Oh So Crazy

Product Reviews, Giveaways, and Personal Anecdotes

You are here: Home / Home / Food & Drink / First Juice – beverages for kids

First Juice – beverages for kids

by

My girls aren’t big juice drinkers. I don’t usually keep much on hand, so they don’t even ask for it. At home that is. When we go out to eat or to someone’s house for a playdate – all bets are off. Those tiny 4oz juice boxes are prevalent at every kid-friendly get-together! I don’t like them because Maya just sucks them down, and baby… well, she can’t quiet hold the juice box right so she squeezes juice out all over the place.

When I was contacted about trying out First Juice, an organic fruit and vegetable juice beverage, I welcomed the idea, thinking it would be a great opportunity for them to try out something new that I wouldn’t ordinarily buy.

family-shot-1

There are four varieties available:

–  apple + carrot
–  banana + carrot
–  blueberry + purple carrot
–  peach + purple carrot

Those last two flavors were just added to the lineup recently. I took a double take when I saw ‘purple carrot’ on the label – does such a thing even exist?! The answer is yes, and apparently they’ve been around even longer than our beloved orange carrots! Purple carrots have the same nutrients as the orange kind, but with the added benefit of a red-purple pigment called anthocyanin. It’s the same antioxidant found in blueberries and grapes.

The fruits named on the bottles aren’t the only thing found in these drinks – First Juice is a blend of purified water and many other fruits and vegetables. Looking at the labels of the bottles, the first thing I noticed is that every flavor is less than 50% juice, so no need to water it down like I usually do with my kids’ beverages. This also means that it has 50% less sugar than most juices. Packed with nutrients, First Juice provides 60% of the daily value for vitamin C, 25% for vitamin A, and 10% for calcium and vitamin D. There is nothing artificial in these drinks – no added sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup. In fact, First Juice is USDA Certified Organic!

Product review: First JuiceI tasted the juice first, because I never give anything to my girls before trying it myself. My initial impression was that it isn’t sweet at all. I honestly didn’t think that they’d like it.

Boy, was I WRONG!

At least when it came to my toddler. She chugged that first bottle down like one of those little polar bears in the Coca-Cola commercials, and let out a delightful “Aaaaaah!” afterwards. In fact, there wasn’t a single flavor that she didn’t like.

My four-year old, on the other hand, is notoriously picky, and acted like Goldilocks when tasting the three bears’ porridge – this one is NOT sweet (banana+carrot); this one has a weird color (peach+purple carrot); this one smells funny (blueberry+purple carrot); and this one is JUST right (apple+carrot)! Her opinions on food and drinks are usually not to be trusted since most of the time she judges before tasting, but I’d say that the apple+carrot juice is definitely my favorite as well, perhaps because it has a little extra zing of pear and pineapple. First Juice isn’t sweet, which is how it was meant to be. It helps parents steer their children towards colorful fruits and veggies and introduce them to juice, while keeping them from cultivating a sweet tooth early on. Research indicates that children develop taste preferences by the age of 2, so it’s important to develop healthy eating habits from the start.

Product review: First JuiceFirst Juice is sold in 8 oz sippy-top bottles and 32 oz bottles. The sippy bottles are a-m-a-z-i-n-g! They’re meant to be reused, refilled, and eventually recycled. BPA and phthalate-free, they can even be washed in the dishwasher. They don’t leak at all, even when shaken or thrown on the floor, and the bottles fit perfectly in my todder’s little hands. I’m not sure how First Juice does it, but other big-name sippy cup companies should take note. The 32 oz multi-serve bottles are meant to be used at home, and for refilling the sippys. The 8oz bottles are also sold in a 12 ct “Playgroup Pack” which is perfect for get-togethers and kid’s birthday parties!

You know how I said I don’t buy juice much? I’m not promising they’ll be drinking First Juice everyday, but I’ll definitely always try to keep some in stock when my girls need a little extra vitamin boost, or when their friends are over. Visit www.firstjuice.com to print a coupon and try First Juice. Your kids will love you for it!

Product review: First JuiceFirst Juice is available at Whole Foods, Babies ‘R Us, and Toys ‘R Us stores nationwide, and online at www.diapers.com and www.firstjuice.com. An 8 oz bottle costs between $2-3 and a 32 oz bottle between $3-5, depending on the retailer.

P.S. Check out the fun games on the First Juice website! Matching and painting games, and coloring pages are available, as well as lots of info about purple carrots!

P.P.S Enter to win a delightful First Juice gift box! It’s full of a variety of flavors for you and your kids to try. To enter, please visit First Juice, then come back here and leave a comment telling me something you learned – about purple carrots, for instance, or something else.

US entries only. This contest ends at 11:59 pm EST on March 21st, 2009. Winner will be chosen at random, and has 48 hours to claim their prize.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I tasted this drink and actually is very good, I am diabetic and no sugar added was delicious, Apple -Carrot.. I am not a child, but loved it

  4. I learned that their juice is flavorful without all the sugar, and that there’s no need to dilute the juice. I really like their products.

  12. I learned that the pigments in purple carrots are the same as in blueberries and red grapes

  13. what I learned is ; The purple pigment in carrotts are the same type found in blueberries an red grapes,.

  15. I learned that First Juice® brand beverage has 12 grams of sugar per 8 fl. oz. serving, compared to 27 grams of sugar for an equal serving of 100% apple juice

  17. I learned that the purple pigment in purple carrots are called anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant.

