Little Spoon Review: A Dietitian Reviews This Baby Food and Kids' Meal Delivery Service

Feeding little kids can be stressful, but one meal delivery service is making mealtime easier. A dietitian reviews Little Spoon and discusses its merits.

Author:
Gaby McPherson, RDN
Updated:
Jan 12, 2024

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Parenting comes with lots of questions and choices, like what’s the best multivitamin or probiotics for kids or how to do baby-led weaning safely. Feeding kids at all ages and stages can be daunting and raise many questions. But parents don’t have to stumble through it alone—in 2024, there are healthy meal delivery services like Little Spoon, which offer a one-stop solution, alleviating the stress of feeding babies and kids. Families with one kid or with several children often have the same goal: to conveniently provide fresh, nutritious foods their children will eat.

Little Spoon strives to revolutionize the baby food industry. It delivers innovative, fresh meals, snacks and smoothies for infants and kids to the homes of busy families. Its mission is crystal clear: to simplify the feeding process for families. In this Little Spoon review, we aim to provide essential information for parents needing a break from the stovetop.

This content is meant to be informative, but should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention or treatment of health problems. Always speak with your doctor before starting any new supplement or exercise regimen.

Little Spoon At A Glance

USDA-certified organic, non-GMO, free of artificial ingredients
Doorstep delivery with two weeks' worth of fresh food
Nutritious, child-friendly foods and flavors
Veggie and superfood ingredients
Allergen-friendly options

What Is Little Spoon?

Little Spoon is a subscription-based, prepared meal delivery service that provides fresh, USDA-certified organic, non-GMO purees, meals, snacks and smoothies for babies, toddlers and kids. Full of nutrients and free of artificial ingredients, the company uses clean and whole-food ingredients to support healthy growth in every bite.

Little Spoon is designed to help reduce some of the stress that can come with cooking healthy meals for kids that they'll eat and enjoy, and that are good for them. The company ensures vegetables are present in every meal, and that the options include foods that are both tasty and nutritious. Plus, the meals can be frozen to ensure they last, and reheat easily in the microwave for a quicker mealtime process.

How Does Little Spoon Work?

Little Spoon offers six food categories to select from according to your child’s age or feeding stage. Once you know the food categories you want for your child, Little Spoon makes things easy to start and asks for some information, including the parent's name, child’s name and birthday, and your zip code. Next, it’s time to choose a plan for the type and quantity of meals you want sent to your door. Once you checkout, Little Spoon will ship your foods fresh to your doorstep every two weeks. With the brand's flexible plans, you can pause, cancel or skip your deliveries at no extra cost.

Little Spoon Pros

Fresh and simple ingredients without harmful additives
Fun kid-friendly flavors
Eases transitions from purees to table foods
Meals reheat in a matter of seconds
Recyclable packaging and reusable plates and utensils

Little Spoon Cons

Limited selections for kids with food allergies
Only ships within the continental U.S. (no shipping to Hawaii or Alaska)
No trial option or money-back guarantee

Little Spoon Meals, Snacks and More

Here’s a summary of Little Spoon’s baby and kid-friendly food categories and what they offer.

You can filter the choices by dietary need, whether it needs to be free of gluten, dairy or coconut.

Babyblends

These have six stages of fresh baby food purees, from single-ingredient smooth textures to multi-ingredient, more advanced textures. Coming in 40 flavors (and many bright, bold colors), families have plenty of blends to choose from, ranging from Guava puree to Red Lentil Chickpea Curry. Depending on the stage, combinations may feature fruits, veggies, superfoods, ancient grains, spices and more. Enclosed feeding spoons make mealtime easy, and babies can enjoy their purees at room temperature or warm.

Biteables

For more seasoned eaters, Biteables include eight cut-to-size finger food meals uniquely designed to build oral motor and self-feeding skills. Biteables are designed to help take the stress out of transitioning from purees to table foods. Several meals—like the Grass-Fed Meatballs and Mini White Mac and Cheese options—have high protein and veggie-packed ingredients.

