Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon 2024: The Winner Is…

Nurture Life and Little Spoon have various items for children aged about 6 months and up. I really appreciate seeing a range of products suitable for babies, toddlers, and older kids on their websites. What's more, both delivery services have organic options, although you may have to do some digging to find them.

But Nurture Life shines with extra support that distinguishes it from its direct competitor, in my experience. The ease of navigation on its website is a big advantage. It enables quick and easy access to its offerings without excessive scrolling. That's a feature I value highly as a parent.

Nurture Life also has the edge in meal size, among other things. But Little Spoon competes closely in some areas, making the choice between them difficult. Despite Nurture Life's victory in my Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon comparison, choosing either service for your child's meals is a sound decision. So, continue reading to learn why. 

At a Glance: Who Won Each Category?

Menu Variety

Winner: Little Spoon

Little Spoon takes the lead over Nurture Life in menu variety. It boasts 6 different product types, while its direct competitor has 4. Little Spoon caters to babies starting at 6 months, while Nurture Life's options are for those 10 months and older. Little Spoon's menu includes:

• Babyblends: Organic food for newborns

• Biteables: Finger foods

• Plates: Dishes for toddlers and older kids

• Lunchers: On-the-go meals for older children

• Smoothies: Organic cold-pressed pouches

• Snacks: Eats between meals with no-nonsense ingredients

Nurture Life, on the other hand, has the following items on the menu:

• Finger Foods: Bites suitable for youngsters ready to self-feed

• Kids Meals: Nutritious foods for toddlers and older children

• Smoothies: Superfood-made drinks

• Snacks: Bites with wholesome ingredients

Nurture Life's offerings include organic meals and snacks. They also contain hormone- and antibiotic-free proteins and whole grains. Little Spoon has organic Babyblends and Smoothies. If your preference leans towards comprehensive organic options for younger and older kids, Nurture Life might be your preferred choice.

Little Spoon's Babyblends are divided into 6 stages to meet your child's developmental needs, beginning at 6+ months and ending at 9+ months. Each stage includes a greater variety of ingredients, starting with single-ingredient options and culminating in transitional meals. See the table below for more information.

Little Spoon also offers a broad selection of other items for different tastes. These include 8 Biteables, 28 Plates, 5 Lunchers, and 15 Smoothies. You can also choose from 10 Snacks, which fall into 4 sub-categories. These are 3 Oat Bakes, 3 Veggie Loops, 2 Fruit Rippers, and 2 Dipsters.

Nurture Life has 26 Kids Meals on the menu. The numbers are almost equal because Little Spoon has 28 Plates. However, after careful research, I found that Nurture Life has 8 approved options for picky eaters, and Little Spoon has just 3. So if your child is picky about food, I'd suggest going with Nurture Life.

Nurture Life offers a wider variety with 18 Finger Foods than Little Spoon's 8 Biteables. So if you're looking for variety as your child transitions from purees to self-feeding, Nurture Life might be a better fit. It also had 3 smoothies and 4 snacks during my research for the Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon comparison.

Nurture Life outperforms Little Spoon when it comes to product bundles. It offers sets for all products except snacks, which can be particularly appealing if you want to sample its most popular items. Kids Meals and Finger Foods come in top-rated packs. And there are also 6-bottle Smoothie variety packs available.

I've also found that Nurture Life offers larger portions than Little Spoon. Random sampling showed that Nurture Life's Kids Meals weighed 207 g, 202 g, and 197 g compared to Little Spoon's Plates at 142 g, 133 g, and 119 g. 

When looking at Finger Foods, Nurture Life's selections weighed 130 g, 112 g, and 110 g. On the other hand, Little Spoon's offerings, which I checked, were 105 g.

Sample Meals

Finding desired items on Nurture Life and Little Spoon's sites is user-friendly and efficient. No matter the product – be it a meal, smoothie, or snack – you're a mere few clicks from what you need, regardless of your starting point. I experienced some difficulties with menu customization on Little Spoon's website, details of which I’ll provide shortly.

As a parent of a little kiddo, I'd like to see the following Nurture Life options on her menu:

• Finger Foods: Salmon Cakes with Peas & Potatoes

• Kids Meals: Alfredo Bow Ties with Turkey Meatballs & Broccoli

• Smoothies: Berry-Full with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, avocado, and kale

• Snacks: Snickerdoodle Mighty Bites featuring cinnamon and vanilla beans

I like Salmon Cakes for its high-quality ingredients, including Atlantic salmon and organic potatoes and peas. The dish's free of common allergens like pork, sesame, and beef, and is gluten-free. It's a great source of iron and is PHA-certified for including many vegetables.

