Don't Let the Twinkie Outlive You

You remember Fruit Roll-ups, right? Those flat plastic-y snacks by Betty Crocker....made of "fruit" with either the swirly tie-die effect or...if you were super lucky...the punch out shapes that centered around whatever movie or cartoon was big at the time? Yeah! yeah! The ones you could taste for hours because it would somehow mold to the roof of your mouth and leave you tweaking out from sugar withdrawals by the end of recess?! Well, meet their overachiever cousin: the 365 Organic Fruit Strip.

I know as well as anyone that thinking back on childhood snacks is exciting. Dunk-a-Roos, Snack Pack puddings, Gushers, and the previously mentioned Fruit Roll-up. Have you revisited them lately? If so, am I the only one who was severely unimpressed by the quality of food I was consuming? How the hell was that the kind of crap I desired as a kid? I'm sure commercials had something to do with it, but I think it was mostly because the other kids ate them too. Thankfully, while most parents are pumping their kiddos full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavorings, some folks are getting it right by switching to the healthier versions of the same desired treat. Clearly, most children aren't going to be able to sensibly judge what food is higher in quality through a taste test....Back in elementary school I easily put money on Campbell's Broccoli and Cheese soup as being a healthy lunch. I mean...there's broccoli in it, so it must mean healthy right? Same goes with other key words like "fruit" and "low fat." You can't expect a child to know that a Fruit Roll-up isn't made from real whole fruits...that's why parents need to be the ones to take initiative over their kids' diets.

Anyways, that was a super off-topic segue. 365 Organic Fruit Strips. Lots of people care about organic produce, personally I'm on the fence about the whole topic, but the point is that these snacks are absolutely addicting. I mean really, at $0.50 each, I would almost be willing to drop $20 for a month's supply of them. They look and taste like a sweet, fruit jerky but they don't have that same rip-out-your-fillings texture that a lot different kinds of jerky have...they are actually quite soft! While lists of ingredients on a lot of snacks these days are leaning towards upwards of 20 (and practically incomprehensible) the brief and obvious ingredients of healthier alternatives are almost as satisfying as the snacks themselves.

Why weren't these kinds of snacks given to most children my age? Maybe they weren't available...maybe they weren't affordable...maybe they just weren't convenient. No matter the reason, healthier alternatives are now presenting themselves and taking on each of those challenges head on. It's just up to us to make the right choices for those who aren't yet capable of making them.