Today we received some BK Fresh Apple Fries via UPS to try out. Yes, we received the actual fries in the mail. I thought I would be sent coupons but, no, we were shipped the real thing. We opened and tried the french fry – shaped apples with low-fat caramel dipping sauce almost instantly because we didn’t want them to spoil.

Out of our family of four, three of us liked the fruit fries. However, our 4 yr. old did not like the new food. Of course, that is normal for him since he has severe food allergies and usually eats the same foods over and over.

For the real test, I asked my 7 yr. old if he would order the apple fries instead of the real fries with his cheeseburger the next time we ate at Burger King. He said he would order the Apple fries. Yes, he really liked them.

Overall, I’m thrilled that Burger King is trying to offer more nutritious choices. I think the french fry- shaped apples with caramel sauce are a fun way to get younger kids to try out healthier foods. Good idea, BK!  And, while I don’t expect my kids to choose the apple slices instead of the fries or onion rings every time we visit Bk (which I can assure you is about once every 2-3 months) I am at least glad that we have the choice.

If you are planning at trip to Burger King we hope you will try out their apple fries then come back here and let us know what you think.

Where To Buy: Burger King fast food restaurant. Prices vary.

As a mom of two who works from home and homeschools, I’m ALWAYS busy which leads me to snack A LOT. I also let my boys have their fair share of snacks and I’m always looking for something more nutritious for them. Luckily, we were able to test out 2 new snacks in the past month and we like them both.

Emerald Cocoa Roasted Almonds: Delicious, Nutritious, and Chocolaty! My entire family loves these!

Pogos- White Cheddar, Hickory Smoked (our pick) and Jalapeno Cheddar:  The no-mess flavorful potato cheese stick snack made with REAL ingredients. Who couldn’t love these? Plus their baked which means their healthier than regular potato chips.

If you want to serve something different at a party or movie night try these snacks.

Where To Buy: your local grocery store

Who needs stain remover when you have Napkleen?

As a Mom of three,  I am always looking for ways to keep my children’s clothes protected from spills. So when asked to try the new Napkleen disposable clothing protectors, we gladly accepted.                         

My 6 year old happily volunteered to be as messy as possible while eating. YAY!! To get started she pulled the adhesive backing away, and simply pressed the adult size Napkleen protector on to her shirt. It surprised me at the  list of spills that stayed off her clothes, and on the cloth protector. From juice, gravy, toast & chocolate cake, the Napkleen stood up to the test through liquid and crumbs. What didn’t make it to her mouth was caught in the fold out food catcher, which really saved some clean up from the floor also. The best part, was seeing how clean her clothes were after she finished.

Where to buy: In all, Napkleen was a sure hit in our house. Visit www.napkleen.com to choose from a variety of styles and sizes, and to see how many other ways the wear & toss protectors can be used. 

This Independence Day (also known as 4th of July to the kids) why don’t you make something sweet and unique. You can wow your friends, family, and the kids with this easy kid friendly recipe. It’s called a Red & Blue Dessert Pizza and it’s made with Strawberries.  This is not your traditional pizza. Instead, it is a sweetened delicious fruit pizza that kids will love!What You Will Need for the 4th of July Dessert Pizza:

Fruits You Need: fresh strawberries and blueberries, 1 pint each

1 tablespoon of sugar

8 oz of plain yogurt

thawed whipped cream

4 store bought pizza crusts or 1 large pack or sugar cookie dough.

Directions for Dessert Pizza Recipe: 

mix yogurt, whipped cream,  and sugar together then place it on the dough. Add fruit in any pattern that you like to make a cute 4th of July pizza. Cut into pizza wedges and serve chilled. This recipe can be used as a dessert, a healthy snack or for breakfast.

You can find more kid friendly strawberry recipes at the California Strawberry Commission website.  Another cool resource that your kids will enjoy is Strawberryville. There are recipes, activities, and downloads for kids.

Happy 4th of July!
Click on the links for more Easy Recipes for Moms and Kid Friendly Recipes 

In effort to get back to more natural products for our son’s health we are always on the lookout for organic or all natural snacks that don’t taste like crap or cardboard. Our son has eosinophilic esophagitis, a rare food allergy disorder, and is allergic to many foods. Since corn is one food he is allergic to, it is hard to find snacks that he can enjoy because corn syrup or some form of corn is in most snacks

When I found out about the Annies Homegrown brand I was delighted. Annie’s Homegrown actually has some convenience foods our son is not allergic to. The first product we tried was the bunny-shaped chocolate graham cookies. Our son loves them and we love them too since they are all natural and 75% organic. There are no additives, no preservatives, and best of all no corn syrup. I have to say that these cookies are delicious and addictive. The bunny-shaped cookies are too cute to pass up!

These cookies are great if you have a child that is allergic to corn or if you just want your children to eat healthier foods like I do. A Mom’s Review whole-heartedly recommends Annie’s Chocolate Bunny Graham Cookies for kids and adults. They are great to eat as they are, as ice cream toppings, or dipped in milk (we prefer rice milk). We look forward to trying more Annie’s products in the future and will share out thoughts with you again.

WHERE TO BUY: you can usually find some Annie’s products in your local supercenters such as Kroger or Wal-mart. I think I paid around $2.88 for a 7.5 oz box.  You can also purchase them online at Amazon or Annies.com Annies.com also gives away free stuff to everyone like stickers, magnets,etc. Visit the site and choose the freebie you want.

Getting your kids to eat a balanced diet is not always as easy one may think so when we came across the Snacker Tracker we were ready to give it a try.

