This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks for stopping by.  The winner is Katherine.  Congrats!

I NEED JUICE!  That is what I hear from my toddler several times a day.  In fact, he is now getting to the point where he tells me exactly what kind of juice he “needs.”  Getting him to drink water is a chore involves bribing process.  And it’s usually the result of his insatiable thirst that he gives in.  When I asked my pediatrician how to get my son to drink more water and less juice, he said something very profound…Just don’t have juice as an option in the house.

So what’s so bad about juice anyway?  That was my question.  Particularly when there are organic, 100% fruit juice options available.  Then I read this article and started reading labels.  It doesn’t take a nutritionist to tell you that eating a piece of fruit far outweighs a glass of juice.  But giving a child juice can actually be harmful and has been linked to obesity.

I recently had an opportunity to test out Wateroos.  They look like little juice boxes but they contain flavored or unflavored water.  Now I’m not into deception (meaning, I didn’t tell my son this was juice), but this really is a fantastic idea.  Without sugar, sweeteners, or artificial ingredients, I felt pretty comfortable having my son try these out (I tried them first, of course).  They come in 3 flavors (plus the unflavored variety) and my son liked the grape the best (I couldn’t agree more).  He initially thought it was juice but I corrected him.

So how do they taste?  Have you ever squeezed a lemon or a lime into water?  While the water doesn’t taste like lemonade, it does have that lemon essence.  That’s how the flavored Wateroos tasted.  I guess my only question is, what the company means when they say the water is flavored with “natural flavors.”  This is actually somewhat answered on their FAQs page, but I always like to know exactly what is in a food product when possible.  I saw these in the kid’s section at Whole Foods today and I’m pretty confident in their standards for products that are allowed to be sold at the store.

If you’re struggling to get your child to drink water, this is definitely a healthy alternative to watered-down juice.  Wateroos are available in unflavored, apple, berry, and grape flavors and are available for purchase online and at retailers nationwide.

Win It! One of you will win 2 six-packs of Wateroos, a Wateroos lunch cooler, and 2 Wateroos drink box holders.  Simply head on over to the site and take a look around.  Come back here and leave me a comment with a flavor you’d like to try.  Comments will close on August 4, 2009 at 10 PM PST.  One comment per person, please (unless you do the extra credit). US residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

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