I recently tried out the Little Spoon Plates meals after feeling burnt out by meal time. As a parent, it’s hard enough to feed myself, let alone two other humans that are constantly changing their minds. I have a 4- and 2-year-old whose appetites are constantly up and down, and their favorite foods were starting to get boring. When that happens as an adult, I usually try and switch over to meal prepping so I can take the thinking out of my cooking, so I thought, why not try that with the kids? The Little Spoon Plates looked more appetizing and involved less effort than if I were to make some of these things myself. Here’s my honest review of the Plates after trying these out for one month with my kids.
What Are Little Spoon Plates?
Little Spoon Plates are pre-made meals for kids in early toddlerhood through ~7 years old. You might already be familiar with the Biteables if you used Little Spoon to help start your kids on more solid foods. The Plates are the next step after them, providing bigger pieces of food that look more like what an adult would actually eat. Think less of everything chopped up and more adult-sized food. They offer 21 different reheatable plate options, including some that are gluten-free and most being allergen-friendly.
How It Fits into a Normal Week
I’m sure there are many different ways for parents to add Plates into their meal rotations, but I found it easiest to use for dinner time when I was especially exhausted from decision-making. The Plates come in pre-divided portions that are stackable in the fridge, which was especially easy to fit next to my own meal-prepped meals. We ordered the Cauli Croquettes, Chicken Teriyaki, Broccoli Bites, Mac and Three Cheese, and Spinach and Cheese Ravioli. I wanted to order some things that were similar to my kids’ safe foods while also trying to give them something new to try that wouldn’t involve me wasting my time if they didn’t like it.
I tried a few different methods of serving, which involved trying to keep the food on the fun blue plate they come on or serving the meals on the kids’ usual plates to try and keep it feeling more familiar. My kids absolutely loved the blue plate and felt like it was something special that was just theirs. I didn’t even have to tell them “no” to keeping it after dinner because the plates are dishwasher-safe and can be reused for future meals! Something about these blue plates turned them into willing and able kids who were excited to put them into the dishwasher after dinner.
I did find it helpful to use my own plates when I wanted to serve two different meals. It was easy to heat up two different options and divide between two plates so they could both easily try what the other was having.
If you have picky eaters like me, I’m sure it’s no surprise that both kids ate the pasta dishes right away, while some of the more adventurous options made them pause. I really thought they would go for the Cauli Croquettes, so I ordered the largest quantity of those meals, but that backfired on me because neither of my kids would eat them. I, however, did eat them, and they were pretty delicious. Plus, there was a positive about that meal that I noticed continued throughout the other meals: Even though things might have extra ingredients you wouldn’t normally put in yourself (like millet veggie poppers), the foods still look like things your kids have had before. I swear if something doesn’t look familiar to my kids, they won’t even give it the time of day, but because the millet veggie poppers look like regular tater tots, they didn’t hesitate to try them. I was able to find that other meals have the same veggie poppers and noted them as a thumbs-up for my next order.
Cost Comparison
I don’t want to pretend that a delivery service for kids meals is a “no-brainer” choice. There are costs to weigh against not only your normal grocery bill but also the convenience and time-consumption factor. While each meal cost is slightly different, the per-Plate cost starts at about $6.49. You can choose different box sizes, but we went with the eight-meal box to start out. Shipping is on a two-week cycle, and you can always postpone/skip a shipment if you don’t need any meals that quickly.
The cost is something to consider based on the things you usually buy at the store. If you’re wanting to get this to replace you having to buy a lot of the typical things on your grocery list, it might be slightly more expensive than buying a bag of chicken nuggets at a big-box store. Or, if you have older kids who tend to eat what parents eat, it might be more cost-effective to make things yourself instead of using the subscription service for just your little one.
I really found the value to be in the meals that were new to my kids. Did I want to make an entire batch of teriyaki chicken for my kids to only eat two bites? Definitely not. That’s where I noticed I was spending less money on the Little Spoon Plates versus getting all the ingredients at the store for one meal. Not to mention the cooking time.
