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Monday, February 16, 2009

First Juice: An Honest Review of Healthy, Organic Juice for Kids and GIVEAWAY!

We have a winner for the First Juice Giveaway!!
Random.org generated the #28 which belonged to
Congratulations to Helene who has TWO SETS OF TWINS!
So she needs this juice!
Thanks for playing the giveaway game.  
Check back for more review/giveaway fun!!

I can still remember peering over the kitchen countertop of my youth watching my mom get out our tan plastic pitcher, the inside stained a dull red, as she prepared to mix up one of my favorite childhood beverages....Kool-Aid.  I had an important role in the process. I was often the one lucky enough to get to pour in a brimming cup of glistening sparkly white sugar. If I got to scoop it myself, believe you me, that puppy was overflowing.

I would mix that cup of kid crack with that suspicious cranberry red powdery substance and a quart of tap water in our well-used pitcher with a wooden spoon and...Voila!  I can still remember the sting on my teeth as the sugar would coat my mouth.  If you look closely enough, you still might be able to see a faint red Kool-Aid mustache curving up from the corners of my mouth.

Well, now that I'm a mama of three little ones, the thought of getting them jacked up on Kool-Aid the old-fashioned way doesn't sound like such a good idea. I'm usually looking for ways to calm them down as opposed to amping them up.  So I have yet to mix up a pitcher of Kool-Aid in my home, but if you open the fridge, you will most always find an assortment of juice.

Now, my husband doesn't really see Kool-Aid and juice as two entirely different things.  They're both loaded with sugar he reminds me and he is a firm believer in giving the kids water to drink as opposed to juice. But since I'm the one who is usually grocery shopping and filling their sippy cups, I often surrender to their cry for juice.  I mean it sounds healthy enough - apple juice?  What's wrong with a little apple juice? Although I do try my best to water it down.  Half apple juice, half water. Oh, you know the drill.

So when I was given the opportunity to check out a product called First Juice, an organic fruit and vegetable juice beverage, I thought "Oh yeah!"  Perhaps once and for all we could all feel at peace about letting the kids have juice. And who knows? Maybe my marriage would be better because of First Juice as well.

THE PRODUCT


Doesn't that picture just make you feel all happy inside?  Okay then. Here's the deal. First Juice is an organic fruit and vegetable juice beverage that comes in four flavors: Apple + Carrot, Banana + Carrot, Blueberry + Purple Carrot and Peach + Purple Carrot.  

I know, you're all like "Purple Carrot? Whaaaa?"  

Sure, I was too.  But First Juice has taught me a lot about the purple carrot.  It's history, its perks, its relation to the orange carrot, and although the look of the purple carrot may confuse you, I'm here to tell you, it's all good.  Although I'm a big fan of orange carrots, I can honestly say I think I'm a little more in love with the purple carrot now.  Just as tasty, way more original and provides your little ones with a much needed antioxidant, the same type found in blueberries and red grapes.  

First Juice reminded me that different colored veggies are important to the healthy growth of our children and that I need to stop relying on just corn and a few raw orange carrots going into my kids' bellies. My kids need a more well-rounded veggie diet and First Juice can sneak that in without them barely knowing.

And the sugar facts on this product?  First Juice contains 12 grams of sugar per 8 oz. serving which is 50 percent less than the leading 100% apple juice.  It's also USDA Certified Organic and kosher and has no added sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no preservatives and no high fructose corn syrup.

How does that sound?

WHAT THE COMPANY SAYS

First Juice is the nation's first organic, low sugar, fruit and vegetable juice for infants and toddlers. First Juice encourages healthy eating habits from the start. Research shows that starting children out on food and beverages that are nutritious will develop healthy eating habits for life.  

First Juice, Inc. is a socially responsible business who believe that delivering great products for parents and their children is good business. The mission of the company is to make products that can help parents positively influence children's taste-preference development.  

WHAT THE KIDS SAY

My kids are pretty smart.  They usually know when I'm trying to pull a fast one over on them.  So when First Juice arrived for our taste testing, I wasn't sure exactly how to present it without them getting suspicious.  So I gave it to them straight - "I've got some healthy juice for you to try.  It's gonna make you strong and healthy and will probably make you run real fast." 

If you're not already using it, that running line is a good one for lots of things. It has stopped working when I try to get them to eat peas and green beans but they were willing to go with it again for the sake of the "healthy juice."

So after the taste-testing was done, let me give it to you straight - they loved it.

No problem with the less sugary taste, no problem with the purple carrot, no problem with the veggie component, and not only no problem, now they will actually ask for the "healthy juice."

And yes, it does for sure make them run faster.  That's a fact.

WHAT THE MOM SAYS

I love First Juice for many reasons.  First it was started by a dad who was tired of giving his kids the sugary juices that I was giving my kids.  What's with dads and sugary juices?  They're way ahead of us on this one.  

