Welcome to Pouch Project – where we take those oh-so-popular baby food pouch flavours and remake them BETTER. We’re recreating the recipes with better balance and better nutrition, and comparing what's more affordable. 

In this recipe we're making our version of the Heinz for Baby - Chicken and Sweetcorn. You can read our full review on this particular pouch here. The bottom line though is it's predominantly water with some carrot, corn and a pinch of chicken! We thought we could improve it a little bit!

Heinz Ingredient Break Down

Water, Sweetcorn (18%), Carrots (15%), Chicken (10%), Onion, Cornflour, Spice

Cost $ 

$1.80 per 120g/packet ($1.50 per 100g) 

Our Pouch Project Ingredient Break Down

Chicken Breast (41%), Carrot (22.5%), Corn (20.5%), Water (15.4%) Tumeric, Garlic Powder

Cost $

$7.38 per 768g Total Recipe (96c per 100g)

The difference: 

Our recipe makes a version that is higher in overall energy content coming in at 416kJ per 100g compared to Heinz 220kJ per 100g. This is not surprising given the majority of the commercial version is water which contributes no nutrition. Our version is also higher in fat and protein content per 100g. Our version doesn't contribute a great deal of iron however it's more than is existent in the commercial version. I had intended to make this recipe with chicken thigh not breast as this is a cheaper, more tender cut of meat with a higher iron content but I accidentally bought breast! If you would prefer to use thigh fillet please do! Our version is also coming in slightly cheaper at 96c per 100g over $1.50 per 100g but given us ours has a significantly higher content of Chicken which is the most expensive ingredient I think this cost is a pretty great outcome.

Allergens: 

None present.

Age: 

Suitable from around 6 months when starting solids. 

This makes quite a smooth puree to replicate the pouch variety. 

Taste: 

Our recipe actually creates a meal that tastes like chicken. I think thats perhaps the most surprising part for me when tasting these commercial pouches is that the taste doesn't even remotely resemble some of the ingredients listed on the front.

Golden Sweetcorn & Chicken

Makes: 770g or ~ 6.5 120g Servings

Time: ~ 15 minutes 

Ingredients

• 400g Chicken Breast
• 500ml (2 cups) Water
• 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Ground Tumeric
• 220g (3) Carrots
• 200g (1 Cup) Canned Sweet Corn Kernels

Method

1. Roughly dice your chicken breast and carrots. This doesn't have to be pretty or neat! It's all getting blended in the end!
2. Place a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat. Add 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil.
3. Add the diced chicken breast and spices to the sauce. Cover and allow to simmer for 4 minutes. 
4. Add the diced carrots and continue simmering on medium heat for another 5 minutes.
5. Add the corn kernels and simmer for a further 3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before blending. The majority of the water added to the saucepan has evaporated off by this point so there is no need to drain off excess water. To make a smooth consistency you want to ensure there is still a little bit of water floating around the pan.
7. Use either a stick blender or food processor to blend to the desired consistency. To make this is a consistency that replicates that of the pouches you do need to process it for around 1-2 minutes to ensure all lumps are removed.

Hint:

If making this for an older baby and wanting a thicker mashed consistency you could drain off most of the water and pull the chicken to shreds with forks and mash the rest of the vegetables. Or simply just don't blend for as long in the final step.