Don’t Buy Nurture Life Until You Read This Review

Making food is one of the most time-consuming, energy-sucking parts of being a parent.

It’s constant, and it’s a bit stressful at times. With three kids under age 5, I feel stretched pretty thin, so I started looking at finger food options for my 10-month-old boy.

I’d already heard of Nurture Life, so I took a closer look and found the prices and available discounts pretty compelling.

We’ve been Nurture Life customers for 7 months at this point, so I feel confident in writing an in-depth review of my experience.

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Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored, and I purchased all Nurture Life food with my own money. When I decided to write a review, I became an affiliate with Nurture Life, which means if you click on a link in this article and make a purchase, I may earn a commission. And if you do, thank you! Those commissions are what allow me to invest in products like this to test so I can share new reviews.

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What Is Nurture Life?

Nurture Life is a flexible, weekly meal subscription service that makes and delivers delicious, nutritious, premade meals, snacks, and smoothies for babies, toddlers, and kids.

I was initially interested in Nurture Life for their “Finger Foods,” which are small containers of bite-sized healthy meals for 10 months and up.

After many weeks of Finger Foods, I noticed my son turning away some of the veggie-heavy options, so I started sprinkling in some of the “Kids Meals.” These have been a total hit!

The Kids Meals are nutritious, but they’re also developed for picky eaters. The mac and cheese sauce and marinara sauce have butternut squash hidden inside, as an example.

Nurture Life Unboxing & First Impressions

Your weekly Nurture Life order comes in an insulated box with big freezer packs. My first impression was: that is one huge box for 6 small containers of food.

I live in a rural area where recycling isn’t an option, so I cringe when I get these massive boxes and know that most will end up in the garbage.

That said, everything arrived nice and cold, and we’ve never had an order arrive damaged or warm.

The way they pack the box keeps everything nice and cold, even when the package arrived a day late one week.

Related Content: Hiya Probiotics Review: Is It the Best Probiotic for Toddlers?

Baby’s Reaction to Nurture Life Baby Food

My son’s first reaction to Nurture Life was surprisingly good!

At 10 months, he loved finger foods. He was starting to get fussy about purees, which is part of the reason I wanted to try Nurture Life in the first place.

He immediately started grabbing the small pieces, and I was a little surprised at how quickly he got full.

The containers are really small, and I felt like it wouldn’t be enough food, but I was wrong. At the 10-month mark, one Finger Foods container lasted us two meals.

At about 13 months old, he started turning away some of the Finger Foods – namely, the ones with vegetables prominently included (Shepherd’s Pie, Beef Meatloaf, and Grilled Chicken with Carrots and Peas were a few).

At that point, I decided to try adding some of the Kid’s Meals. I was pretty selective about choosing meals with softer foods to make sure he wouldn’t choke, but as soon as we got those, he absolutely loved them!

He’s 16 months old now, and all we get are Kid’s Meals. He has not turned away a single Kid’s Meal yet, though sometimes, he eats everything in it but the vegetables. Am I surprised?

Our Favorite Nurture Life Meals

We’ve skipped weeks here and there due to schedules and budget, but even still, we’ve had over a dozen packages of Nurture Life meals, and I can definitely share which meals are his favorites.

While the menu does change slightly each week – and sometimes, a new meal enters the rotation – there are usually similar choices every time.

Here are his favorite Kid’s Meals:

• Mac & Cheese
• Chicken & Mac
• French Toast Sticks
• Spaghetti & Meatballs
• Breakfast Pockets
• Butter Chicken

And these were his favorite Finger Foods:

• Chicken Meatballs
• Salmon Cakes
• Mini Shell Bolognese
• Cheeseburger Mini Mac
• Mac & Cheese (includes peas)
• Mini White Mac (includes peas also)

He seemed pretty neutral about the other options, but there were two he hated: Apple Cinnamon Twist and Squash & Kale Hash.