The Snacker Tracker is a refrigerator magnet developed by certified kids nutrition specialists that tracks the foods your kids eat, and shows kids their meals divided into categories. As your child eats meals, they check off what they have eaten and at the end of the day you can see how healthy your child is eating.

We’ve had the magnet up for a while now. My boys enjoy checking the food off and playing with the dry erase marker. It’s fun for them and a great way for me, a super busy mom, to take the guesswork out of their nutrition. When we use the Snacker Tracker I know exactly what my two (ages 3 & 7) boys are eating and I know where they need to improve.

Overall, A Mom’s Review recommends the Snacker Tracker for busy moms who need help in tracking their child’s nutrition. It’s a great solution!

WHERE TO BUY: For $19.95 you will receive a Snacker Tracker, 1 dry erase marker, and a very useful Snacker Tracker nutrition guide (I’ve learned a lot from this little book) on the Snacker Tracker website

In a normal week, we probably eat cereal for breakfast 2 times. However, cereal for our family is not just a breakfast food. We like cereal for quick snacks in between regular meals as well as bedtime snack so we are always on the lookout for yummy yet nutritional cereals we can all eat together. Sadly, these days most of the stuff out there is pure sugar. I’m not saying that we don’t occasionally eat the sugar cereal but we try not to eat it all the time.

When Kelloggs contacted us to try out the new Wild Animal Crunch cereal we were quite excited to try it out. Kelloggs has partnered with Animal Planet to bring us this healthy and educational cereal.

As soon as we got the cereal both boys were mesmerized by the baby seal box cover. It sure was cute! The boys tried a few bites of the cereal and discussed all the things on the box (which they really enjoyed btw!). Within a few minutes I was pouring them a bowl of Wild Animal Crunch cereal with rice milk.

Overall, everyone agreed that the cereal was delicious. We absolutely had to buy it when we saw it in the grocery store this week! Since the cereal has 14 grams of whole grain and less sugar than most other cereals. I’m satisfied! This mom recommends Wild Animal Crunch cereal.

Where To Buy: your local grocery store or online Kellogg’s Wild Animal Crunch Cereal, 11-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6)

Don’t forget to enter our current contest to win Baby Banz here

Today we are a part of the Mom Central blog tour for the NEW TownHouse Flipsides! As part of this blog tour the Kellogg Co. sent our family a box of the NEW Flipsides Pretzel crackers in cheddar flavor to see what we thought of them.

So what are Flipsides anyway? Flipsides are a combination of two favorite party snacks- pretzels and crackers. There is a pretzel on one side and a ritz cracker on the other. Since I’m already a big fan of the buttery ritz cracker as well as pretzels this sounded like the perfect snack.

However, when combined with the cheddar flavor it just doesn’t work for me. It would seem that I’m alone in thinking that Flipsides aren’t all they set out to be seeing as though my kids like them, and from what I’ve read online, Fipsides are a big hit already. The next time I’m at the grocery store I’ll pick up a box of Plain Flipsides to be sure.

Overall A Mom’s Review recommends picking up a box of TownHouse Flipsides and deciding for yourself. If you have allergies to wheat, soy, milk, or corn then these are not for you.

Have you already tried these new snacks? If so, I’d love to hear what you think of them in the comment section.

Where To Buy: Your local grocery store

All Moms want their kids to eat a breakfast that keeps them satiated until lunch time, right? However, sometimes when we are running late or have a busy morning we can’t always provide a fulfilling breakfast. This is where Breakfast Breaks comes in.

Mom Central recently included us in a campaign for Breakfast Breaks so we were able to try out a couple different Breakast Breaks meals. These meals in a box are like lunchables for breakfast time and cost around $2.49 each. They include cereal (such as cheerios or cinnamon toast crunch), Minute Maid Apple juice box (from concentrate), and a “nutritious snack” which in our case was a fruit bar that neither child ate. If your child wants milk in their cereal you will need to bring that along or pour before you go.

Overall, I think this breakfast on-the-go is a good idea for kids who are running late and this is their only option. It should not be used as an every day “convenient” breakfast meal because it’s not that nutritious and it includes way too much sugar. Sure, it’s convenient but convenience isn’t always a good thing.

I also wanted to note that I read in the press release that these meals were originally successfully used in free & reduced lunch school programs. Personally, I hate the thought of children only eating this boxed stuff 5 days per week. I hope that wasn’t the case. Thankfully our son is homeschooled and we are able to provide more nutritious options. However, I guess any breakfast is better than no breakfast so there’s a positive.

As I stated above I would use Breakfast Breaks when a traditional breakfast wasn’t an option and I’d also serve them during vacation or on long car trips. Breakfast Breaks have to be better than anything on fast food breakfast menus.

Visit BreakfastBreaks.com for more information

My 6 year old loves Yogurt. We usually buy the Yoplait Trix yogurt but his favorite is the adult sized yogurt with real fruit inside. Any way you eat it, yogurt is a great snack for kids.

Recently we were asked to try out Yoplait Kids yogurt. We sampled the Yoplait Kids drinkable yogurt and the Yoplait Kids cup yogurt. Of the two types of yogurt our 6 year old tried, the drinkable yogurt was the favorite. It won on novelty and taste. Kids just think it’s fun to be able to drink yogurt therefore they like it better.

Overall, A Mom’s Review recommends Yoplait kids yogurt. It’s a healthy snack filled with calcium - a necessity for young children. The yogurt also features most toddlers favorite characters such as Dora, Diego, Blues Clues, and The Backyardigans.
Right now you can visit the Yoplait Kids website and receive a coupon for a free package of Yoplait yogurt. Yes, it’s absolutely FREE.

Get your free sample HERE