Healthy Snacking with Brothers-All-Natural {Giveaway}

March is National Nutrition Month and I wanted to highlight my family’s go-to snack obsession from a brand called Brothers-All-Natural, based in Rochester, New York.

This was one of those instances where I reached out directly to the company, because we’ve been enjoying their dried pear and dried apple pouches for nearly a year now.  Initially, I bought them for my toddler son at my local Shop Rite within their produce department, and then at Old Navy in the check out line. (Full disclosure: they had him at the Mickey Mouse packaging and had me at 100% all-natural, no nasty ingredients.) And I was curious to learn more about them, and their extended offerings.

In addition to apples and pears, I learned that Brothers-All-Natural features a variety of other dried fruits like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple and Mandarin Orange.  And they even sell these single-serve instant oatmeal cups that are complete with a little spoon and a little packet of dried fruit.

Here’s what else I found out: the fruit snacks we love so much are technically called “Fruit Crisps” and that means that they’re not baked (which apparently causes the fruit to lose too much flavor); they are not dehydrated (this adds preservatives); they are not sweetened dried (this adds sugar).  Brothers-All-Natural fruit crisps are freeze-dried – a process in which the nutrition of the fruit is retained and the basic cell structure remains intact. They are 100% real fruit, 100% natural.

Our family favorites by far remain the apples and pears, while the strawberries were a delightful new surprise.  My son does prefer fresh banana to the dried bananas.  And my husband and I each sampled the oatmeal on separate occasions. He loved the convenience factor and I loved that unlike some other mainstream oatmeal brands, my family was getting a wholesome, non-GMO, whole grain breakfast that has no added sugar.  My only caveat with the oatmeal was that the accompanying fruit packet had a lot of “powder” in it, causing a pervasive over-flavoring of my oatmeal.  Next time around, I think I could flavor-correct by just adding less of the powder and keeping more of the dried fruit bits.

I’d highly recommend the fruit crisp products to anyone who has a child that is picky about his fruits/veggies, or needs a convenient snack item on the go.  And if you are vegan, kosher, or allergic to nuts, soy or dairy, you are in luck — both the oatmeal and the fruit snacks are allergy free and perfectly suited for you!

So commemorate National Nutrition Month by adding something new to your family’s repertoire of fruits and veggies.  The folks at Brothers-All-Natural are making it easy to eat well by giving one lucky mom a la mode reader a Mickey’s Clubhouse Variety Fruit Crisps 24-pack featuring 3 flavors: Apple, Pear and Strawberry/Banana (a $21.99 value!)

Enter today: a Rafflecopter giveaway

So snack away and feel good about your food!

oxox

-mom a la mode

{I was not compensated in any way for this post.  I received product samples from Brothers-All-Natural for review purposes.  All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}

{Giveaway: No purchase necessary. Must be continental U.S. resident aged 18+ to enter.  No P.O. Boxes. Mom a la mode will contact the unofficial winner via email and that unofficial winner will have 24 hours to respond in order to claim the prize. Brothers-All-Natural will send the Clubhouse Variety prize package ($21.99 value) directly to the official winner. Contest ends 3/13/13.}