Froose

My kids are recovering juice addicts. This “unhealthy relationship” with juice started after I stopped nursing them as infants, and continued well into their childhood years. My two daughters could together consume an entire 64 oz bottle of apple juice in one day – which became a very expensive habit to support. As we prepared to move out here to NYC, I imagined myself trying to carry all of these jugs of beloved apple juice back to my apartment from the local grocery store, and that thought put an end to it all- cold turkey.

Of course, this new family rule was not met without protest. My favorite memory from “juice-rehab” was my (then) 5-year-old saying in her voice of dramatic desperation, “Mom, I am L-O-N-G-I-N-G for apple juice.” Her requests for her beverage of choice were definitely entertaining, but not effective- I stood firm in my "no-juice" resolve.....for about 9 months.

When I came across Froose, it made me rethink my "beverage" ban. I discovered Froose on the internet, and it is marketed as a new juice concept for kids. Froose contains juice (of course) but it also contains organic brown rice, which helps to boost nutritional content and provides the product with 3 grams of fiber per 4 oz box. There are no preservatives and no artificial colors in Froose. This made the part of me that spent four years in college studying Nutrition very intrigued.

I was excited about this product- so I purchased it for my kids knowing that there was a high chance that that it would be rejected, due to their keen ability to detect (and reject) all things nutritious- especially whole grains.

Froose can currently only be purchased online at Froose.com. They are currently in the works with several major grocery store chains (including Whole Foods) to bring this product to a supermarket near you. I will say that the current price (.75 cents a box) is a little steep, but when you consider that less-than-half-eaten apple out on the countertop left by "you-know-who" was the same price, it seems more reasonable.

The true test came when my children tried Froose for the first time. There was silence in the room for about 2 minutes while they focused solely on drinking and breathing :). The silence was only broken by the gurgle of their straws sucking air out of the bottom of their empty juice boxes. The "drought" was over, and they were ecstatic to have juice in the house again. They now lovingly call it “Moose Juice” in honor of the moose on the package.

We are definitely never going back to the “good old days” of juice drinking, but I will say I will be keeping Froose around the house for a possible “once-a-day” treat, and for those times in life that really warrant a portable beverage (picnics, road-trips, field trips, etc.)

Okay, so who wants to try some Froose?? The folks at Froose have offered to give away a variety case (that means 40 juice boxes) to a lucky reader of my blog. Email me at citruscontest@gmail.com and put FROOSE in the Subject line. In the body of the email answer this question: Froose is currently available in what three flavors? At the end of the contest, I will randomly select a winner from those who answered correctly. Contest will end on Thursday (3/6/08) at midnight so get typing!