Some outstanding Little Spoon offerings I'd always recommend are: 

• Babyblends: Carrot Apple Ginger

• Biteables: Turkey Kale Meatballs with zucchini and sweet potato

• Plates: The All Star with broccoli bites and mac + three cheese

• Lunchers: Brunch Lunch with an organic smoothie bowl with granola

• Smoothies: Peaches + Cream with Greek Yogurt

• Snacks: Blueberry Muffin Oat Bake with butternut squash and chia seeds

I prefer the Carrot Apple Ginger Babyblend for its wholesome ingredients that are good for everyone. It's free of allergens and packed with essential vitamins like A, C, K, and B6.

Meal Customization

Winner: Nurture Life

Both services provide basic customization options. But Nurture Life stands out with a broader range of filtering options, presenting 11 filters for each product category. Little Spoon's filtering varies by product, providing between 3 and 9 choices.

Check out the following table to see which filters are available:

Nurture Life simplifies the selection process with a 1-click feature that adds its favorites to your shopping cart. To use it, select Kids Meals, Finger Foods, or Kids Meals & Snacks from the side menu. This option also allows you to make plan changes directly from the menu without having to navigate back to the Plans section.

Little Spoon has an introductory quiz that I find lacks practicality. First, it asks for details such as your child's birthday, name, and zip code. But this leads directly to the product menu, bypassing any personalization.

In short, it doesn't improve the user experience because you still have to provide your address during checkout. It falls short of the more detailed personalization approach you can find in Home Chef, for example.

Nurture Life has 4 plans for its Kids Meals, Finger Foods, and Kids Meals & Snacks. Little Spoon has 3 or 4 plans, depending on the product type you select. While you can choose between 4 Smoothies and Plates plans, for example, there are 3 Babyblends and Lunchers alternatives.

To sum up, Little Spoon lags behind on convenient customization features. And that makes Nurture Life the clear winner of this round.

Ingredient Quality and Nutrition

Winner: Nurture Life

Nurture Life is ahead of Little Spoon in this round because it offers more details about its foods. Its website hosts a Nutrition page detailing its commitment to wholesome food principles. It highlights Real, Organic Ingredients as 1 of its 5 core qualities. You can also refer to its comprehensive on-site nutrition guide.

The company also pledges to deliver fresh meals, which I feel indicates a preference for seasonal ingredients. It also keeps sugar and sodium levels to a minimum with some foods containing zero sodium and/or sugar. This kid meal delivery service features the Safe Quality Food (SQF) Program certification. What's more, Nurture Life consistently checks and reassesses its suppliers to ensure the quality of ingredients remains high.

Little Spoon also takes pride in using fresh, high-quality ingredients. It cooperates with the Clean Label Project, reinforcing its commitment to transparency. Like Nurture Life’s facilities, its kitchens are allergy-friendly. But note that the risk of cross-contamination is still present.

You can view nutrition facts by selecting a product of interest on both websites. For Nurture Life, nutritional information and an ingredient list immediately pop up once you select an item. On Little Spoon's site, there’s an extra step involved. You must click on + next to Nutrition Facts to see the nutritional information when the product information window opens.

Ordering, Delivery, Unboxing

Winner: Nurture Life

The ordering process is simple, whether you choose Nurture Life or Little Spoon. Nurture Life lets you start as a guest and prompts you to register in the process. For Little Spoon, click Get Started on the home page, complete the short quiz I mentioned earlier, and proceed to item selection. You can change orders before the cutoff time from your account dashboard if you change your mind.

You can select at least 6 items per week from Nurture Life, regardless of whether it's a single type of product or a combination of different ones. With Little Spoon, the smallest order you can make varies by product type. Consult the table provided for specific details.

Nurture Life and Little Spoon ship to all contiguous US states. They didn't deliver to Alaska or Hawaii at the time of writing my Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon head-to-head comparison.

Still, Nurture Life might be more up your alley if you're looking for delivery flexibility since it offers several delivery days depending on where you live. Little Spoon can’t specify the exact day of delivery. Contact Nurture Life customer support to change your delivery day. Tweak your order from Little Spoon via your account on the website.

It pleased me to find that both companies focus on eco-friendliness, using mostly recyclable packaging. You can reuse some items like Nurture Life’s gel packs and Little Spoon’s ice packs. What's more, Little Spoon’s plates are dishwasher safe, so you can repurpose them as well.

Both companies clearly label their products for easy identification, stacking them neatly 1 on top or 1 next to the other in the box. Nurture Life goes a step further than its direct competitor by including a visible note with storage instructions on its packaging.

Little Spoon and Nurture Life deliver fresh meals, which may semi-freeze in transit due to ice packs. Refrigerate meals immediately upon arrival. Generally, you can freeze food before its expiration date. Defrost frozen food in the fridge until it thaws. You may not have to refrigerate smoothies and snacks right away, or at all, depending on the product type.

Meal Prep

Winner: It’s a tie

A great thing about each competitor's offerings is that everything's pre-prepped. Thus, all you have to do is heat up their products before offering them to your little one.

