This $3 Grocery Is So Good, I Eat It WHILE I Shop

One of the greatest parts of being an adult, I’ve found, is that I can fully delight in some of my favorite childhood foods (see: dino-shaped chicken nuggets and frozen waffles). At the same time, I get to enjoy new, fun, kid-friendly products my generation missed out on — like fruit and veggie smoothie pouches, especially the ones made by Once Upon a Farm.

You see, I pound these little pouches pretty much anytime I head to the grocery store and mistakenly enter the Hanger Danger Zone, which is often (oops). Breakfast is a meal that eludes me to this day; I still forget to eat actual food in the excitement of making my morning coffee. 

But no more! Once Upon a Farm’s assortment of pouches find their way pretty often into my purse for a break-in-case-of-emergency bit of energy. The pouches are equal parts refreshing and satisfying — what is this witchcraft? And how is it true for each and every dairy-free flavor? I may never know.

Once Upon a Farm’s fruit and veggie smoothie pouches distill all the best parts of what I call a “thinking snack,” a snack you eat when you need to think about what you’re going to eat next. When you’re, say, stuck a bit longer than you thought you’d be at the doctor’s office, hovering over your fridge trying to make sense of the contents, or mid-road trip and need just that little bit of mental juice to get to your next rest stop. They’re easy to eat on-the-go, nearly mess-free (and resealable), and taste delicious. 

The pouches contain plenty of different vegetables, seeds, and fruits (like apples, beets, carrots, pumpkin seeds, pineapple, kale, and sweet potatoes), yet all result in a tropical daydream flavor explosion. My favorites at the moment, Coco for Mangoes and Wild Rumpus Avocado, both taste slightly decadent (thanks to Coco’s coconut milk base and Wild Rumpus’ namesake avocado) and balanced. There’s enough tropical pineapple-coconut sweetness to disguise any of the vegetables that are hidden inside. Unlike other pouches, I love how the Once Upon a Farm ones are way less apple-heavy, relying on a whole host of other fruits (in addition to apples) to add a pop of tart-sweet flavor.  

I’m not picky about the taste of vegetables (beets are one of my favorite foods), but if you have a veg-averse kid in your house, I’d put money on them never detecting a hint of roughage in any of the Once Upon a Farm pouches. And at just $2.99 a pop, they save me from blowing a cool $10 bucks or more at a Starbucks drive-thru or, more likely, eating half a bag of kettle chips on my drive home. 

Buy: Once Upon a Farm Coco For Mangoes Organic Dairy-Free Kids Smoothie, $2.99 for 4 ounces at Target

Even if I’m not planning on drinking these straight-up (or simply want an adult-sized amount of food), I love using the Once Upon a Farm pouches as a “starter” for a larger smoothie — especially because they sneak in vegetables I might not otherwise have time to prep.

I also love freezing these for a makeshift frozen pop. Just note: The tiny straw at the top isn’t ideal for frozen enjoyment, so I recommend snipping the top of the pouch and enjoying it ice pop-style. 

Buy: Once Upon a Farm Wild Rumpus Avocado Pineapple Banana Organic Kids Snack, $2.99 for 3.2 ounces at Target

What budget-friendly snacks are you buying on repeat? Tell us about it in the comments below.