Plates

Plates are a variety of 26 ready-to-eat meals that only take 60-90 seconds to heat up. Each meal provides a balanced nutritional profile and flavor variety that toddlers and big kids can feast on. Chicken Super Nuggets and Mac and Three Cheese, both made with hidden veggies, are the most popular items.

Lunchers

Designed with on-the-go eating in mind, Lunchers offers nutrition for healthy eating anywhere. While some options, such as Chicken Dunkers are ready to eat, others, such as the Easy Cheesy Pizza, supply self-assembling ingredients, so big kids can take matters into their own hands.

Smoothies

Little Spoon’s cold-pressed smoothies come in pouches for sippable nutrition, made easy for tiny hands. Each of the 15 no-added sugar blends feature a nutrient-packed ingredient combo that may include fruit, chia seeds, vegetables or Greek yogurt. The most popular smoothie is the Strawberry Banana shake made with added butternut squash among other ingredients.

Snacks

Traditional kid snacks are laden with added sugars and fall short of offering essential nutrients. Little Spoon’s latest snack additions come with protein and minimal ingredients like oats, chickpeas, mango and maple syrup. Its four plant-forward snacks include soft-baked oat bars, crunchy veggie loops, peelable fruit snacks and oat dip packs.

Quality of Ingredients

Many traditional shelf-stable baby foods are known for their not-so-fresh tastes and distant expiration dates. But Little Spoon aims to deliver fresh ingredients from baby food blends to big kid foods. Given its dedication to simplifying mealtime without compromising on quality, Little Spoon uses natural, whole foods teeming with essential nutrients all kids need in childhood. Baby blends may include ingredients like purple sweet potatoes, zucchini and ginger, while older kids get turkey kale meatballs or fajita chicken. Vegetables like cauliflower and kale are in most offerings, whether hidden or in clear view. And if you’re scrutinizing the labels for harmful additives, you won’t find any. Little Spoon provides “junk-free” foods without artificial ingredients, and many products have little to no added sugars.

Little Spoon Cost and Pricing

Cost might be one of the most pressing concerns when looking for a meal delivery service like Little Spoon.

Prices start at:

$2.96 each for BabyBlends
$5.83 each for Biteables and Plates
$7.92 each for Lunchers
$2.82 each for Smoothies
$2.32 each for Snacks (multi-servings)

Like many other meal delivery subscriptions, Little Spoon doesn’t allow you to purchase food independently and only offers specific plans. The more weekly meals you select, the cheaper the cost per meal.

Compared to store-bought baby foods, Little Spoon prices may be higher; however, Little Spoon provides a lot with the price tag, including fresh, nutritious, organic ingredients without preservatives. It could also be cheaper to DIY your baby food. According to Mint, making your own organic foods is 45 percent cheaper than buying them in-store. But spending hours on end in the kitchen preparing baby foods may leave a lot to be desired for some.

What Customers Are Saying About Little Spoon

Many parents sing praises of Little Spoon, citing its convenience and the quality of the foods delivered. However, it’s useful to keep in mind that Little Spoon may be out of budget for some families, and might not be a good fit for everyone.

Positive reviews

Convenience

Little Spoon deliveries ship every two weeks in packaging that’s easy to recycle right on your curb. Reusable plates and spoons were a bonus for parents, which made feeding their kids more convenient.

One review says, “Little Spoon has made our son’s life and our lives as parents so much easier and more convenient. With our son having multiple allergies, we love how we can narrow down his order of food [to ensure it’s] without allergens. Plus he loves the food!”

Value

Overall, many parents feel Little Spoon is an affordable option for feeding their kids clean meals made with whole foods.

According to one review, “The meals are so convenient and I feel good about them because they seem like something I would cook.”

Many parents feel peace that their littles are receiving a diverse array of meals they probably wouldn’t have been able to put together themselves.

One review writes, “Makes dinner time so easy and my daughter loves the meals. It’s helped me expose her to a variety of foods, too!”

Time-savings

Many families find Little Spoon products dependable, especially when they’re in a pinch and need to toss food in the microwave for hungry kiddos. Some parents comment about how Little Spoon allows them to trade time spent preparing foods for time spent with their children.

