Why We Chose Sorghum for Our Snack Puffs

Have you ever wondered why we chose 'sorghum' as the base for our healthy snack puffs for babies and toddlers? It's not the prettiest-sounding ingredient. Impossible to beat quinoa for that one! However, it turns out that despite its awkward-on-your-tongue name, sorghum is the ideal grain for puffing.

Corn and rice are the go-to grains for manufacturing puffed snacks for babies and toddlers, but we wanted to do better nutritionally. Don't get us wrong, we don't think corn and rice need to be avoided altogether. However, we feel there's an overreliance on corn and rice in children’s snacks. We also know there are better alternatives, and everything we do is about choosing the best. 

So, we needed to figure out what grain was best for our snack puffs. As with everything we do at Littlemore, we started with research. Lots and lots of research. First, we needed to determine what grains COULD be puffed? How did they taste? What sort of texture did they have? You get the picture. 

We considered three main criteria when evaluating the primary grain for our kids' snack puffs: nutrition, taste, and environmental impact.

Nutrition

White rice is low in fiber and protein. Sorghum contains 40% more protein and 300% more fiber than white rice! Sorghum is also higher in protein than corn and rich in vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc. 

Iron, in particular, is essential for growing little ones, especially after the age of six months. Sorghum contains almost twice as much iron as corn and four times more iron than rice!

For those with celiac or gluten intolerance, sorghum is also gluten-free. 

Taste

Sorghum has a delicious, mild, nutty taste. White rice is bland, and corn's flavor overwhelms. However, sorghum strikes a balance making it the ideal base for showcasing the savory-forward flavors that help little ones become adventurous eaters.

Environmental impact 

Sorghum is a water-smart, climate-resilient crop that helps conserve the earth's precious natural resources. It requires 30-50% less water to grow than corn, and it protects and builds soil health by retaining moisture and nutrients. It also thrives in heat and drought, making it a reliable and responsible crop option for farmers.

And sorghum has never been genetically modified. It is called an ancient grain because it hasn't changed in thousands of years.

Lastly, sorghum can be sourced from the USA, so we don’t need to ship it thousands of miles to get to us (minimizing our company’s carbon footprint), unlike other ancient grains like quinoa and teff. 

So, the ancient grain with the hardest to say name was the one we chose after many months of research, including speaking with sorghum experts. Yes, there are sorghum experts! Who knew?

So now you know why when we say ancient grain, we mean it and why you won’t find any corn or rice in our puffs. This is one of the ways we're creating a new standard for kids' snacking! Here’s to full bellies, peaceful minds, and endless possibilities.

 From our families to yours, Joana + Lauren

Read More: Ingredients in Littlemore Organic Snack Puffs for Babies & Toddlers

Two moms created Littlemore Organics to create a new healthy standard for children's snacking.

Joana is a Harvard pediatrician, and Lauren is an MBA with a finance and management consulting background. Between them, they have 5 children under the age of 4! Together they created organic, melt-in baby's mouth snack puffs that contain only 4 simple, wholesome ingredients.

Littlemore puffs are peanut, tree nut, and gluten-free with no sugar, salt, corn, or rice. They're an easy and delicious way to add protein and nutrient-rich ancient grains to your little ones' daily diet and come in flavors that build adventurous taste buds.