Is Nurture Life Worth the Price?

Nurture Life costs $6.49 for Finger Foods and $7.49 for Kid’s Meals. On top of that, shipping costs $8.99.

I always do 6 meals in each week’s delivery, so my total is typically around $50 for the week. And honestly, that’s not something we can do each and every week.

I will say that promotions and discounts definitely persuaded me to reactivate on certain weeks – I’ll share some tips on this shortly!

Nurture Life’s pricing is very good compared to the other options on the market, but it’s obviously way more expensive than doing it yourself.

Well, the price would probably be the same if you were to buy the ingredients, but you’d be left with a much higher yield.

Three years ago, I totally would’ve done this myself! I love prepping food in bulk, freezing it, and having a huge stash to enjoy throughout the week.

But in this season of my life, I just don’t have time for it. Between kid’s activities, events, and the fact that my 1-year-old cries unless I’m holding him, it would be incredibly stressful to try to replicate Nurture Life.

Why I Love Nurture Life (And Why You Might, Too)

For me, Nurture Life is worth the price (that’s why I’m still subscribed!), but I balance when we order it based on weeks that are busier or when my husband and I are going out of town.

That leads me to the first reason I love Nurture Life: It makes feeding our little guy way easier on our babysitters.

I don’t have to worry that the food is cut up small enough, I know he’s getting a meal full of veggies, healthy carbs, and protein, and they don’t have to stress about making sure the food is ready in time for his hangry evening moods.

My baby is typically hungry before I can actually start making dinner. I work until 5:30pm, so I don’t usually start dinner until then, and by that time, the little guy is full-on wailing.

I could give him snacks, but then he wouldn’t be hungry for dinner. Or, I could listen to him scream, likely holding him on my hip while trying to cook dinner with one hand.

For these days in particular, I love Nurture Life. I can warm up a nutritious meal for him in 45 seconds (the box says 1 minute, but I’ve found 45 seconds is perfect), and the problem is solved.

Finally, Nurture Life meals are great about including veggies in fun ways, and the price is pretty good compared to the other options out there.

Nurture Life vs Little Spoon vs Yumi vs Tiny Organics

Nurture Life isn’t the only baby and toddler food company out there – Little Spoon and Yumi are two other big names.

Full disclosure: I did an ad campaign with Little Spoon last year and received a box of their products for free, and Yumi also sent me a box of their products to try at no cost.

And woah – I just discovered that it appears Yumi is no longer offering baby and toddler food on their website! I’ll include a different prominent baby food brand, Tiny Organics, here in its place.

Finger Foods Comparison

	Nurture Life	Little Spoon	Tiny Organics
Price per meal	$6.49	$7.08	$5.49
# of options	18	8	13
Shipping	$8.99	$9	$6.99
Vegetarian options	Yes	Yes	Yes
Gluten-free options	Yes	Yes	Yes
Dairy-free options	Yes	Yes	Yes
Notes	More options than others for dietary restrictions	Must get 2 weeks at a time	No itemized total is provided before you click purchase; the website is not transparent or easy to use at ALL

A big standout of Nurture Life is the expansive selection. They really shine in the finger foods department – there are so many choices.

That said, Tiny Organics does win on price, but I found their website experience extremely frustrating. You can’t see your order total before actually purchasing, which is kind of scary to me.

I had to email the brand to find out how much the shipping was because it isn’t disclosed anywhere. I still think it may be worth trying, though.

Little Spoon has the fewest options and the highest price, so it kind of gets knocked out for me personally.

Kid’s Meals Comparison

	Nurture Life	Little Spoon	Tiny Organics
Price per meal	$7.49	$7.08	N/A
# of options	26	28	N/A
Shipping	$8.99	$9	N/A
Vegetarian options	Yes	Yes	N/A
Gluten-free options	Yes	Yes	N/A
Dairy-free options	Yes	Yes	N/A
Notes	You can mix and match finger foods with kid’s meals	Must get 2 weeks at a time	N/A

Tiny Organics does not do kid’s meals (only purees and finger foods), so it’s down to Nurture Life and Little Spoon in this example.

