Are Little Yeo yogurts healthy?

They’ve been out for nearly two months, but have your little ones’ tried them yet?

I’m talking about Little Yeos’ ‘No Added Sugar’ Yogurts. The latest product from Yeo Valley which promises to be a ‘great choice for your baby’s first taste of dairy’.

Sounds pretty good, right? Everyone loves Yeo Valley yogurts, so why not treat your little one to a product you know for its great taste and myriad health benefits?

Well, Little Yeos yogurts are not the same as the plain adult varieties. That’s the first place to start. The rest? Well, let’s investigate whether Little Yeos are as healthy as they claim to be together.

Little Yeos yogurts review

As always, let’s look at the ingredients list. Bypass the kid-friendly packaging and health halo marketing, and move right to the small print which tells you, in black and white, exactly what you’re feeding your child.

Firstly, the fromage frais range that is designed for weaning babies from six months old. It doesn’t look great.

Are Little Yeos fromage frais yogurts healthy?

When you get past the organic yogurt, there is concentrated grape juice (basically pure sugar), multiple purees (mushed up sugar, low fibre), and maize starch (a thickener – blergh! STOP FEEDING THESE THINGS TO KIDS).

Some highlights though are the milk protein and low amounts of added sugar. However, let’s not forget the purees and the added fruit juices – these amount to around 4g (or 1 teaspoon) of sugar in every pot. Would you feel comfortable feeding your child a teaspoon of sugar everytime they receive a pot of ‘healthy’ yogurt?

Are Little Yeos Fruity Favourites healthy?

Little Yeos Fruity Favourites are next, the yogs designed for older kids – which are so much worse (confounding the point that most kids yogurts are not healthy)! 

Not only are the pots 5% puree (again, sugar) but there is also around 4% organic sugar (STOP DOING THIS. Buying organic is important – but organic sugar is NOT HEALTHY simply because it’s organic). There are also our old friends maize starch and, this time, lemon juice. There is around 9g of sugar per pot of Little Yeos Fruity Favourites. That’s more than 3 teaspoons of sugar. Let that sink in.

Are Little Yeos No Added Sugar healthy?

To buy the healthiest Little Yeo variety, opt for the new No Added Sugar ones. These have around 3g of sugar per pot as they have more puree, less fruit juice and, as the name suggest, no added organic sugar.  These Little Yeos are far more suitable for babies than the original varieties and they are just as tasty!