Reusable Squeeze Pouch Review!!

The cute Squooshi packaging
(and my anxious toddler's hands!)

My 2 year old loves puree pouches. We use them sparingly for a few reasons, though. 1 - they seem to make him 'go', 2 - they are a lot of packaging waste for a quick shot of snack. To solve problem #2 I started looking around for some reusable pouch options and came across two: The Sili Squeeze (with Eeeze model) and Squooshi!

I decided to try them both at the same time, and do a head-to-head comparison:

The two items arrived on my doorstep just a day apart from each other, the Sili first. My son seemed to know what to do with it (since the nipple is very bottle like) but lit up when I told him that we would put 'applesauce' in it (his term for all flavor combos of purees... and sometimes even yogurt). I had perused the websites of both companies, and was excited to see that Squooshi had a blog that, though new, had several recipes (upon further research, I see that Sili's website has some recipes, too). So the next morning, I grabbed the un-carved pumpkin from our front porch from Halloween and blended it with apples and spinach to make our first toddler puree, filled our 'citrus'-colored Sili and we headed to the playground, with the toddler begging to eat the applesauce along the way.

As soon as we set foot on the playground he inhaled the pumpkin puree. He did need some help getting the last bit out of the pouch, but he often does with even the disposable models. The rubber on this is very pliable and allows you to get almost everything out. I was quite pleased with our first experiment. My husband did point out that the orange color we got + the green-hued filling made the pouch appear brown, which was a slight turnoff (light-colored fillings we've tried don't seem to have this issue). I read online further that we could also put the next day's oatmeal in the pouch, since we were getting up early for an hour drive to spend the day with Thomas the Train. I hadn't thought of oatmeal in a pouch!

Squooshi smoothie for breakfast!

When we got home, our Squooshi package was on the front porch! I admit, the packaging is rather nice to receive (to keep in mind for gift-giving) with a modern white box, and a little linen drawstring bag inside that holds the pouches and caps. My son instantly recognized what the pouches were and wanted to hold them. He was giddy with the cute animal designs, too. The package contained 4 pouches, 2- 4.5 oz pouches and 2-3.5 oz pouches, with 4 total different animal designs (lion, bird, panda, and walrus). I got to work again on a fruit-yogurt combo from the Squooshi recipe card that came with the pouches, and put them in the freezer.

Sili at the playground!

We forgot to pack a frozen smoothie or oatmeal for our trip the next day (I was especially sad, given the county-fair-like food options at our train event - this would have provided a much better option), but we did have some for an after-nap snack when we got home! I found the Squooshi's easy to give a quick scrub with the bottle brush, but there were a few more nooks and crannies in the Sili, so we wanted to run it through the dishwasher (which is allowed). Drying the Squooshi was a bit tougher, but I wedged the green cap in the zip-lock-like opening to allow some airflow, and later put some freshly washed ones on the dishwasher tines as the other dishes were drying. If you keep a bottle drying rack on your counter, this would be another convenient place to dry these. All options worked just fine.

Every day this week, I packed a frozen banana-strawberry-orange-Greek yogurt - kids' echinacea smoothie  in M's lunch - replacing his usual yogurt!

- Ease to Fill: at first I was frustrated with spooning smoothies into both models, until I realized I could just pour our concoctions right from the blending cup. The threads on the Squooshi tend to catch a little more, but its not a deal-breaker - just wipe before you zip it up.

squooshi smoothie as a snack at the kids' museum!

- Ease to Wash: The Sili Squeeze can go in the dishwasher after disassembling, but the Squooshi is an easy rinse and once-over with a soapy bottle brush. We do a pretty even mix of both for our regular dishes, so neither is more or less convenient. You do have to reassemble the Sili before using it again (much like a baby bottle- put the collar on the pouch before filling!! I did find that out the hard way!), whereas the Squooshi is ready to go.

- Fit and function in little hands: M needed zero help and zero instructions to break into the Squooshi. This may be a drawback if you rely on your kid having to wait for your permission before starting in on a squeeze pouch (we know the imminent dangers), but in our case, we find this a positive. On the other hand, the M tried to take off and put on the cap of the Sili and had an explosion in the car one day. It does take some firm pressure to snap the cap on, and to a toddler this can also mean getting a grip on the base while you do so... and spilling the contents.

- Price: One 4oz Sili is $7.99. A 4-pack of 4.5 oz. Squooshis are $19.99. For the price, you certainly get more of the Squooshi's. However, the Sili's certainly seem a little more substantial (not sure if that also means they will last longer?). I've only been test-driving for a little over a week, so I can't say how long I think the Squooshi's will hold up (Our Panda seems to currently be missing already... and I hope that since it looks so much like the store-bought versions, that it didn't get tossed in the trash at school?).

- Sizes: The Squooshi comes in 3.5 and 4.5 oz sizes. The Sili comes in 4 oz and 6 oz sizes. For our two-year-old, the 4 and 4.5 oz sizes seem to be perfect. We may enjoy the 3.5 oz more when Baby Sister arrives? Or the 6oz for older kids or grownups?

a look at the inside of the Squooshi (from the bottom)

- Durability with Toddler & Likelihood to Explode/Leak: the toddler was more than happy to help me test here - and I didn't even have to ask! He squeezed the Squooshi while I filled another and promptly dropped it on the floor, and later anxiously massaged it in the car waiting for the green light to eat it. He twirled the Sili by the string that held the cap to the bottle... and then promptly flung it by accident. Everything stayed in tact. Nothing leaded.  No leaks or holes.

- Options:  Squooshi's work with the Boon Spoon, in the same way store-bought squeezes do. In fact, they will soon be releasing their own version. The Squooshis currently come in 4 cute animal designs - two for each size. The Sili offers two nipple types for their pouches - one with a star "no spill" tip, and one "with eeze" tip which is more like the store versions, and easier for kids to figure out. The newly redesigned cap keeps either from leaking into the cap. Both sizes of the Sili come in 4 colors: Red, Orange, Blue, and Green.

I am excited to soon test out some other more grown up ideas for squeeze pouch fillings including mashed potato-veggie and sweet potato combos and oatmeal!!

** note: Squooshi supplied their product for our family at no cost, but requested honest feedback on our experience. Keep an eye out on Facebook for a giveaway where you can get a set for free, too! **

*** giveaway is now closed ***