Snacks and smoothies might not need any heating. Nurture Life recommends you allow 12 to 24 hours for frozen items to thaw in the refrigerator. Little Spoon suggests defrosting frozen Babyblends in warm water for about 20 minutes for a quick thaw.

Microwave Nurture Life Kids Meals by piercing the film seal and heating for about 1 minute. To heat in the traditional oven, place food in an oven-safe container and heat in a preheated 350 F oven until the internal temperature of the meal is 165 F, usually in 10 to 15 minutes.

Place Nurture Life's Finger Foods in a microwave-safe container. Then microwave for 20 to 40 seconds until the meal reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. To heat in the oven, place in an oven-safe container and heat for 5 to 12 minutes, depending on the recipe, until the food reaches 165 F.

Put Little Spoon Babyblends in microwave-safe bowls before heating. But it's best to serve them at room temperature or slightly warmer.

Use a microwave for warming Little Spoon Biteables. Remove the sleeve and place the tray with the Freshlock film intact inside the appliance. Heat on high for approximately a minute.

All Little Spoon Plates come in microwave-safe packaging. To heat, remove the sleeve and place the sealed plate in the microwave. Microwave on high for 60 to 90 seconds. If you prefer to heat in the oven, place food in the oven-safe dish. Then, heat for approximately 8 minutes at 425 F.

Customer Support

Winner: Nurture Life

Nurture Life surpasses Little Spoon in customer support quality. Although Little Spoon advertises live chat, it often lacks the agents to provide a timely response. 

Nurture Life, without live chat, responds to emails faster than Little Spoon's live chat replies. Nurture Life's agents respond in a matter of hours, as stated in our full review. The kid meal delivery service has 3 customer support channels – phone, email, and post.

As for Little Spoon, my colleague got the fastest response in 19 hours, as stated in the review of this service. You can reach out to the company’s customer support representatives via live chat, email, and messaging.

Both companies have extensive FAQ sections covering various common and less common questions.

Pricing

Winner: Little Spoon

Little Spoon is the clear winner when it comes to pricing. Unlike Nurture Life, which has a single pricing system for all its offerings, Little Spoon has a variety of prices across its entire product line. Often, the starting price for many of Little Spoon's products is lower than the lowest price for Nurture Life items.

Check out the following table for the breakdown of Little Spoon's pricing system:

Compared to Little Spoon’s, Nurture Life’s pricing is pretty simple.

Note that Nurture Life covers its shipping costs with the minimum order amount, so you won't pay anything extra for shipping. Little Spoon, on the other hand, adds a $5 shipping fee to each order, which can affect overall affordability depending on how much you purchase.

Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon – Quick Overview

And the Winner Is: Nurture Life

In my Nurture Life vs. Little Spoon comparison, Nurture Life comes out on top. I draw this conclusion from the fact that Nurture Life outperformed its rival in more categories. Also, the areas in which Nurture Life excelled showed clearer advantages compared to Little Spoon's narrower margins of victory in the categories it won.

I find Nurture Life's better personalization options offer a significant benefit as a parent of a little child. And I believe most other parents would feel the same. The flexible delivery options are another noteworthy benefit. Nurture Life also provides detailed information about its nutritional policies and values. That way, it provides clarity and reassurance, rather than leaving it to assumptions.

Time is often scarce for parents of little kids, making effective customer service critical. This is where Nurture Life excels over Little Spoon, too. Despite the lack of a live chat feature, Nurture Life's agents are at least sure to respond even more quickly.

Nurture Life also provides larger portions. And that's very important when you have a child with a growing appetite.

But I'm not saying it's a mistake to choose Little Spoon. You should pick it if you have infants under 10 months because Nurture Life doesn't have options for customers that young. Also, Little Spoon's prices are more affordable, which is crucial for parents on a budget. And I found that some of this competitor's meals are quicker to prepare, which is a big deal for busy parents.

FAQ

Is Nurture Life expensive?

Nurture Life's prices may be higher than some of its competitors. But it reflects its commitment to high-quality, organic ingredients and flexible delivery options. These key benefits, including a focus on nutritional value and convenience, justify the pricing for many families seeking quality and bountiful meals for their children.

Is Little Spoon shelf stable?

Some Little Spoon products are shelf-stable, like certain snack items. You can keep its smoothies, which aren't strictly shelf-stable, out of the fridge for a few days if your kiddo is going to consume them in that time frame. But, for optimal freshness and quality maintenance, you should put most other Little Spoon items in the fridge.

What age is Nurture Life finger foods for?

Nurture Life finger foods are suitable for children approximately 10 months of age and older. These recipes are easy for small hands to hold and eat, supporting their growing independence in eating.

Are Nurture Life meals healthy?

Yes, Nurture Life meals are formulated to be healthy, with a focus on balanced nutrition for children. The company focuses on real, organic ingredients with controlled sugar and sodium levels.

Does Nurture Life come frozen?

No, Nurture Life food arrives fresh to you. Still, you may get some semi-frozen products if they were near ice packs during shipping.