An advocate for helping kids make healthier choices, as you know, I’m always on the hunt for good eats. I’m not the biggest fan of “sneaking” veggies, making exclusive meals for kids, nor am I really a fan of overly processed food for kids. But in reality, if it works, it works—especially if you’ve got a picky eater.
Time is of the essence for all families, which is why it’s always great to have easy meal options or frozen food onhand. When you’re not feeling well, running late for that playdate or just don’t have the inspiration to cook, it’s nice to simplify life with a meal that takes little or no brainwork. The problem with many of those frozen foods, however, are the sodium and preservative levels.
And then, there’s KidFresh.
Introduced to KidFresh a few weeks ago via Twitter, I happily agreed to review this new line of frozen foods for kids after learning there were no preservatives or artificial colors. KidFresh has a variety of kid-friendly meal and side dish options and contain “hidden” veggies. My kid loves broccoli and carrots, so hiding veggies isn’t something I typically do, but honestly, the taste of the KidFresh foods w/ hidden veggies was pretty good.
After checking out the labels while our Wagon Wheel Mac and Cheese cooked, I liked knowing that the ingredient list didn’t contain any surprises. Sodium levels on this particular KidFresh meal was 340 mg, which is reasonable. (According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the upper limit at less than 1500 for children 1 to 3, 1900 mg for ages 4 to 8, 2200 mg for ages 9 to 13, and 2300 mg per day for ages 14 – 18 years.) KidFresh says they’re all about goodness, and I’m totally down for that.
The consistency and taste of the food certainly exceeded my expectations. The kid, at first, questioned the shapes of the wagon wheels because he’s used to Annie’s bunnies or shells. But, after the first bite, he practically shoveled the entire bowl in. The serving size, I felt, was much bigger than what I typically serve for mac and cheese, but for another sitting, we had one of the other pasta dishes which seemed like an appropriate serving size. The mac and cheese would be ok as a side dish, or like we had for lunch, it was great to serve alongside of fruit or additional veggies.
Overall, Kidfresh was a convenient alternative to our normal lunch routine. They’re delicious, easy to make and contained veggies—all qualities that make life easier. I definitely appreciate that they’re a more nutritious option to other convenient kids food and fast food.
Because they’re pretty new to the market, it took me a few tries to find KidFresh in our grocery store, but I finally found them at a different store that I don’t usually frequent. They retail for around $3-4 a meal, which is a little expensive for a singular meal, but again, you’re paying for convenience. While we might not have a KidFresh meal every day of the week, I definitely appreciate the simplicity of taking a meal out of the freezer and popping it into the microwave every once in awhile.
There are currently six different meals and availability is available in 500 stores, so be on the lookout for KidFresh; I have a feeling they’ll be a household name in no time. Find KidFresh at Shop-Rite or my fave, Whole Foods.
Check it
- Interested to hear what we said when we initially reviewed KidFresh a few weeks ago? Check out my vlog on YouTube.
- KidFresh has a $1.00 off coupon which can be found here.
- Check out the goodness that they’re all about here.
Full disclosure: I was provided vouchers for free samples for editorial purposes. As always, all opinions on NKT are my own.
