2014's Top Lunchbox Essentials

Back-to-school season is almost here, which means it's time for Moms across the country to begin planning and packing their kids' lunchboxes. I wanted to share this year's top lunchbox essentials that are both nutritious and delicious.

Any teacher can tell you a satisfying and healthy mid-day meal is key to a child's success. A lunchbox packed with the typical sandwich-chip-soda combination may cause a child to feel tired, have trouble concentrating, or become distracted by hunger before the day is over. Sending a carefully-packed lunch to school is the best way to ensure a child gets the most from the school day.

This year's top lunchbox essentials are:

 Coco Joy Kids is the new, naturally fruit-flavored pure coconut water for kids, containing no added sugar or preservatives. Launching alongside Coco Joy, Coco Joy Kids offers a new approach to garnering the health benefits of coconut water. Unlike other coconut water beverages that mix the fatty, milky juice of aged brown coconuts with green coconut water, Coco Joy and Coco Joy Kids are made purely from fresh, young green coconuts from Southeast Asia.

My Thoughts

I am a huge fan of coconut waster myself, but I had trouble getting my kids interested...until now. Coco Joy Kids merges  their favorite Disney characters with flavors that appeal to kids of all ages. Each one adds a touch of fruit flavor like pineapple or watermelon. This splash of flavor makes Coco Joy just sweet enough for kids without worrying about excess sugar. They are a great drink to stick inside lunch boxes this year instead of traditional juice boxes.

Sparkling ICE has made a great tasting, refreshing, zero-calorie beverage Perfectly Possible™. Combining naturally flavored mountain spring water, fruit juice, vitamins and antioxidants, Sparkling ICE offers a bold flavored, lightly-carbonated beverage that appeals to all age groups, especially kids. Sparkling ICE can be found in retailers nationwide. Sparkling ICE is part of the TalkingRain family of beverages. 

My Thoughts

My teens are always asking for soda in their lunchboxes, but I hate how sugary most carbonated beverages can be. While I love the idea of a zero calorie drink, I rarely like the flavor. Most of them taste artificial and leave behind an unpleasant aftertaste.  So I opened my first bottle of Sparkling ICE with a little trepidation.  Surprisingly, these drinks tasted much better than I expected. Each one comes in a tasty fruit flavor with just enough carbonation to make it bubbly.My kids loved them too and I feel much better about sticking on of these in their lunch bag than those big name brands that are loaded with sugar.

Welch's® PB&J Snacks bring together the great tastes of Peanut Butter and Jelly in an easy-to-eat, no-mess treat. The round bite-sized snacks feature a chewy center made with real fruit, surrounded by a peanut butter coating. The first and only treat of its kind, Welch's® PB&J Snacks include 100% of the daily recommended value of Vitamin C, are a good source of Vitamins A & E, and are made with natural flavors and colors.  The snacks are being offered in four delicious varieties - Concord Grape or Strawberry centers, surrounded by either Creamy or Crunchy peanut butter.

 My Thoughts

Welch's PB & J snacks are a new twist on an old favorite. Our favorite fruit snacks now have a creamy peanut butter coating. It's like getting the best part of a PB & J sandwich in one bite size morsel. The peanut butter really takes the edge off, so they aren't overly sweet. No kids will complain about getting these for a snack either in their lunch box or after school.

 Lance®, the snack food brand that has provided real snacking fulfillment for over 100 years, now has more than 20 varieties of cracker sandwiches available, including ToastChee®, Whole Grain, Cracker Creations®, XtraFulls® and Bolds^TM. These fun and nutritious snacks do not contain high fructose corn syrup or preservatives and have 0 grams of trans fat. Each product is made with baked, crispy crackers and filled with enough real peanut butter or cheese to keep the kids going on the most extreme days.

My Thoughts

We all have those mornings when the alarm doesn't go off or we forgot to pick up the bread. Lance crackers are the perfect solution for crazy morning like those. Now they even come in whole grain varieties. Crunchy crackers with a creamy center of peanut butter or cheese are just as good as a sandwich once in awhile, and you can just toss them in a bag and go. They are make a great after school snack or even a late night treat.

So that wraps up my top lunch box snacks! What will you be adding to your kid's lunch box this year?