Saturday, January 5, 2013

Vegan-Veggie Foods My Kids Love


 I am beginning to see many more products these days in the grocery store that incorporate veggies or fruits in their products (what a concept!)  Although I prefer not to use too many boxed or packaged foods, sometimes they do come in handy for things like snacks, lunch boxes or foods to take on the go.  Here are a few of my children's favorites that kids will love and moms will approve. 

Veggie Stix


My kids all time favorite snack are Veggie Stix.  When I first found  these I thought there was no way they were going to accept them and I was sure they were going cry for potato chips.  But I was wrong.  They love them!!  I pack these in school lunches and as a snack for times when we may be out for a while.  I even pack them in my lunch too.  They are definitely not the same as real veggies, but a much better option than regular chips.  


Applesauce on the Go



One of my new favorite snacks to pack in my little one’s lunch box is GoGo Squeez applesauce on the go.  The box comes with four in a pack and they come in a variety of flavors.  So far my daughter’s favorite is apple-peach.  Other flavors are apple-mango, apple-strawberry, apple-cinnamon, apple-banana, apple-berry, apple-cherry and apple-apple.  Besides the really cute box and handy squeezable pouches, the best part for me is the ingredients.  The apple-peach ingredients are: apple, peach and apple juice concentrate.  That’s it, no sugar, high fructose corn syrup or junk! You can check out GoGo Squeeze products on their webpage at http://www.gogosqueez.com/.

Veggie Pasta



I just love the idea of pastas made with veggies.  My two favorite are Barilla’s Veggie Farfalle made with pureed carrots and squash and Ronzoni’s Garden Delight fettuccine made with dried carrot, tomato and spinach.   I often make a veggie pasta dish with carrots, zucchini, squash and mushrooms and most of the time I find many of the veggies left on my kids’ plates.  At least with these pastas I can feel that they got at least a little bit of veggie goodness even if they don’t eat the veggies. 

Vegetable Crackers



Both my kids love Ritz Roasted Vegetable crackers.   Yes there are veggies in these, but they are not at the top of the ingredients and there are things like sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  I am not claiming this to be a health food.  But when I find a cracker that is vegan, made with veggies and both my kids love them I cannot ignore them.  Besides this is only a snack food and a great way to incorporate other great foods.  You can top them with hummus or peanut butter to make it a healthier snack.  I say any food that gets your child to eat a healthy food is worth reviewing!