Healthy Smoothies Kids Can Pack for School Lunch

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You know all those juice pouch drink thingies? You stab them with a straw, if you can get the plastic off the straw that is. Then, juice comes gurgling out, usually down the pouch and onto your kids' hands. And, although they do typically end up offering thirst-quenching goodness, the kids usually end up with sticky hands or a bent straw. And don't get me started on the unheathly-ness of most of these things. Sugar to the max! Right in the middle of the school day if they've packed them in their lunches.

So, when I received an offer to review Ella's Kitchen Smoothie Fruits, I was intrigued. The pouch had a twist off top. No straw. No stabbing. No gurgling. No stickiness. And the crushed fruit snacks were, get this, 100% organic with all sorts of free—gluten free, dairy free, egg free, wheat free, allergen free, spoon free. Seriously! What would be in it? Oh! Fruit! OK! Sign me up.

I shared the ages of my boys—9 and 6 1/2—and waited for the box of goodies to arrive. When it showed up on my doorstep a couple of days later, I found two Smoothie Fruit pouches for toddlers and kids (perfect for my boys, even though my 9-year-old tells me he's now a teenager). But, I also found six, count them six, pouches of Stage 1 Baby Food. What would I do with those and why didn't they send more product for my boys to try?

Connor tried the Red One with strawberries, grapes, green apples, and bananas. He downed it in about two seconds and wanted another one. Score! I tried it too and loved it. I'm all about fruit and smoothies and gurgle-free pouches. It passed my test with high scores.

Chase tried the Yellow One, which had bananas, cantaloupe, oranges, and green apples in it. Although cantaloupe is his favorite fruit, he didn't care for this variety. Bummer!

We snapped some pics and called it good! I had arranged with my friend to have her baby test the Stage 1 Baby Food and was going to deliver it the next day.

Think again!

The next morning, I woke up to six empty or half-empty packages. My boys, thinking the pouches all contained Smoothie Fruit mixes, tried every single flavor and moved on if they didn't like one. Carrots, Apples, and Parsnips? Gone! Apples and Bananas? Check! Sweet potatoes, pumpkin, apples, and blueberries? Half gone! Strawberries and applies? Sucked dry! Broccoli, pears, and peas. Half gone! Peaches and bananas? Gone and then some!

When Ella's Kitchen says "Great taste, kids love it!", they know exactly what they're talking about. Apparently Stage 1 Baby Food isn't just for babies anymore!

My kids provided the bottomless pit stomachs and thanks to Ella's Kitchen for providing the Smoothie Fruits and the Stay 1 Baby Food my boys thought was Smoothie Fruits.
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An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.

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