Thank you so much for choosing our family to be reviewers. The kids were so excited to try each product that they tore into the bags straight away. We stumbled across Fruit Hitz ‘Apple Chips’ (a different product than reviewed) one day by random when I was shopping in Countdown with the kids (I usually do click and collect), and these have been a regular on our shopping list since then. It took a few goes for my youngest to take a liking to them (due to the slight brown colour – which is solely because they are so natural and have no preservatives to keep them a crisp, unnatural white colour), but now he can’t get enough of them. I was not aware however, until the call for reviewers, that Fruit Hitz have so many other incredible products available (the one down-side of not browsing the supermarket aisles).
The kids instantly loved the Apple Sticks, which have the same sweet, crisp taste of the Apple Chips but in fun little ‘match-like’ sticks. They loved the dried strawberries and blueberries in the Fruit Medley, but found the boysenberries and gold kiwifruit a little tart (although quite accepting when crushed over vanilla ice cream, I must say!). I however LOVED the tartness, and was very excited to snack away on their leftovers (especially after the kids polished off the Apple Sticks bag). We will definitely add Apple Sticks to our weekly shop, probably alternating between these and the Apple Chips we were previously hooked on.
The trial bags came with a little card advertising other Fruit Hitz products, and my youngest has already expressed great interest in trying the Fruit Noodles. At this stage, I will probably stick to the products that I can buy in my local Countdown supermarket, as I looked online and to get free shipping you have to spend $50 in one transaction, which we just couldn’t afford to do. Although, as our local Countdown doesn’t appear to stock the Fruit Noodles, maybe I’ll have to save up and buy a range of products all in one go which can help fill up the kids lunch boxes over the next term 🙂
Our son had a number of health issues last year and after having a feeding tube for 3 months became very hesitant around foods. One of the food groups he has become avoidant of is fruits (possibly because of the acidity of some). He is reluctant to eat fresh apples, however couldn’t get enough of the Apple Sticks – so for me these products are a hit in the sense I know he is still getting the nutrients from fruit (until we can build him back up to fresh fruit). They have the same satisfying crispness of a potato chip, but are soooo good for you. And they’re ideal to carry around as a mini-snack in your bag (for the kids or even yourself) and you know the kids are snacking on something healthy, yet also not filling themselves up before a meal.
One thing that may put some kids off initially is the browning of the Apple Sticks (which resemble how an apple looks if it’s cut and left in the air a bit), but as soon as I talked about the fact that there are no nasties keeping the fruit a pure white, then the kids had no hesitation. When giving them to my youngest I do have to be conscious not to give a piece that is a stick of apple out of the core – especially the furry end piece (as I don’t want to put him off) – but otherwise it is a tick from us all the way. These products are a great healthy snack idea, a fun alternative way to provide fruit into your diet, and an excellent ice cream topping (although the ice cream was eaten so quickly I never actually managed to get a photo!) 🙂