We are well into our weaning journey now with Imogen, and as well as home cooked food purees and finger foods, we are also using our fair share of ready-made food. We always seem to default to the same couple of brands, so I was interested to hear of a new one to the market, Goodness Gracious Food Company, founded by Katherine Gubbins and named after her daughter Grace.
The unique selling point of Goodness Gracious, is that it follows the principles of Ayurveda, one of the worlds oldest holistic systems. Ayurveda is a state of balance between the soul, mind and senses, and an ayurvedic diet looks at the method of preparation and the combination of foods, and what is mixed with others. For example, fruit ferments in the stomach and inhibits digestion of other foods, so it follows that it is eaten separately. Yoghurt is heavy and curdles in the stomach when mixed with fruit so can be hard to digest (something I didn’t know!) So using these principles allows for gentler digestion and good gut health.
The current range includes
- Apple Purée
- Pear Purée
- Apple, Apricot and Cinnamon Purée
- Banana Plum and Quinoa Purée
- Carrot, Brocoli Quinoa and Pea Purée
- Chicken, Sweet Potato and Spinach Purée with Mint and Lemon
- Mango, Coconut Milk and Brown Rice Purée
- Kale, Parsnip, Courgette Quinoa Purée with Cumin and Fennel
All the pouches are 100% organic, gluten-free as well as egg & dairy free, with no additives, no salt or sugar. At first glance I liked the look of the packaging. It’s bold and bright, yet simple.
I immediately noticed the use of some unusual ingredients not often seen in baby food such as cinnamon, quinoa, apricot. Each one has its place and reason, for example cinnamon is a spice that has been used to sooth coughs and colds for centuries, improving circulation and in some trials has even been noted to reduce blood glucose levels. In Ayurveda, apricots are knowns as Sattvic, meaning balancing.
I must admit that Ayurveda s not some I knew much about at all, and reading all this has really opened my eyes somewhat and I’ve found it really interesting. As you can see from the photos, although Imogen is very unlikely to be understanding the principles of Ayurveda just yet, she certainly seems to be enjoying the tastes. The Apple, Apricot and Cinnamon went down a particular treat!
Goodness Gracious Foods are now available in Asda stores and online – I will certainly be looking out for them again.
Disclosure: We were sent a selection of Goodness Gracious Food Company pouches to try out for consideration of review, all opinions honest and our own.