Second, the juice tastes good.  It really does.  It doesn't have that sugary sting of Kool-Aid and a lot of other juices out there and it doesn't have that annoying juice aftertaste. 

Third, it provides 60% of the Daily Value (DV) of Vitamin C, 35% DV of Vitamin A and 10% DV for Calcium and Vitamin D in an 8 oz. serving.   

Fourth, it's healthy and organic. What mom is not behind that concept?  Please.

Fifth, not only does the juice come in a 32-oz pour bottle that is BPA and phthalate-free and recyclable but it also comes in an 8 oz. bottle with a spill-proof sippy top for grab and go convenience.  And it's dishwasher safe so you can use the little bottles again and again.
Doesn't this all sound so smart?  It sure does to me. 

So First Juice is gonna become the regular juice drink around our home and I'm happy to know my kids won't have to live with a faint Kool-Aid mustache for the rest of their lives like I have had to.  

Oh yes, and my husband is really happy.  He even offered to give me a foot massage the other night - for no reason.  I think it was because of First Juice.   Really.

DO YOU WANNA TRY FIRST JUICE?

If you have kids, you should want to try this juice.  The younger the better but even my 4 and 6 year old girls liked this juice.  I just wish it were around when they were young.  My lil' dude will benefit greatly from drinking First Juice for sure. 

First Juice is sold nationwide at Whole Foods Market, Wild Oats, Target, Toys R Us and Babies R Us and retails between $3.49 and $4.49 per 32 oz. bottle.  The 8 oz. sippy cup bottles cost between $1.99 - $2.49. 

One other way to check out this juice?  A GIVEAWAY!  

That's right. First Juice has offered to send one of my readers two gift packs containing all of the four flavors of First Juice.  That'll be a nice assortment of bottles both big and small.  All you have to do to win is comment below.  And if you make me laugh with your comment, I may give you an extra entry.  And if you tweet this giveaway, come back and tell me and I'll give you another entry.

Giveaway will end Friday, February 20th BST.  (Blogging Standard Time)  

So if you want your kids to run fast, you better enter.

Thanks to Mom Fuse for knowing how much I needed that foot massage and to First Juice for helping my kids run the race.
 

34 comments:

  1. I want to try this! My son is 18 months and me being the mean mom that I am hasn't given him juice yet. From time to time my husband and I drink juice and we just tell our son that we are drinking water. Everything is "water"! Sometimes after a long day I drink a few glasses of red "water" out of a glass with a stem on it! Anyway, I thought I could break down and actually give my son juice one of these days!
    abbyandygaige@gmail.com

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  2. Great post. Great review. However, making me feel just a bit guilty because we just started the Kool Aid rage in this house and I even served some to your girls yesterday! Oh - how I hope that went unnoticed by your hubby. Oh well, you may need to make it up to him by massaging something of his.

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  3. Oh God, you mean the next time my 3 year old refuses to drink milk, there is something GOOD I can give him? Heck yes, sign me up! He wont'drink water, and always wants to drink Tea (like Daddy) which is full of sugar. Ever since we broke him of his sippy cups, its like pulling teeth to get him to drink. Maybe this would help!!!

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  4. I would love to try it, but is it really just for infants and toddlers? What about the rest of us and our older kiddos? Please tell me we can have some.

    So there is my comment, please enter me now.

    I don't twitter - it sounds kind of naughty. Maybe I should start!

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  5. I used to be a health nut, but once my daughter was born, that went out the window. I make a pitcher of Kool-Aid once a week, and I don't feel too bad about it. My daughter eats and drinks tons of really nutritious and wholesome things so if once a week she eats chicken nuggets and washes it down with some sugar water, so be it. She deserves it for eating brussel sprouts and bran cereal most of the time!

    quitecontrary1977@hotmail.com

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  6. this is a great review, ms. lee. i don't need to be entered in the giveaway but i wanted to give you your props.

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  7. This is a wonderful review and I don't need to receive anything for saying so. I'm a friend of the Dad who invented this stuff and so know about his own journey to getting this on the market.
    In my mind these juices are good for all ages, I've tried them are they're really tasty... so for kids older than infants and toddlers and as old as us adults... go ahead and give First Juice a try (I mean this sincerely). Sylvia T in Norwalk, CT. Soony2@optonline.net

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  8. Your Kool Aid memories are priceless! The red stain on our avacado green pitcher is as permanent as the shelack on the 1970's coffee table.

    Are you sure the purple carrots aren't just orange ones dipped in Kool Aid? Cuz they look just the tiniest bit suspicious that way.

    Just sayin.

    Love the blog, btw...

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  9. I'm hitting Whole Foods tomorrow anyway so I think I'll pick this up! Thanks for sharing!

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  10. Great post...the juice sounds too good to be true...I'll have to pick some up. lol..I recently justified G2 gatorade b/c the benefits of it outwayed the sugar impact it would have on my dehydrated child. O the joys of mother hood!:D

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  11. Juice?

