Favorite Things: Healthy Snacks Giveaway

I get tons of requests to review products. I don’t take a lot of them, but every once in a while something comes by my desk that I do want to try and then share with you. I’ve had some of these things piling up for weeks, waiting for the appropriate time to write about them. At the same time, I often come across things throughout my day that make me think, “ooh, I should share this with readers”. In an effort to get all this information to you and out of my head (or off my desk as the case may be), I’m starting a Favorite Things Series. Thank you Oprah for the title, but don’t get excited, I do not have the means to just start mailing you all my favorite things. What I can do though is be your guinea pig and share my results with you. Some of the following items listed I received complimentary for review. Others, I just bought and loved. I’ll disclose more at the end of this post. No matter how I got it though, I’m giving you the straight dope on the stuff in today’s edition of.. (Bah, buh, buh, bah!!)

Favorite Things: Healthy Snacks 

1. Fruit- I know, I know, you want something easy, and prepackaged, and healthy. Well, I’m afraid that doesn’t often exist. What does often exist is delicious fruit that takes seconds to prepare. Case in point-the Pineapple. Most people avoid buying it because the pre-cut stuff is outrageously priced and anything canned is full of sugar. I’m here to tell you fresh pineapple is a cinch to cut and a delicious-almost dessert like-snack for kid and adults alike. Watch my earlier video for how to cut one the easy way. 
2. SolBites- When this company approached me I was hesitant because these snacks sounded too good to be true. Now, let’s be clear, they’re not perfect as they do have sugar and they’re not the most whole of foods since they’re crackers but they use all natural products and they are minimally processed. So, in a pinch, SolBites are all the fun of those pre-packaged “cheese” and cracker combinations (you know with the red spreader stick) without all the highly processed, chemical-laden food-like substances. The crackers are whole grain and the “toppings” are things like honey and almond butter. My kids felt like they were getting a real treat and I felt good knowing they weren’t eating fake food. (See below to win yourself a sampler pack.)
3. Natural Apple Sauce– Of course, I’d tell you to make your own, but this is a “fast and simple” healthy snack post so instead I’ll say pick up a four pack of Santa Cruz or Earth’s Best natural apple sauce for kids lunches or even an adult mid-day pick me up. As long as there is no added sugar, it’s a great healthy snack.
4. Honest Kids Pouches: Drink pouches and juice boxes are the bain of my existence. I serve my kids water. That’s it. I know, it sounds cruel but until recently they were perfectly happy with it. At birthday parties and school functions, I would close my eyes to their ONE junk drink I’d allow. This worked fine until I was asked to supply drinks for things. Being the natural-born hostess, I didn’t want to make the kids I was serving drink only water, but I couldn’t, in good conscience, serve anything else that I felt wasn’t good enough for my own kids. I wanted to love Honest Kids from Honest Tea because I love everything about this company and what they stand for. But, at first I didn’t feel comfortable with the amount of sugar in their drinks. Some of the Honest Ade beverages have up to 24 grams per serving. Since 13 is around the recommended amount PER DAY for an adult, I can’t serve a kid a drink with 24 grams of sugar. Then I got a note from the folks at Honest Tea saying they had not only replaced the cane sugar with just fruit juice thereby cutting the sugar in half for their kids’ drinks, but they’d also come up with a lower sugar “soda” alternative called Honest Fizz. I was thrilled, and so were my kids who never drink soda except one Sprite once a year. (I’m not a stickler about much, except soda.)  Guess what we brought to the school dinner that very same week? Yup, Honest Kids juice pouches. We love the pouches as a special treat and with erythritol and stevia leaf extract as it’s main sweeteners, the fizzy drink is still treated like soda, which is to say they get it once or twice a year. I’m thrilled to have a juice box alternative so I’m no longer  “that lady” who only serves water! I want the kids to come to my house to play, after all. Thanks to Honest Tea, they just might.

There you have it, four of our favorite snacks around the old Ritz-King House. Hope you’re inspired to try a little healthy snacking yourself. If you want to win a sample pack of Sol Bites to try for yourself, just leave a comment below with your favorite healthy snack. Then I’ll choose a winner and the company will send you your very own SolBites.

I was given various HonestTea products, including Honest Fizz for review as well as a sample of Sol Bites. All opinions are my own (and my kids’).