Having two kids four years apart can sometimes be tricky when it comes to food. Baby Girl wants everything her big sister has, and vice versa. Usually this is a good thing – Frog is pretty adventurous when it comes to food and I think her enthusiasm rubs off on her baby sister. Sometimes, though, I feel like we fall down in the snack department. This is why the new range of healthy snacks for older kids – called Punk’d by Organix – is right up our street.
Baby Girl loves the range of baby and toddler snacks from Organix. Her current favourites are the new banana puffcorn snacks released just last month. I often find it so much easier to source healthy snacks for toddlers than I do for Frog, so my biggest girl will regularly end up eating the same as my littlest. But, as Frog told me the other day, “I’m six years old now Mum. I’m not a baby!”
No matter how much fresh fruit or packets of raisins I have in the house, Frog will always ask for “treat food” when she gets home from school, or if she’s having a “movie afternoon” at home at the weekend. She seems to be drawn to the packaging just as much as the taste – unwrapping the food is just as much part of the excitement as actually eating it.
It’s also interesting how much peer pressure plays a part at this age. I’ve noticed Frog’s snack decisions at school, for example, are often influenced by what her friends choose. Already at the age of six she’s deeming some foods “not cool”, while others are given some sort of weird hierarchy status. A bit like an inverted example of the avo-toast / chia seed / green smoothie craze with 20-30 somethings. Some foods are cooler than others and give you a special social status if you eat them, apparently. Or that’s what Frog tells me anyway.
The Punk’d range from Organix instantly appeals to my colour magpie daughter. It’s bold and bright, with an edgy font that suits Frog’s six years. The packaging shouts “cool, fun, grown-up”. No baby talk here, thank you very much.
More importantly though, once you get inside the wrapper, you’re met with a soft, tasty, oaty deliciousness that instantly satisfies my daughter’s “sweet treat” cravings. As with all Organix products, the ingredients are all organic and there’s no added junk. It really is a win-win: my six year old feels like she’s lucked out in the treat department, while I know she’s not stuffing herself silly with a load of E numbers and artificial flavourings.
I always know when Frog really loves something because she refuses to share it with me. On first tasting these she told me, “These aren’t for mummies and daddies. They’re only for kids, OK?” which is how I knew she was a fan.
We tried out the Cocoa and Orange Crash and Strawberry and Vanilla Smash (very cool names, according to Frog). Both are full of flavour, with a moist and sticky texture very much like a flapjack. The sizes are perfect – not too big and not too small. You get six bars per packet, which means they could theoretically last for a whole week of after-school treats, providing you don’t have a kid who’s skilled in the art of stealthy snack stealing.
The range isn’t appropriate for children under 36 months, according to the note on the packaging, which means Frog gets to keep these bars all to herself, instantly heightening their appeal.
We’re planning a family movie night later this week and Frog has already requested a Punk’d oaty bar for her snack of choice. So there you have it – Organix must be doing something right if my six year old would rather have one of these than a bar of chocolate.
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Goodness, I’m commenting on a review post – that’s some good writing you must have done! I have been wondering recently at what point I have to stop buying Matilda “baby” snacks and what the alternative is, so good to hear Organix are doing something about that.
But my real comment is: I’ve been really surprised by how many kids TV shows go on about cake and ice cream and milkshakes and biscuits as exciting treats; I’m not somebody who plans to completely avoid giving my kid sugar but I thought it would be one of those things kids TV wasn’t supposed to actively promote. It must make them very aware of not wanting to be short changed when it comes to snacks.
I totally agree! There’s a real peer pressure from all angles when it comes to food and kids. It’s all very well for parents to do their bit, and for brilliant brands like Organix to promote healthy eating and research – but it sort of feels like fighting a losing battle when sugar and the love of it is everywhere! Don’t get me wrong, we like the occaasional bit of chocolate and icecream, but it does feel like I’m regularly saying “no” to Frog because she asks for this type of food so often.