, organic lemon juice concentrate, and added vitamin C, in the form of ascorbic acid. It doesn’t get much more straightforward, or healthy, than that, so it’s really something that most parents will feel comfortable about giving their child, while the price tag (a 4 oz. single-serve pouch for just $.79) also works well in its favor.
Overall: 6/10. That it’s not nauseating and undrinkable is a huge win for Little Journey Organics’ Apple Pear Broccoli baby food puree; in fact, it’s far better than you probably would have expected possible from the combination. However, keep in mind this is coming from someone who likes the taste of broccoli, so if you have a strong aversion to the vegetable, stay very far away: It’s by far the dominant flavor. There is a strong burst of apple to balance it out with some sweetness (I didn’t really detect pear much, if at all), but the aftertaste mostly consists of the oddly-shaped vegetable. It’s nowhere near one of my faves within this line, but this one is palatable enough that I will definitely give this to our son early, in the hopes he grows to enjoy the taste of broccoli, and hopefully by extension, other vegetables. The simple, almost entirely organic ingredient list, paired up with the ridiculously affordable $.79 price tag (per 4 oz. pouch), are other solid wins. Worth a try for sure.
