Freeze Dried Yogurt

Whose child does not LOVE Gerber Graduates Yogurt Melts?  Have your children tried these yummy, creamy melt in your mouth yogurt goodness?  Would they eat nearly an entire bag in one sitting if you let them?

Source:  Gerber.com

Prices on Gerber Yogurt Melts (which are freeze dried yogurt) can be as little as $2.50 and as high as $3.99 for a 1 ounce bag of snacks.  According to the package, there are 4 servings per bag - costing nearly $1.00 per snack. 

Even if you purchase generic brand freeze dried yogurt, they are hard to find for less than $2.50 per ounce - costing nearly $.70 per snack.

When I only had one child, we could stretch our Yogurt Melts out to 6 or 8 snacks - significantly reducing our expense per snack.  My oldest is past the "learning to self-feed" finger foods - but as many parents have experienced, now that my youngest is eating the "learning to self-feed" finger foods, my toddler insists on trying them too!  Once a pack of Yogurt Melts are open in our house, they are likely to be depleted within hours.  So much for cost cutting efforts!

Frustrated at the cost of these snacks and not wanting to deny my toddler's enjoyment when eating them, - my quest to find less expensive Yogurt Melts began...

Unable to locate Gerber Yogurt Melts in bulk, I tried searching for generic freeze dried yogurt for purchase in bulk.  What I discovered is an amazing alternative to Gerber Yogurt Melts - Thrive Yogurt Bites! 

Source:  shelfreliance.com

Reading reviews, testimonials, and researching Shelf Reliance - I decided the Yogurt Bites were worth trying. 

I ordered a #10 can of Strawberry Yogurt Bites and as soon as they arrived, opened the can to try them.  I could not believe how delicious this freeze dried yogurt was - perhaps even better than Gerber's! 

The true test remained - feeding it to my children and getting their response.  My youngest tried one and immediately wanted more.  Since the Yogurt Bites look different than the Yogurt Melts, my toddler was skeptical - after some coaxing the verdict was favorable!

Don't misunderstand, freeze dried yogurt (or freeze dried food of any kind) is still more expensive than the food in its non-freeze dried state.  Since freeze dried yogurt is a relatively healthy snack for children and we will be purchasing them as a standard snack for at least the next few months, I have discovered our less expensive alternative to Gerber Yogurt Melts and would recommend them to any one!


I have blogged before about discovering freeze dried fruits and vegetables as an alternative to fresh fruits and vegetables in homemade baby food.  Through my research I discovered a fantastic blog that outlines the differences between freeze dried and dehydrated food.  If you are interested, please click here to read the post.