Our story

Our story - Little mashies

The Little Mashies story begins in 2010 when I was diagnosed with a severe illness. I restricted my diet to try to get it under control. I lived off bone broths, pumpkin and chicken soup, pureed cooked apple and mashed up vegetables. Soon after I started trying baby food pouches as a convenient way to eat while I was out and couldn’t cook my own food. As a result I researched the contents of what went in the pouches, how fresh the food was, the nutritional value, and the amount of protein that I was getting.

What I found was astonishing. Even organic and seemingly healthy baby food pouches were always filled with mostly sugary fruit, or sweet vegetables like pumpkin and sweet potato. Rarely was the meat content above 10%. Every single yogurt pouch (even the organic ones) had added sugar, and there was absolutely no guarantee that the food in the pouches was even fresh. As we all know the longer a food is stored before eating, the less minerals and vitamins it has in it. They also use high temperatures to preserve the contents and that process decreases the nutritional value too! So I stopped eating the pouches, and instead froze my home made pureed food in ziplock bags, and I slowly got better.

When Ariella was born I was the happiest and healthiest I'd ever been. Not long afterwards, sheer exhaustion and the stress of being a single mum took its toll on me, and my illness came back with a vengeance. I was in and out of hospital for months and my disease was so severe they wanted to remove my intestines completely. It was a really scary time. I was in constant pain, I lost a lot of weight, my skin turned a dull colour, my hair started falling out and the surgeons kept telling me every day that the only way I could get back to my daughter was to have the surgery. I wanted to give in but I refused to be a single mum, with a disease, and no intestines. So I continued with my purees and broths, got my dad to bring a blender into the hospital and researched every natural cure for my illness from around the world. Eventually they discharged me from hospital and told me to call an ambulance when I was ready for the surgery.

At home with my daughter again, I was still making my own purees, soups and broths. I was freezing them and carrying them around in ziplock bags everywhere I went. I was also trying to increase the good bacteria in my diet so I started to dream of manufacturing a sugar-free yoghurt in a pouch. Once I had that initial thought I was then think- ing about Ariella and how great it would be to have beef casseroles that actually had mostly beef in them, or vege mixes with kale and other superfoods that were fresh from the farmers market and not sweet. I was convinced that making my own pouches would lead to better health for both Ariella and I, and that it would also make life so much easier than carrying around my frozen ziplock bags of food! One day I was pouring my puree out of a ziplock bag, I saw a supermarket pouch and the solution to combine the two just hit me like a cartoon lightbulb moment. Obviously it had been developing a long time in my subconscious but this is how my idea morphed from making my own food to making a container so all parents could make their own healthy food.

Having the concepts on paper was only the beginning though. With next to no money to my name, and in further debt after paying for food, extra medical expenses and day-care for Ariella on my credit card, together with my friends I sold old clothes I had gathered from my ex-modelling days. At those weekly clothes markets, I looked like a skeleton and it was difficult to even pick up Ariella let alone clothing racks. My friends kept trying to sell my Gucci and Chanel items for $10 each and although I was having a near heart attack at the time I realised clothes weren’t going to build my business so I sold as many as I could for whatever I could get for them! Slowly I gathered enough cash to fund the business, one small step at a time. I worked on it every single day often late into the night. By the time production started I had just enough money to pay the deposit and I had finally started getting better. 

My concept for Little Mashies was for parents to be able to cook their own healthier meals and feed them in a handy on-the-go pouch that kids will actually want to eat from! Ariella used to throw food on the floor at meal time, but when she spies Little Mashies her hands fly up and the meal is devoured within minutes. It makes me smile! She even gives the character little kisses! Now that she is older I love that I can hide healthy food inside "snacks". I always sneak in extra spinach and chia seeds to her yoghurt and send frozen green smoothies to daycare. I believe it is very important to know what is in the food you give your baby, so I hope parent's out there experiment with their own healthy mashed up recipes, and enjoy serving it in a Little Mashies reusable pouch!

Now that nearly a decade has passed since I launched Little Mashies a lot has changed (and a lot has stayed the same)! Little Mashies pouches are still our most famous product but I now have a partner, and a second child Lola, and the Little Mashies brand has grown to around 50 products. My core passion has never changed and all of our products help make it easier to feed kids healthy food (mostly because of my tough time with digestive issues). Our range has evolved to include handy reusable storage solutions and meal time eco products that make healthy food simple. Health still drives my business and as time goes by I realise more and more that in order to have health, we also need a healthy planet.

For more information on my healing journey and the treatments I used please head over to Quirky Cooking and read my guest blog post about Crohn's/ Colitis from a few years ago. In addition to this I have a highlight saved on the Little Mashies Instagram account detailing the loss of my large intestine in 2020. I am now the proud owner of a permanent ileostomy and although this was the opposite of what I wanted a decade ago, it feels really right for me now after having tried almost everything to heal my Crohns.

Love

Talisha, Guyon, Ariella & Lola xx

SHOP LITTLE MASHIES

Little Mashies Feeding System Pack
$49.95
Reusable Yoghurt Pouches Australia Little Mashies
Reusable Yoghurt Pouches 10pk Bundle
$69.95
Little Mashies reusable pouches bento
Little Mashies Bento Lunchbox
$49.95
Little Mashies reusable wrap
Little Mashies Reusable Stretch Food Wrap (Large 2pk)
$21.95
Sale
Little Mashies smoothie dump bags meal prep silicone bags
5 x Reusable Smoothie or Snack Bags
$74.75 $64.75 Save $10.00
Buy Silicone Food Bag Best Silicon Storage Bags and Snack with Ziplock BPA Free by Little Mashies Australia Reusable Food Pouches
Little Mashies Reusable Fresh Food Storage Bag (Large 1000mls)
$19.95
jumbo reusable bowl covers
Little Mashies Jumbo Bowl Covers / Silicone Baking Sheets
$34.95
Little Mashies reusable stainless steel cutlery set australia
Little Mashies Stainless Steel & Organic Cotton Cutlery Set
$29.95
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45 products

Starting Solids?


