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Review: Eating Right Kids

Team Mom sent us a set of samples from the new Looney Tunes Eating Right Kids created by Safeway and Warner Bros. to try out. Here are our reactions:

  • Chewy bar: It tastes a little less sweet than your typical granola bar, and I like that it has no high fructose corn syrup. Still, the first ingredient is corn syrup, which I wouldn’t call healthy even if it doesn’t get quite the rap HFCS is earning lately. Milk chocolate is the second ingredient.
  • Juice: My kids gobbled this up; no surprise since they would both live off of juice and nothing else given the opportunity. I like that it is 100% juice.
  • Fruit cup: This is your standard fruit cup. Sugar is the fourth ingredient, after water, peaches, and pears. I would prefer for it to be in pear or pineapple juice, but at least this is a light rather than a heavy syrup. The kids liked it, minus the maraschino cherries.
  • Pasta: The whole wheat cheese-filled ravioli weren’t a hit at our house. Both the ravioli and the sauce tasted blah to me, but I’ve always found that the case with canned ravioli. It seemed strange that the container held two fairly large servings – if the whole point is for this line to provide ready-packed healthy food for your child’s lunch, it doesn’t seem like you should have two servings in a single container.

Final verdict: These seem like okay pre-packed options for your child’s lunch if you’re okay with corn syrup and fructose (both in the granola bar), and they’re probably better than your average cafeteria options. The full line also includes pre-packed fresh fruits and veggies. I was happy to hear that Warner Bros. Consumer Products is clearing retail shelves of the majority of foods featuring Looney Tunes that don’t meet a “better-for-you” standard – here’s hoping the only foods they aren’t removing are clearly marketed as candy.

A few favorite lunchbox favorites in our home:

  • fresh fruit
  • veggies with hummus
  • cheese sticks
  • yogurt
  • fruit cups (I try to buy ones packed in juice, but sometimes I buy light syrup ones)
  • applesauce – we especially like the ones with other fruit purees mixed in. We buy the “no added sugar” ones. In the summertime my kids like them frozen.
  • raisins
  • freeze-dried fruit
  • freeze-dried potato slices
  • leftovers from dinner (you need microwave access for this to work most days)
  • wraps
  • sandwiches

What are lunchtime favorites at your house?

MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.

8 thoughts on “Review: Eating Right Kids”

  1. @Zap – thanks for the suggestions!

    @Raising a Happy Child – my kids aren't big fans of meat either. I'm fine with it because I feel like they get enough protein from other sources…

    @Infant Bibliophile – the freeze dried potatoes are from Costco, when they are in stock.

    @Ally – your boys would get along well with Emma!

    @Karin – We buy it that way, my kids would live off of freeze-dried food (but we would go broke).

  2. Valerie @ Frugal Family Fun Blog

    We love wraps too. Lately Emily has been enjoying sandwiches made with whole wheat pita pockets. Luckily, she's not a picky eater. She loves it when I make magic wands with fruit kabobs!

  3. frozen applesauce — interesting! haven't ever heard of that.

    what is "freeze-dried" stuff? and do you buy them that way or make them yourself?

  4. Where do you get freeze dried potato slices? I'm intrigued. Our little one loves freeze dried blueberries and raspberries. We buy "Just Tomatoes" brand. He also loves Brother's All Natural freeze dried peaches, but I can only find them on amazon.com in bulk. I'm stocking up on snacks now for an upcoming vacation. Yesterday we tried a fruit strip from Whole Foods that he really liked. I thought it would be too chewy, but it wasn't at all. Very soft and good, but something like 50 cents each, which seemed a little high to buy a lot of them, because it's small. Then again, that's what a candy bar costs I suppose. I love discovering new things he'll eat.

  5. Raising a Happy Child

    Anna likes pretty much the same things, but she wants "only mayo" on her sandwich. LOL. She also eats pretty much any fruit, but almost no meat.

  6. My toddler is teething so partial frozen grapes have become a big hit. I am trying to get her a balanced meal with all four food groups but the veggies always get left behind… until I gave her a little tablespoon's worth of Ranch dressing. Now they (or rather EVERYTHING on the plate) taste great with dressing on it. Oh… and sweet jerkin pickles are a hit anytime. :)

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