Product Review: Froose Juice Boxes

I was sent some boxes of Froose juice to review, and I've been wondering how to write the review ever since my kids tasted them. You see, I'm torn. I don't buy juice. My older son didn't even like it until he was over 4 years old. (Seriously. I know there are moms who brag about how their kids don't like this and that thing, but mine would ask for water instead if juice was offered. I know. He also hates mac and cheese and spaghetti. I feel somehow he's avoided the midwestern gene.) My little one will suck it down, but I don't like the sugar that's in juice, and how it fills them up so they won't eat real food. I'd rather have my kids drink water and just eat the whole fruit, instead of drinking juice.

So I'm not going to tell people to run out an buy Froose to solve all their kids dietary needs. But the thing is, my kids loved it. My older one asked for a second right after the first. And he was drinking the cherry, and usually he won't touch a berry flavor with a 10-foot pole. The little one kept trying to sneak more out of the refrigerator while I wasn't looking. (His plot failed when he'd come to me to help him with the straw. He has some work to do before he achieves super-villain status.)

You can't deny that there's nothing bad in it. And a bunch of good stuff. Whole grains and fruit juice, 3 grams of fiber, gluten-free, kosher certified.

So I'm not telling you to rush out and buy it if you don't already buy juice. But if you do buy juice, and you're looking for something with more added value, no HFCS or other crap, and your kids like cherry, pear, and peach, Froose is your drink. I'll buy it for those times I do need juice boxes (parties, trips, etc.). And I'll definitely recommend it to parents of kids who like juice boxes as a better alternative than mass-market juice boxes.

Comments

[SarcastiCarrie]

As juice goes, it looks ok.

But, why organic brown rice syrup for sweetening? Is anyone making a juice box whose ingredients are something like this: Water, juice, ascorbic acid? I'm looking for something 75% water, 25% real juice and maybe added vitamin C and that's it. Something for travel or a treat without a bunch of other stuff in it.

[Emma Jane]

I dunno. We're lucky that Miss T. is also a water-preferring child, so I don't need to worry about it -- but I'm kind of a sucker for the at-most-five-ingredients and/or did-this-ingredient-exist-a-hundred-years-ago criteria, and the Froose ingredients list looks pretty processed.

Not that we eschew all processed food! And making the boxes smaller seems like a great idea. But why be so proud that the grain in your juice is gluten-free? Just don't put grain into the juice!

[Robin Reagler]

Our girls don't like juice either. They love fruit but say no to juice. It's nice when they have a good habit or two that comes naturally.

[Kelly]

My oldest doesn't like juice either, so he gets sugared-down koolaid (1/3-1/2c sugar vs 1c). The youngest will only drink water (weirdo). I'd rather have something I can fill up at home (reusable water bottles) than buy juice boxes.

[Slim]

I am already worried about packing lunches for summer camp (my child gets bored easily, and I am totally envious of parents whose kids want the same thing every day). I'm giving Froose a shot.

[Madeleine]

Slim, I have the same lunch-packing problem. My daughter called a sandwich boycott a couple of years ago, though I think she's come around to stack-your-own-sandwich since that avoids the sogginess turnoff. Our usual lunch is leftovers from yesterday's dinner, which is fine as long as a) dinner was nut-free (school/camp rules) and b) she liked it and c) we had any left! and d) I can't serve similar dinners twice in a row or boredom sets in. So it restricts my dinner choices somewhat.

Desperation moves are 1) make a quick pot of pasta, throw on some jarred sauce and those convenient frozen chicken chunks, or 2) turkey hot dog. I figure in the aggregate she's eating healthier than if she had a school cafeteria serving junk every day. And she nearly always eats all her baby carrots. (Though she is finally starting to make noises about being bored of those . . . Eeeep.)

[meggiemoo]

My kid didn't drink juice until his former daycare provider let him have undiluted juice. Hello? Crack might have been less addictive. Now we're offering 90% water, 10% juice and trying to work down from there.

We don't do juice boxes because of the extra packaging being so earth unfriendly. If anyone's looking for an alternative to that for a party (I do admit they're mighty convenient), we just bought a few large bottles of no-sugar-added juice, poured most into another container, and added water. Then we bought cheapo sippy cups that the kids could take home and wrote their names on them. Seemed to work well.