Most babies are ready around 6 months. Look for signs like sitting upright with support, showing interest in food, and a reduced tongue thrust reflex. Every baby develops at their own pace. Readiness matters more than age alone.

At 6 to 8 months food should be very soft and easily mashable between your fingers. Around 9 months babies can handle more texture and small soft pieces. If you are unsure, start softer and increase texture gradually as confidence grows.

Gagging is normal when babies are learning to manage texture. It is different from choking and is part of the learning process. Always supervise meals and offer appropriately sized soft foods. Most babies improve quickly with exposure and practice.

Not necessarily. Many meals can be adapted for baby with simple texture adjustments. You do not need to cook three different dinners. With a simple rhythm and small changes you can feed everyone from the same base meal.

Refilling your reusable yoghurt pouches is easy! Simply turn the reusable food pouch upside down and open the wide double ziplock at the bottom of the pouch. Once the zipper is open you can spoon yoghurt into the pouch or pour it in (out of a jug or bottle).

If you are concerned about making a mess you can use a kitchen funnel so that all of the yoghurt stays away from the yoghurt pouch zipper.

Another idea that we commonly do at home when filming videos (but it would also be useful when holding a baby in one arm), anyway.. the idea is that you put the pouch upside down in a glass (with the lid on), open the ziplock and the glass acts like a second hand, holding the pouch still whilst you spoon the yoghurt in. This is what I do when I only have one hand to use for the refill!I also tend to refill my reusable yoghurt pouches in bulk. I'll buy a good quality yoghurt from Coles or Woolworths and will fill a whole 10pk of pouches in one go so they are all ready for snacks on the go.

My kids always want to eat when they are out and refilling the reusable pouches one at a time just doesn't work for us. The only time i do that actually is when I've pureed a meal that my toddler refused, put it in a reusable pouch, and given it to her again. Oh and the other time I do singles.. there are two actually. When we go for ice-cream (it is so much cleaner when in a pouch), and when I have leftover smoothie (again, it stops me getting smoothie all through my car, pram, or playroom).

Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches are compatible with pouch filling machines that are on the market. Our spout is universal so even though we don't think you need a filling machine, our reusable pouches will fit. All of our yoghurt and baby food pouches come with anti-choke lids as standard.

Cleaning reusable baby food pouches is easy! We have designed Little Mashies refillable yoghurt pouches without corners so there are no places for food to get stuck (we would hate your little one to get sick from old food stuck in corners)!

When you open the ziplock you can see all the way through the pouch to ensure it is clean. If you have a dishwasher you can clean the pouch using that, otherwise you can wash your reusable baby food pouches by hand and this takes around 20 seconds. Little Mashies squeeze pouches are BPA Free and are safe to wash with warm water.

If you need some meal ideas for your refillable pouch you can find home made yoghurt here, baby food recipes here, and pouch smoothie recipes here.

Now, to clean your Little Mashies food pouches by hand simply open up the ziplock at the bottom and take off the cap. Run warm water through the open ziplock with the baby pouch facing downward so the water comes out of the spout and into the sink. The shape of Little Mashies reusable pouches acts like a funnel, pushing out food and making the pouch very easy to clean.

To start washing your reusable pouch, squirt some dishwashing liquid into the refillable pouch, then use a baby bottle brush to clean the inside walls (just like a baby bottle). To clean the spout use a straw brush (like the ones we have here), and clean it in the same manner that you would clean the teat from a baby’s bottle. Give the reusable pouch a rinse and place it over a kitchen utensil in the drying rack to dry. If you don’t have time to dry it fully place it in the freezer until you are ready to use it again. Do not put wet reusable food pouches in dark cupboards or draws. They are very easy to dry if you have removed the cap, and placed something inside the zipper to keep the pouch open (we use a whisk, tongs or a spatula).

Note that if you continuously wash your pouches in the dishwasher the high temperature will make the zipper wear out more quickly. At home we wash our pouches mostly by hand because it is so quick and easy and then just use the dishwasher when we have had loads of kids over and served reusable yoghurt pouches or smoothies to them all.

Oh and while I remember if you use the code RECIPE at the checkout it will remove 100% off the price of the baby food recipe ebook so you can get some inspiration for your refillable pouches.

Some parents start introducing a sippy cup or straw cup to their babies around 6 mths of age. This can make it easier to transition from breastmilk or bottle feeding around 12 mths of age. Most paediatricians recommend babies 18 mths or older use an open sippy cup rather than a bottle, so anytime before then is fine. This is why we have a 4 in 1 sippy cup, so that you don't have to purchase seperate products as your baby moves through the stages of learning how to swallow and drink. To shop the Little Mashies silicone sippy cup, check out our baby feeding range here.

All of our baby food recipes are contained within our ebook. You can get a free download by using the coupon code RECIPE at the checkout. Simply add it to the cart, pop in the coupon code, and it will remove 100% of the price.