    Hell, I LOVE Juice!

    I mean, who doesn't love Juice?

    Oh wait...by the looks of it,
    Deb hates Juice.

    WHAT is her problem??

    It's JUICE, already??!!

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  12. I am always looking for a batter juice. Count me in!

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  13. Juice me up, baby. Purple carrots...pink limes...whatever. We're game, because splenda koolaid is well...not kool-aid. Duh!

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  14. can I put vodka in it? That's all I want to know.

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  15. Sign me up!! I'm on board for anything that gets veggies into my children.

    But the REAL reason is that I want that damn foot massage. My toots are really killing me :-)

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  16. This juice could make my son run faster and jump higher, just like my dad used to say a new pair of shoes could make you do. Thanks. abailey_crace@yahoo.com

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  17. I posted this on Twitter. Thanks. abailey_crace@yahoo.com

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  18. I have grown purple, red and yellow carrots in my garden. Bought the seeds purely for the freak factor and to amuse my kids. They loved them!

    And yeah, I'm a Kool Aid kid myself. Except my mom bought the already sweetened packages. And oh, what the hell, it's true confession time: I never actually made the Kool Aid. Just opened the little paper package and ate the bright red sugar with a spoon.

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  19. This is totally our thing! My boys would love it and I love that it's organic and such. I haven't seen it at Target, now I'll look more closely.

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  20. really great find! I'm always looking for new healthful foods!

    Is it only for kids tho? I think there's too much sugar in basically everything today...I'm going to send it to work with my husband ha ha.

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  21. I may have to give this to my husband. It might be the only way I can get something healthy in him. :-) My daughter would love this too!

    pma_devri@hotmail.com

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  22. what a great great review! while we are waiting for the giveaway results I am hitting Whole foods it the next couple days to give this juice a try! low sugar, organic, and the kids love it!! wow! Thanks!

    cathy b
    projecthope 7 at g mail dot com

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  23. I would love to win this and I'm sure my kids would love me to win this, because I'm a mean mom too and make my kids drink water.
    Sounds yummy!

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  24. I have 2 little grandsons who are at my house a lot,an need more healthy drinks,all I had one day to give them was red koolaid,OMG,I forgot that it will go thru kids quickly,I changed the 10 month olds diaper an it was red poop!I bout fainted,I thought he was bleeding to death,I snatched him up an ran an woke my husband,who works nights an sceamed the babys poop is RED!he said calmly,what has he had to eat,an drink,DUH,what a dope I was,no more red koolaid at my house,period,I keep things stocked so when they are there I have healthy stuff,an know what goes in must come out!
    vlbelk(at)hotmail.com

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  25. I do not buy fruit juice very often (do not like the sugar content) because I push milk and water as the drinks of choice in my house. However, my preschooler drinks juice when at friends' houses, parties, etc., and has become the Juice Monster! I try offering veggie juices but fruit juice remains on the top most wanted list. I think First Juice would be perfect for us!

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  26. Me, Me, Me!!! I have 2 sets of twins (did that make you laugh??!!) Seriously, though, my 1st of twins are 4 and my 2nd set are 23 months. They are juice lovers so I'm constantly battling with them to drink more water but they fight me tooth and nail. I think they'd really like this juice and I'd feel a whole lot less guilt giving them juice that isn't loaded with sugar and all the other bad stuff!

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  27. Hopefully, my 3 year old will like this juice. If not, one of my sweet lil' grandchildren will like it. lol I have 4 grandchildren all ages 4 and under. Thanks.

    gahome2mom(at)gmail(dot)com
    http://lovingheartdesigns.blogspot.com/

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  28. so how do i make you laugh tell you a joke or something amusing naw i will tell you a little story my 9 yr old hates juice so i tried to give him canberry juice cuz he had an infection so mixed all these concoctions together and he got sick i think he might like this did i get 2 entries?fingers crossed

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  29. I can use the line "It's gonna make you strong and healthy and will probably make you run real fast" to get them to drink this but I think telling the boys drinking purple carrot will help your vision and pee purple. They'd love to see that.

    member (dot) thao (at) gmail.com

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  30. Okay Lee, you got me! I'm in. My 3 year old thinks she's running when all she's doing is pumping her arms harder with her elbows sticking straight out! Give her some help, please! Oh, and we need something yummy to drink when we play our "Lo-Yo" game on Friday nights!

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  31. my kids are 3 and 4. I still water down their juice because I do not want too much sugar. I would love to be ebtered and win this giveaway. Please disregard all others, OK?

    NO?? Ok well then just enter me and I will hope I win!

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  32. I would love to win for my grandson. He loves juice and this one sounds so healthy.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

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  33. yeah this is the jucie factory and i want this juice so i can give it out to stores and every where so please let met have it cause youll never know everyone in miami might buy the first juice in the world so please please please let us have it for miami to be healty

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