One reviewer commented, “I love Little Spoon! Makes busy days so much easier knowing he is getting something delicious and nutritious to eat.”

Another review says, “I love that I can spend more time with my son than being in the kitchen.”

Customer service

According to the parents who have left reviews, Little Spoon’s customer service team is easy to work with.

Peace of mind

Many parents also mention living with less stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. Nothing may be more valuable than that, and the service may be worth trying.

One reviewer said, “I’m about to receive my third order. Having the peace of mind that my kids are eating good, nutritious, whole foods means so much to me. I am a mother of three, and keeping up with making my baby’s baby food is so hard on top of two toddlers, making dinner, and making sure the toddlers eat healthy too. With this company I have been able to do it all much easier and my kids love the food!”

Negative reviews

Price

While most families feel Little Spoon is worth it, others may disagree—depending on your family. Parents share tips for saving even more money using Little Spoon. Some save by not using Little Spoon products at every meal, but to help fill the gaps when cooking breaks are a must. Others may split the meal in half and offer additional home-cooked foods as a way to save money and boost their kids' nutrition.

One reviewer does say she wishes there was a little more variety, and another writes that they contacted customer service and, while she did receive a reply, it didn’t address the issues she brought up in the request.

Little Spoon offers a 20 percent discount when you first sign up, and you can make your order more cost-effective by selecting larger plans.

About Little Spoon

Little Spoon is a direct-to-consumer brand founded by Angela Vranich, Ben Lewis, Lisa Barnett and Michelle Muller in 2016 in New York City. The concept of Little Spoon was born from real parents who understood the struggle of feeding babies, toddlers and children healthy foods while balancing the many spinning plates of life. The brand aims to provide “junk-free,” high-quality nutrition to the families it serves. Little Spoon support surpasses food and nutrition; in its blog called “Is It Normal,” experts answer customer questions to aid people as they navigate parenthood. And no question seems to be off-limits—topics can include relationships, postpartum mental health and potty training.

Where Little Spoon really commands attention is the methods it uses to produce baby foods. It utilizes cold pressure technology to pasteurize the baby food products to preserve their nutrition, taste, texture and color instead of heat pasteurization, which may reduce these.

Little Spoon sources over 100 USDA-certified and non-GMO ingredients from farmers. In partnership with the Clean Label Project, a non-profit with a mission to bring truth and transparency to food labels, Little Spoon has tested its baby food blends for over 400 contaminants. Some of the baby purees are also Kosher Certified by the Orthodox Union.

Little Spoon FAQs

Are Little Spoon meals frozen?

All Little Spoon meals are delivered fresh; however, they are sent with ice packs that could push them into the frozen zone.

Are Little Spoon plates reusable?

Little Spoon plates are 100 percent dishwasher-safe and reusable.

How long do Little Spoon purees last?

Little Spoon purees are created using cold pressure technology, which is excellent for preserving their nutrients, flavors and textures but makes them prone to spoiling. That said, the purees must be kept refrigerated for up to 14 days or frozen for up to three months. Labeling packages before refrigerating or freezing can make it easier to track their storage.

What age kids are Little Spoon smoothies for?

Little Spoon says its smoothies are for babies, toddlers and big kids.

Is Little Spoon healthy?

Every food Little Spoon offers is designed to supply babies, toddlers and big kids with nutrients they need to grow, develop and stay healthy.

Takeaway: Is Little Spoon Worth It?

Little Spoon is a popular meal delivery service for growing babies, toddlers and big kids (and even some adults) that brings fresh, nutrient-packed foods with premium ingredients to your doorstep—which can be great for busy, stressed-out parents. Little Spoon provides meals, snacks and smoothies that are chock-full of delicious fresh tastes and essential nutrients for healthy growth and development. The company receives positive reviews, but whether it's worth it depends on your family's budget and convenience needs. You can always try Little Spoon and see if it makes a difference for you, as it does for many families. The company gives flexible options to pause, cancel or skip a delivery anytime without fees. Ultimately, you know what’s best for your family.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases.

Prices are accurate and items in stock as of publish time.