Healthy and Tasty can Co-exist

November 1, 2009 Nicole Brady

My six year old daughter is currently weighting in around 38 pounds. Her 5 year old sister is in the upper 20s. While they are small for their age, they are both very healthy. Their small size runs in the family and we’re confident that as they get older, they will catch up with their peers just as I did.

It’s interesting that when new adults meet them, they seldom guess their ages correctly. Why? It’s not simply because they small for their age… it’s also because many kids these days are large for their age. Studies show that childhood obesity has been on the rise… but that shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone because the issue is constantly in the news. Even the First Lady is addressing it.So as a parent, what do we do? We can encourage the kids to get outside and play. We can limit the amount of time they spend on the computer or with their gaming systems. But as I sit here at the computer munching on Halloween candy, I’m certainly not leading by example. What we need to do is change our habits across the board as a family and eating right is a great first step.

Even when the kids want a snack or something different for lunch, there are healthy options. Both my girls snack on cashews, hard boiled eggs and cheese, Miss K loves granola bars and sunflower seeds and Miss M doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth. Yet when I pack their lunches, we need some balance and variety.

Through a new campaign, I had the opportunity to check out a variety of healthier – yet kid-friendly – options. You may have noticed the “Eating Right” line of foods showing up on shelves and in the freezer section of your store. But were you aware that Safeway, in cahoots with Warner Brothers (yes, I said cahoots because Looney Tunes characters are what I think of when I hear the word cahoots) created a subsidiary line of Eating Right products just for kids. It’s called Eating Right Kids and it has various everyday products that have been modified to be a little healthier. Or at a minimum, are promoted by a friendly character to help encourage kids to agree to these healthier foods.

As an example, we tested the Eating Right Kids pasta rings. They are whole wheat and I fully expected them to taste, um, like whole wheat pasta. But I tried them alongside the girls, as did DH, and we all thought they tasted great! They don’t look any different than the pasta “O’s” that kids are used to but these are made from whole wheat.

Both of the juices that we tried, apple and white grape cherry, were delicious. Not only did both the girls request they be added to their lunch boxes, but I also encouraged them to drink a few at home so I could have a little bit of it. The fruit cups, typical lunchbox stuff, tasted just like other fruit cups. I didn’t have a competitor’s product to compare it to but fruit, in lieu of junk is always a plus. I was surprised by the granola bars, with dried cranberries and blueberries and a touch of chocolate. Those seem more suited for a more mature crowd, but Miss K gobbled them up!

Of all the Eating Right Kids products we tried, the only one that met with dissatisfaction was the fruit punch applesauce. The kids tasted it and wouldn’t eat another bite. I grimaced and was frustrated with them for being difficult… then tried it myself and quickly apologized to them. I didn’t like it much either. It wasn’t so much the taste as the consistency. As I said, everything else we tried met with approval from all members of the household.

What I didn’t appreciate is finding a product that could fit so well into our family then not be able to find it in any of the stores. As I mentioned before, the Eating Right Kids product line is the brainchild of Safeway Foods and it hasn’t made it mainstream into other stores yet like its parent line, Eating Right. But every little step toward better eating habits for us (or any family) is progress.

Does the Eating Right Kids line of products sound like something your family would eat? Thanks to Team Mom, here’s your chance to win a gift pack that includes a variety of their products.

The Prize: Eating Right Kids Gift Pack (Valued at approx $75). Gift pack includes an assortment of non-perishable Eating Right Kids food products in a thermal lunch bag, an Eating Right Kids reusable shopping tote, T-Shirt, Plush Bugs Bunny and an information brochure.

Participants –
…must provide a US shipping address
…must provide an email in the first comment, email me directly with an email address or have email accessible from their profile.
Sometime on November 12, 2009, a winner will be chosen at random (using random.org) from all valid comments left. Winner has 72 hours from posting/notification to respond. If winner cannot be contacted, I will move on to the second random selection.

How to enter: (CONTEST CLOSED)