Three Tip Tuesday – Cookies and Earth’s Best Review

I’m tired. I don’t often say it but today I feel the need to inform you that I am a bit tired.

I decided I was tired yesterday afternoon. You should know that deciding you are tired on a Monday afternoon is not OK. Nor is it OK to discover you have two completely overripe bananas on the counter when all you want to do is close the kitchen up early for the evening and be done with the day.

I contemplated throwing the bananas out.

I know, right. I really must be tired.

I thought better of it of course and mashed them quickly into a bowl. And then I threw in oats, chia seeds, pumpkin, peanut butters, chocolate chips and raisins.

I would share with you an exact recipe but I can’t. I was too tired to think much so I simply dumped it all in the bowl riding the fact that anything in any amount mixed with peanut butter and chocolate and then baked just has to taste good.

And I was right.

Why am I so tired? Well, this week is a bit busier than usual. In addition to my normal workload, I have a bunch of different meetings to attend along with an event in the city tomorrow (I will discuss the event a bit more later in the week).

I am so busy that I don’t even have time to spend with my favorite little girl.

Good thing I was able to hang with her last week. We had a taste test to conduct.

The kind people at Earth’s Best recently sent me some products to review – three products to be exact which fits perfectly today with the theme of Three Tip Tuesday.

From the Earth’s Best website:

Earth’s Best® products  are Certified Organic by Oregon Tilth and Quality Assurance International, agencies accredited by the USDA’s National Organic Program. That means we manufacture products that do not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or potentially harmful pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers.   It also means we can proudly display the USDA Organic logo on packaging of those products that are at least 95% organic.

Their product lines seem endless these days.

Pureed fruits and veggies, snacks, frozen ravioli, mac and cheese, soups, chicken nuggets, waffles, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal…..from infants to toddlers to kids, Earth’s Best provides us parents with the opportunity to feed our children high quality foods containing the freshest and purest of ingredients possible.

The boy snatched up the Crunchin’ Grahams as soon as the packaged arrived at our door. He really doesn’t care that Elmo is on the box.

Once out of the box, the sticks look like any other graham cracker and taste delicious. While I am all for giving our kids (and ourselves) nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits and vegetables as snacks, it is unrealistic to assume we can raise our kids without packaged snacks of some sort.

With companies like Earth’s Best, at least we can buy the packaged snacks and rest assured that they contain a short ingredient list free from the stuff we don’t want in our food.

Sunny Days Snack Bars – My son loved these when he was little and Lisa’s little princess loves them too.

I like that they crumble and mush nicely into little pieces, making them easy to feed to the kids and easy for them to pick up. I also like the mush/crumbly factor when considering the whole choking hazard thing.

You forget how easy it is for a child to choke – no one wants to experience that situation.

Peach Pear Yogurt Smoothie – She loved this flavor. As she does all of the combinations.

Lisa has been buying these fruit/veggie puree pouches since she started solid food.

I don’t think I have ever encountered a time where I have given her a pouch for lunch that she didn’t eat it all right up.

Some children are definitely pickier but Earth’s Best seems to know how to combine the fresh fruits and veggies just right to get a tasty blend.

Sure, you can make your own baby food but let’s be honest – who has time (or desire) to do that each week?

At least with Earth’s Best you can feel good knowing that if you didn’t make it yourself, you are giving your kids food that is still considered wholesome and fresh.

I still buy my son the Earth’s Best ravioli and have bought the waffles as well.

Even if you don’t have children, or your children have grown, the truth is, you can still buy Earth’s Best products.

I know that it is even recommended that we adults choose protein/snack bars marketed to children to avoid the unnecessary processed ingredients – the same thing applies here.

Who cares if Sesame Street is on some of the packaging? Admit it – when you are flipping through the channels on television and you pass Grover sitting in that restaurant making the waiter crazy, you stop and watch it.

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* Earth’s Best sent me complimentary products in exchange for my review. All thoughts and opinions written in this review are my own.

 I NEED TO KNOW:

Do you ever throw out your bananas and feel guilty for not using them to bake something?

What was the last thing you baked using overripe bananas?

Do you buy Earth’s Best for your kids? What is their favorite product?

Have you bought children’s snack bars in place of the adult-marketed bars? I know people buy the Cliff Z Bars over the adult version.