A Better Kids’ Juice

It’s a rare day in our household when we give our daughter juice. Her pediatrician told us to only offer water and milk because kids don’t need any of the juice and “juice drinks” marketed to kids. So we’ve stuck to that, only giving a mix of prune juice and water when necessary. I gave her a taste of flavored water one day and you would have thought it was a sugary cola judging by her reaction.

So when Honest Kids’ juices showed up on my doorstep, I was excited to give it a try. The line of organic drinks are lower in sugar than all of the sweet beverages you’ll find at the store. With five varieties, there’s a taste for every adult—and kid—in the house. Plus with a full day’s supply of Vitamin C in each ready-to-go pouch, you know they’re at least giving a nutritional punch. Plus, there is no high fructose corn syrup in the mix.

I loved the variety of juices, from Berry Berry Good Lemonade, which had a light pink lemonade tang to it, to Appley Ever After, a light true apple juice, and Goodness Grapeness, a grapey concoction. Tropical Tango Punch, which combines mangoes, oranges and grape juice flavors and Super Fruit Punch, was our favorite—I’m a sucker for punch. (Ha! Sucker punch.)

The juices have a good taste without being overly sweet or overly watered down. If your kids don’t regularly get juice, this will be a sweet treat for them. With only 40 calorie per pouch and only 9 grams of sugar, these are juices that will won’t come with the consequences of a massive sugar spike or crash, especially if paired with a snack.

Do you give your kids juice regularly? As a special treat? What’s your favorite kind? —Erin