The ease of cooking these meals was also a positive, and I feel like it should be mentioned when it comes to cost comparison. Time is valuable, especially to parents. The cost factor went out the window when we got home late from dance class one week, and I had zero time to make anything from scratch before my 2-year-old needed to get in the bath. Did I have nuggets in my freezer I could cook? Yes. Did I have 10 minutes to heat them up? No. The Broccoli Bites did the work for me that night, and I was extremely thankful.
Packaging and Reheating
If you’ve never tried the Little Spoon Plates before (or even if you have), you might feel unsure about the reheating and packaging. The meals come on sturdy, BPA-free, reusable plastic with a vacuum seal over the top. Each meal is heated for 90 seconds in the microwave with the film on. I was slightly worried about this at first, considering I was skeptical about the Plate’s ability to heat the food and not make it feel or taste like it was microwaved, but the film actually inflates to steam the food. My doubts were met with a steaming hot (maybe too hot) plate of food that mixed well and was clearly warmed through.
This is the part of the experience I have the hardest time with as a parent. Besides the food being extremely hot and needing time to cool down before serving (I’d rather it be too hot than too cold), I’ve had to decide how I feel about reheating the food in plastic. I can admit that I lean on the crunchier side of things when it comes to avoiding plastic in our home, so this really gave me pause. I can appreciate that the plates are BPA-free, and it feels like Little Spoon has made the best decision they could when choosing something for reheating, considering you can’t put stainless steel in the microwave, glass would potentially break in transit, and most of those options don’t allow for disposal if that’s preferable.
At the end of the day, I have looked at all the other things my kids consume as well as how valuable this meal might be to their nutrition that day. Could I trade one dinner heated up in BPA-free plastic for a more filling meal my kids will actually enjoy? Most nights, yes.
Portion Sizing as Your Kid Grows
I find the Plates line to be very forgiving when it comes to growing with kids as they age. Not only can my youngest eat it, but I would also feel good about feeding it all the way up through age 7. I would say the portions run slightly small based on my kids’ appetites, but that’s only on the things they really love. My kids can eat a lot of pasta, and they asked for more of the mac and cheese and ravioli. I choose to make extra sides on those days, like a veggie or fruit and yogurt, so they have another thing to eat with the pasta. As I already said, I’ve eaten some of these meals myself when my kids didn’t finish them or didn’t like them, so it doesn’t even feel like there’s a true age limit. It’s more about deciding if the portion is big enough for your kid’s appetite. If they are good eaters, you might also be making some sides to go with their meals on Little Spoon nights.
Something I didn’t plan for when we first got the meals was how portable they are. As my kids get older, they’re running around a lot more frequently. Whether it’s to activities, friends’ houses, or family, they have to eat on the go pretty often. We also travel to see family a lot, and it was so easy to stack meals into a lunch box with an ice pack so the kids could have their meals at their grandparents’ house, too. Plates are great for parents who need to pack something filling that only needs to be reheated in the microwave.
What Didn’t Work
I would say the thing that didn’t work for us with the Little Spoon Plates is getting my kids to try food that was really outside of their comfort zone. While they added new foods to their palate sometimes, I still worry they might get sick of the choices they’re comfortable with from the Plates line. I didn’t get them to eat a ton of new food, just safe foods made in new, more interesting ways (which is still a win in my book). But with 21 different plate options, including some breakfast ones, I do think more adventurous kids would like the variety.
The Verdict: After the 30 Days
We’re continuing to get Little Spoon Plates after our 30-day test because they provide ease for us as parents on busy nights and give my kids a solid alternative to what we have in the house. I can see how parents of kids who aren’t picky eaters might not benefit from these meals as much, or they may just be more for “fun” instead of an important part of their kids’ diet.
I don’t think the Little Spoon Plates are an every-meal solution but more of an add-on to your current meal rotation. At least that’s what we plan to keep doing.