Little Spoon does have the upper hand on price here, and both Little Spoon and Nurture Life have a ton of options to choose from. Both also allow you to filter the choices by dietary restrictions, which is nice.

The biggest drawback of Little Spoon is you must order two weeks at a time. I find it easier to handle a $45-$50 purchase weekly than a $100 purchase biweekly. I also like that I don’t have to freeze anything from Nurture Life, as we consume it within a week.

Those are small things, though. We’ve tried Little Spoon meals, and they’re really good.

I think Nurture Life and Little Spoon are both great options to expand your kid’s palette while hopefully providing them with meals they won’t refuse.

Nurture Life Discount Codes and Promotions

I have no problem with paying for quality, but Nurture Life can get expensive when you’re buying it week after week.

Here are some tips on how to save money and get discounts on Nurture Life.

First of all, you can use my affiliate link to get 50% off:

Additionally, you can get 50% off your first order with code SWEETDEAL50.

That’ll give you a chance to try it out for half price and see if you like it and want to continue.

If you do want to continue, the prices will be as listed.

However, I found that when I skipped a week or two, I occasionally got an email from Nurture Life asking me if I’d like to unskip and get a discount off that week’s price.

The discount offered has ranged from 25% to 50% off.

It’s sporadic and not a guarantee, but it may give you some peace of mind that there will be opportunities to save down the road.

So please rest assured that even if you cannot afford the full price of Nurture Life every week, there will be times when you can come back and enjoy a deal.

Pros and Cons of Nurture Life

To summarize all of our thoughts on Nurture Life, here’s a quick look at the pros and cons.

Pros

• Pre-made meals are ready to go at all times in your fridge
• Your fussy baby doesn’t need to wait for you to finish cooking a meal to start eating
• Expose your child to ingredients you may not use regularly
• Greater variety in meals, which can help avoid picky eating through exposure

• Skip any week
• Feeding is a lot easier for caregivers, nannies, or babysitters if you have Nurture Life available when you’re not home
• Plenty of options for different dietary restrictions, like vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free

• If you don’t have a dietary restriction but your child does (or vice-versa), you don’t have to prepare two meals or change the types of meals you make
• Finger Foods are a great, convenient way to transition off purees
• Finger Foods can help your baby develop the pincer grasp
• When you skip, the company doesn’t bombard you with emails or pressure tactics – in fact, occasionally they’ll give you 25-50% off if you unskip, which I often take advantage of!
• New options are added to the menu each month
• Everything is made and delivered fresh

• The brand typically has really good discounts and promotions, especially for first-time customers – but you will get offers

Cons

• More expensive than making the meals yourself
• Lots of waste in the packaging and shipping materials if you don’t have recycling accessible to you
• Kid’s Meals are in a plastic tray, which you then microwave (you can remove the food from the tray but it adds an extra step)

• Some of the food isn’t seasoned as much as I would season it, but you could argue that it’s seasoned enough for a baby

My Final Thoughts

After trying Nurture Life with my son for over half a year, I can say with confidence that I love and recommend Nurture Life.

Only you will be able to determine if it’s right for you. If you have extra time on your hands, you can definitely save money by making these kinds of finger foods and kid’s meals yourself.

Or maybe you’re taking a different approach to feeding and prefer to do baby-led weaning or perhaps just chopping up whatever you made for dinner that night into small pieces. (I’ve definitely done that!)

Nurture Life isn’t going to be for every family – I know that. But if you’re shopping for a done-for-you food service for babies and toddlers, this brand would be my top choice.

Another thing you might consider if you have a picky eater is adding in some toddler multivitamins.

Here’s a look at the best options on the market right now: 8 Best Vitamins for Toddlers & Kids (2024 Guide)