This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Juicy Juice.
All righty, people of the interweb: I have a parenting confession.
Ready?
Here we go.
My child doesn’t really like fruit.
I mean, he tolerates it. He’ll eat bananas or strawberries or pineapple. He enjoys the occasional mango or peach. But he’s not so big on grapes. Or blueberries. Or cantaloupe. Thank goodness that he usually has a great attitude about trying fruit, but as a general rule it’s just not his favorite food group. He’ll eat vegetables all the live-long day, and I always say that he’s never met a bean or pea that he didn’t like.
But the fruit? Not his favorite.
So, as a mama who wants him to be strong and healthy and whathaveyou, the burden falls on me to make sure that he’s getting all the vitamins and nutrients that he needs. I want him to learn how to make good food choices, to look at option A, option B and option C and be able to determine which option is healthiest.
And in cases where he’s not completely carried away with what’s available – like if he were to, say, find himself in the midst of an endless array of fruit platters – well, I want him to know how to make good substitutions. And I want him to understand that fruit-flavored candy is not in fact the same thing as actual fruit.
It’s good to have some nutrition goals, don’t you think?
We’ve always liked Juicy Juice in our house because it’s 100% juice – no added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup – and now that the little guy is seven and has some definite food preferences (including the fact that all fruits are not his friend), it’s nice to know that I can give him a small glass of Juicy Juice and it counts as a serving of fruit. He loves almost every flavor we’ve ever tried. And when BlogHer contacted me about sending me some samples of Juicy Juice punch and sparkling apple juice, I was totally on board.
We actually had ourselves a little taste test when the big box of Juicy Juice 100% (punch) and Sparkling Juicy Juice (apple) arrived at our house. Since Alex’s 3 1/2 year-old cousin was spending a few days at our house at the time, he decided that he wanted to join the fun, too.
The verdict?
Alex, who’s 7, still loves Juicy Juice 100% punch best of all. It’s what he’s used to. But the sparkling apple juice intrigues him. It comes in a really cool can, and I have to say that it is TASTY. There’s a fizz like you’re drinking a lemon-lime soda, but the taste is definitely apple juice (it’s 70% real juice, 30% water).
When J sampled the punch, he immediately said, “TASTES GOOD!” Alex tried the sparkling apple juice and said, “It’s good – but it’s just a little bit sour” (it’s much more of a green apple flavor than a red apple flavor). Then he took back-to-back sips of the sparkling apple and the punch and said, “If I could drink something with these two flavors together, I would call it ‘PARTY!'”
So I think we’ll be trying the sparkling berry very soon.
If you’d like to win a $100 Visa gift card plus a Juicy Juice prize pack, leave a comment that answers this question: What’s your very best tip for raising healthy eaters?
Mine? Make kids try everything on their plates. We have a rule in our house that you have to at least try every single food, and if you don’t like it, fine. But if you do? All the better.
Be sure to check out the BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 Round-up page for more chances to win. And no giveaway post would be complete if I didn’t direct you to the BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 official rules.
Happy Juicy Juice-ing, y’all!
This giveaway is now closed.
my kids drink nothing but water – their choice! but much better than all the kool-aid I drank growing up!
Teach them that quick food is generally not healthy!
My best tip for raising healthy eaters is to make sure they are knowledgeable about food including content, calories, pesticides, etc. I think people eat a lot differently when they know what they’re consuming…and PS that ‘party’ comment was very funny :D
The adults in our house set a good example for the children. I can’t expect the kids to eat healthy if we are snarfing down on Krispy Kremes!
We show enthusiasm from the time they start eating, for healthy foods and it sets the pattern. Either that or we’ve been extremely lucky.
I don’t make anything gross – like broccoli. If they don’t like it, they don’t have to eat it. And I leave healthy snacks in plain sight so that they’re easy to get to.
And guess what? My daughter loves to go to my in-laws because THEY have broccoli – LOL
Limit snacks!!!
We never skip breakfast.
Start early in life!! Plus continue to lead by example. If they see you eating healthy, they will follow.
I encourage my kids to try all foods even if they dont like it! Alot of times thier taste change and they Suddenly like it!
freebiegoddess03@aol.com
My best tip is to set a good example, since if your kids see you eat junk they will want it to.
Home-cooked family dinners!
My best tip for raising healthy eaters is by providing healthy food choices to your children and by eating healthy foods yourself to set a good example.
Healthy meals are SO important but every parent knows how picky kids are. We bargain with them at the table to entice them to try new foods.
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
Always make sure they have their breakfast, the most important meal of the day.
I think the best thing to do is have the healthy stuff available…and don’t buy the stuff they shouldn’t be eating. If it’s not there they can’t eat it and that goes both ways!
Serve a variety of fruits and veggies. They are bound to find something they like!
Let them be involved- the more they are invested in the planning, the choosing, the making, even gardening if that’s an option, the more likely they are to try things.
My #1 tip is to lead by example and show that you really ENJOY healthy foods.
water and PLENTY of it
Purchase natural foods as much as possible and stay away from processed ones.
My tip is to serve healthy foods starting when they are very young. They will learn to like them.
Try to start them on healthy products at a young age. They’ll understand how eating right, is good for the whole body.
Show him how to eat healthy by leading by example.
Eat when it is time to eat and not snacking all day
My tip is to start them with good food and let them help cooking.
mccullar07@yahoo.com