From Kids Lunch Box CardsUnderstandably, fruit roll-ups are extremely appealing to kids. I fondly remember every day after school curling up to Bewitched and my Fruit Roll, yum! A couple of years ago I tasted some of the new tongue-tatooing & princess shaped fruit snacks...my kids love them, but I thought they tasted like plastic! Now I know why.
Basically, most fruit snacks have never been within a hundred mile radius of a piece of fruit, much less contain any actual fruit. They DO contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and flavors, and preservatives. The biggest offenders I found were Kellogg's Fruit snacks (you know, all the fun shapes like Barbie and Spongebob), Kelloggs Yogo's, Betty Crocker Fruit Roll-Ups, and Jovy fruit rolls. I am sure there are MANY more.
We need to do our best to buy fruit snacks that are made with 100% fruit and no added sugar. They do exist, and they are really good!
Here's how SIX kid & two adult taste testers voted:
The overall winner was Clif Kid "Twisted Fruit" Sour Apple, followed by Annie's Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks and Archer Farms Fruit Strips (the organic Target brand!) .
Honorable mention goes to Trader Joe's Stretch Island Strawberry Pomegranate & Orchard Cherry flavors, Sun-Rype Wildberry and FruitaBu Apricot (the other FruitaBu flavors were too dry).
If I am making a theme lunch, every once in awhile I will buy theme shaped fruit snacks, but on a daily snacking basis, the winners here are fantastic! I have found if I am too rigid the kids pine for unhealthy foods more. Also, don't forget to have your kids brush after eating fruit snacks- they adhere to teeth prolonging the exposure of sugars.
Tastefully sponsored by:
Lassen's Health Foods
Trader Joe's Market
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