[hedra]

It's seriously not an option here - we now have child THREE tentatively diagnosed with fructose malabsorption. The one who was always constipated. Dammit, that's a symptom, too. On the plus side, now they're all eating the same diet (except G, who has his own little dietary planet)...

So, whole grains - out, except oats and whole rye. Too much fructan/inulin, too much fructose, too many fermentable carbohydrates. Wheat, especially, is right out, but brown rice is pretty limited as an option as well. So are apples, pears, and any fruit with a pit (they all have sorbitol, which reduces absorption of fructose, so you end up with even worse malabsorption symptoms).

So, Froose would be absolute death for my kids (okay, not death, but pain and suffering, and for two of them, ceasing to grow, and for one of those two, also ceasing to clot properly). The ingredient list reads like the No-No list I send to school. Brown rice syrup is moderately tolerable, but not great. Inulin straight is total disaster. Apple, pear, or cherry juice, total disaster. The water is okay... and the elderberry juice for coloring would probably be okay, too.

I would proceed with caution on consuming them yourself if you have IBS or Chrons disease - talk to your doctor first (if you tend to periodically drink your kids juiceboxes because you need SOMETHING and it's in the diaper bag).

Sounds like healthy and wonderful stuff for 2/3 of the population (about 1/3 of the world population has fructose malabsorption), and like crisis in a shelf-stable box for the rest. And for my kids that would also mean behavior problems, ADHD-like symptoms, anxiety/depression, and rage fits. For three days after consumption. More sigh.

[andrea]

hedra, question for you about the fructose malabsorption. One of my 9mo twin girls has started getting a very strange -- a bit fruity, a bit almost perfume-y -- urine odour in her nappies (diapers), most noticeably in the overnight one.

The only things I could find via Dr Google related to strange urine odours were UTIs, juvenile diabetes/diabetic ketoacidosis, and Maple syrup urine disease. It clearly wasn't the third so in case it was one of the first two I took her to the Children's Hospital the other day. Her urine tested clear for sugar, ketones and white blood cells, which seemed to rule out the first two options. They had no idea what the cause might be. We have a pediatrician appt coming up in early April.

She's cranky (also teething and drooling a LOT), but not lethargic, etc, so I'm not overly concerned in the immediate short term. But because we have a "control subject" in her sister (whose wet nappies smell simply like pee), who eats the same foods, wears the same brand nappies, etc, I know there must be SOMETHING going on. Reading your post made me wonder if fructose malabsorption causes odd urine odours. That fructose must come out somewhere, right?!

[andrea]

PS. hedra, on a bit of reading it looks like it's a gut issue and therefore urine wouldn't be affected. Hmmmm.

[hedra]

I recall something to do with sweet smelling urine and maybe yeast infection? I know my kids have had bouts of sweet smelling diapers, though. And not a clue why. Sigh.

But yeah, FructMal is GI, and since it ferments, it still doesn't smell sweet, usually. More, um, the other. ;)

[hedra]

No, wait, that was sweet smelling breath and thrush (oral yeast infection). Fat lotta help I am, huh? Sigh.

[Lynn]

Moxie, I usually think you are brilliant, but it looks like you got fooled here. These are not really juice, the first ingredient it sugar (sure its called brown rice syrup, and yes its better than HCFC, but its still just a sweetener). Watered down 100% juice is better, if you have a kid who won't drink plain water.

[Helen]

Come on, there's more syrup than juice here! This isn't juice. If you're inclined to be generous, it could be called a juice-based beverage; if not, it's sugar water with some juice in it.

If you want juice, buy juice. If juice is too strong, mix it with water. Don't get caught in the "juice product" trap.

[Pegasus]

Hedra,
We have a similar situation with our six year old daughter whose urine has a strange odour quite similar to your description.
I'd be very interested to hear how your appointment went.

[pegasus]

sorry that was for Andrea

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The little one kept trying to sneak more out of the refrigerator while I wasn't looking. (His plot failed when he'd come to me to help him with the straw. He has some work to do before he achieves super-villain status.)

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Not that we eschew all processed food! And making the boxes smaller seems like a great idea. But why be so proud that the grain in your juice is gluten-free?

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