Juicy Juice

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Juicy Juice.

I received an email a few weeks ago from BlogHer, asking if F&B and I would like to review a few Juicy Juice products.

Now, I rather like Juicy Juice, for when we have juice. We did one of the "House Parties" for them last year and really liked the new DHA/Immunity juices. I ended up using those for our after-volleyball snack which was perfect for very thirsty 7 & 8 year olds, plus the bags & water bottles were pretty cool for the girls. And, when I buy individual juice boxes, I really like their mini-sized ones. They are actually the perfect size for my kids. I also prefer freezing them to double as an ice pack in their on-the-go lunches.

We received two different kinds to try--the 100% Juicy Juice boxes in the "Punch" flavor and the Sparkling Juicy Juice drink in the "Apple" flavor. I put a few of each in the fridge to chill and we sampled them.

What We Liked:
-They are 100% juice with no extra sugar added, I do not understand why sugar needs to be added to fruit juice, so very happy to see it wasn't!
-The ingredient lists are relatively short--real juices/concentrates plus absorbic & citric acid (for preservative). I could pronounce all the items.
-The "Punch" flavor is really yummy, all of us liked that one, it's a combination of apple, grape & passion fruit.
-The 100% Juice also had 100% Vitamin C.
-The "Sparkling Apple" version is gluten-free.
-While I'm not completely sold on individual containers for at-home usage (the "green" part of me cringes about anything packaged individually), the containers aren't the huge super-size version at least. They are a reasonable serving size for an elementary school child, which is perfect for on-the-go meals.
-The 100% Juice is a much better alternative than "juice drinks".

Now, as a side note, F&B have an extreme dislike, a hatred if you will, of all carbonated beverages. They agreed to sample the Sparkling Apple Juice, but neither of them got past the first sip. The grown-ups in the house tried it and liked it, but I need to borrow a kid who doesn't hate carbonation to begin with to sample the apple one. I thought it was pretty good and a better alternative to soda, if that is an issue in your house.

Will we buy it again? Yes. When we buy juice, I buy 100% juice items and look for ones with no additional sugars added. F&B like having a glass of juice with breakfast and will continue to do so. I'll probably still buy the larger bottles for home usage though, and save juice boxes for when we are out & about. That just works better for us, since F&B typically drink their juice at home during breakfast.

Would I recommend it? Yes. If you have a soda issue in your house, the sparkling juices are definitely worth a try. They have a soda feel with the bubbles & carbonation, but without the long chemical list of ingredients and actually are made from 100% fruit juice. As for regular juice, I would have recommended Juicy Juice before this review and still would. I like knowing that it's 100% juice across the board, without additional sugars. I don't have to read labels on every different flavor to make sure it's still 100% juice, all of their products are.

Would you like a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card and Juicy Juice prize pack? It's the perfect things to start off the new school year!

Just tell me, in the comments, what are your favorite healthy items to pack for your child's lunch/snack at school?

Check out the other Juicy Juice BlogHer Reviewrs for more chances to win--
BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 Round-up page

Click here for the official rules--
BlogHer.com Juicy Juice 2010 official rules