  19. The purple pigments in first juice carrots contain natural antioxidants. Thanks for the giveaway!

    themeimlookingfor at yahoo dot com

  26. The more colors you consume, the more nutrients your body gets. Fun website! Thanks for sharing~

  29. I learned that First Juice’s bottles are recycle code #1. That’s good for all of us.

  30. I learned that First Juice®; has 12g of sugarper fl. 8oz. serving compared to 27g of sugar per fl. 8oz in 100% apple juice.

  33. I still can not believe there are purple carrots, and that there were red, yellow, and white as well. Amazing to me, wouldn’t that make a salad pretty shredded carrots in red, yellow, white , orange and purple. Yummy too I bet.
    Thanks for the giveaway, I have a Home Daycare, the kiddos love juice. Would love to try this with them. Purple Carrots, Huh!!! who knew??

    Maureen’s last blog post..

  34. “All First Juice® brand bottles are made of Bisphenol-A (BPA) free and phthalate-free plastic.”

  35. a dutch scientist made carrots orange because that was the national color.

    colleen_mouse’s last blog post..Grandpa

  36. I have your button and you are in my blogroll

    colleen_mouse’s last blog post..Grandpa

  40. “Beverages labeled 100% fruit juice contain 90% of the sugar and calories of sugar-sweetened carbonated soft drinks”
    These juices look great

  41. I like that they traced back in time where purple carrots came from (Persia). That’s cool!

  45. “Our Mission

    To make products that can help parents positively influence children’s
    taste-preference development.

    It’s that simple.”

    Boy I wish I had known about this sooner…..I have one PICKY TODDLER!

  46. First Juice® brand beverage has 12 grams of sugar per 8 fl. oz. serving, compared to 27 grams of sugar for an equal serving of 100% apple juice.

  48. i’m still struggling to understand why people pay so much for water…why not just water down your juice? That’s what we did back in the “old days” (well, seven years ago when my 9-y-o was 2 🙂 )

    But i’m interested in trying this anyway. i guess sometimes you don’t have any water on hand and this would be convenient???

  50. I had no idea that carrots came in colors other than orange so that’s my newest neat fact!

  53. I learned that white grape juice (an ingredient you will never see in First Juice® brand beverage) has even more sugar than apple juice.

  55. I was amazed that orange is a relativally new creation and Dutch for that point. Funky, a garden with purple white and red carrots.

  56. I was surprised that the orange carrot was developed in honor of the Dutch national color (and that the dutch have a national color!).

  59. “Juice is only minimally better than soda.”
    – Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity

  62. Purple carrots are the oldest and they are from Persia. Orange ones were created in Holland in honor of House of Orange.

  63. Purple carrots are grown and harvested the same as any other carrots. They look different and the nutrients are different but they are just as tasty! Thanks!

    braaisjo at gmail dot com

  65. First Juice, while often appealing to older children and adults, is designed with the right amount of flavor for young, developing tastebuds, with the intention of steering them towards an appreciation for flavorful, less sweet tastes.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    Janet F’s last blog post..SeaYu Clean + green CAT – Litter Box Odor Eliminator and Cleaner Review and Giveaway

  66. Subscribed.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    Janet F’s last blog post..SeaYu Clean + green CAT – Litter Box Odor Eliminator and Cleaner Review and Giveaway

  67. Purple carrots contain antioxidants and they help to prevent and slow down damage to our bodies

  69. I learned that Purple carrots are grown and harvested the same way as other carrots.

  71. These are neat. I have a hard time getting my daughter to eat her veggies so this is pretty cool. I learned that carrots were different colors!!!

  74. I learned that First Juice does not contain added sugar, any form of sweeteners, or any preservatives.

  84. Wow never heard of this product. I definetly want my grnadson to try these. I learned that the first juice has a lot less sugar than other fruit juices and that is a much better choice.

  87. I have your button.

    vmichelle’s last blog post..Mom of 2 Boys Wife of 1-Gvieaways

  88. I added blog to Technorati Favorites.

    username vmichelle07

    vmichelle’s last blog post..Mom of 2 Boys Wife of 1-Gvieaways

  93. Once upon a time in Carrots were purple along wiht many other colors.
    They later mixed the(crossed htem) to create the orange ones we all know!

    No mater the color every carrot is good for you!

    ( I wish they would sell purple carrots here! That would look great in a salad!)

    They drink sounds yummy & I know the kids would love it!

  94. First Juice® Brand organic fruit and vegetable juice beverage is designed specifically for young, developing taste buds, with a blend that’s naturally lower in sugar.

  98. It is designed specifically for young, developing taste buds with Less sugar, hooray !!skyxsky27(at)gmail.com

  104. I learned that the botlles are of the best quality plastic and are safe to be re-used. This is a subject of growing concern, so I applaud this company for doing this for our kids .

  108. Carrots used to grow in all kinds of different colors. I had no idea until now! I learned something new today!

  109. Different carrot colors provide different nutrients. The more colors of carrots your body consumes, the more nutrients your body gets.

  110. A Dutch scientist cross bred red and yellow carrots to create an orange carrot , which was the Dutch National color.

  112. Love how there is no Bisphenol-A and Phthalates in the plastic. One less thing to worry about!

  118. i was happy to learn the benefits of white carrots and how they reduce the risk of stroke and cancer thanks for the giveaway