I’ve generally been impressed with anything in a pouch from Aldi. From their other Simply Nature squeezable fruit blends, to their Little Journey Organics line of baby/toddler foods, if it’s a semi-liquid in a pouch, and geared toward little ones, chances are you can’t go wrong with it.
Originally, they sold these little 3.2 oz. guys individually at the checkout line for $.69 a pop, as they started to replace the junkier impulse buys (chocolate bars, candy, etc.) with healthier options. I didn’t think it was that bad of a price…until they stopped doing that and only started selling them in four packs. That’s when I realized not even discount grocers like Aldi are above the sneaky practice of marking up goods in the checkout area, as the four packs retail for a ridiculously low $1.65. That’s some pretty solid value!
But now comes the true test: how do they taste?Oh yeah, this is a fantastic little pouch. One of the problems that I had with the Little Journey Organics line is that I could never make out the banana in most of the flavors with “banana” in the title; that’s a shame, because it’s probably my favorite fruit (though watermelon gives it a nice run for its money). Since it’s only one of two featured fruits here, though, the taste is easily recognizable, and also pairs up nicely with the headlining apple. It’s a fantastic pairing that’s seemingly underutilized. It is pretty sweet, so those that don’t have a particularly strong sweet-tooth should probably steer clear, but considering it’s geared more toward children, it’s probably to be expected.
I know I shouldn’t be comparing the two, because they are two different lines, but there are a couple things I miss about the Little Journey Organics pouches: the simple ingredients (all of them consist entirely of purees of whatever fruits/vegetables are in the title, lemon juice concentrate, and added vitamin C), and as I have just mentioned, the added vitamins. With these, all you’re pretty much getting are 13g of sugar, some fiber, and that’s about it (there is 4% vitamin C and 2% iron, but those are largely negligible). Now, obviously this is still a way healthier alternative than, say, a chocolate bar, and the flavor is really good, but I’d probably lean toward the LJO products if I ever got a craving for children’s fruit blends in pouch form.
Even though this one has banana you can actually taste!
Overall: 7.5/10. A great-tasting little snack that’s a pretty solid deal, with four 3.2 oz. pouches retailing for just $1.65. The texture is like applesauce, making it ideal for kids of almost any age, while the apple and banana tastes are both pronounced, and go very well together. In other words, it has a flavor that most kids, and probably even adults, are going to enjoy. Definitely recommended.
