Give us a Squeeze! (Innocent Pure Fruit Squeezies)

Member Name: Cutecandy

Product:	Innocent Pure Fruit Squeezies
Date:	12/09/09 (83 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: 1 portion fruit without having to eat fruit!

Disadvantages: Tricky to get at

%% GIVE US A SQUEEZE! %%

I have near teenage daughters (Yes, yes - I was a child bride!) and although they are lovely, happy more or less grounded individuals, they are beginning to develop great angst about their figures. Now looking objectively with the eyes of the wisdom of age I can see that they are gorgeous and not in the least overweight, but I can also see that it would be very easy to relay my lifelong angst about food to them. The panics of parenthood! Don't worry - this is not a meandering witter about the tribulations of family life - or is so only as an introduction to the wonderful finds that include:

** Innocent Pure Fruit Squeezies. **

Are you with me? Well, if you are a parent you probably will see that the meaning of all of this is that children nowadays are bombarded by two things: the need to live healthily and the opposing force of the attractiveness of junk food! This little gem fits into both categories in one swoop with the positive consequences being a healthy snack!

+ What are they? +
Squeezies are tubes of squashed fruit!
You will find them in the chilled compartments of your supermarket. They look a little like the Frube in style - about 6 inches long squishy tubes (Yes - I know!) but these come stored upright in a see through plastic tube with the Innocent logo emblazoned on the side. Pop the plastic lid off the top and inside you'll find 6 tubes of fruit.

+ Packaging +
On the whole the Innocent company take pride in being eco friendly and you can usually find info you need on their packaging. In this instance the clear tube is rather disappointing in that it is unlikely to be recyclable.
To be fair they admit to this and promise that they are "working on something smarter". You therefore buy this product either as one of those instances when recycling is out of your control or you do something funky with the tube - pencil pots / icing sugar sprinkler or any other Blue Peter inspired project to ease your conscience!

The plastic lid is sturdy, the tube is malleable so it can be a bit tricky to get the lid back on as you end up doing the circle fitting on an oval thing. Not beyond the bounds of achievability though ans I guess better environmentally than a thick plastic pot.... one does wonder if cardboard might not have been better....

+ What am I buying? +
The innocent squeezie is a tube full of fruit puree. No added sugar or sweetners; no additives; no preservatives; no lumpy bits and (in true innocent style) no dinosaurs!
You rip off the top of the tube, place in your mouth and squeeze. Simple as that.

per 100g:
51 cal
0.3g protein
11.2 g carb
0.2 g fat


+ The taste test +
1. Get into the thing. The instructions on the tube say: " Tear off the end of the tube... for very young children we suggest an adult completely tears off the end of the tube." This is sound advice - the tube is not easy to open and you may well need to resort to scissors if you want to open the whole top. This is a shame as I would only make use of such packaging because it is eminently transportable. If I needed scissors etc I might as well take a plastic pot of puree and a spoon..... but then again I'd have to have been organized enough to make the stuff so we'll go with this plus small scissors on journeys!

2. Squeeze away. It's quite a tactile experience eating one of these. You hold the chilled tube and find ways of squeezing every drop towards the top. This interaction makes you think about what you are eating making it a sensual experience rather than a mere eat.

3. Consistency. The fruit puree is quite gloopy but they're right - no bits! This is a big selling point for those who find the texture of fruit difficult. My children have always enjoyed the taste of apple puree but do struggle with the lumpy bits. From this point of view, innocent have done a good job.

4. Taste. The favourite in our house is the pineapple and mango variety. The strawberry and raspberry flavours seem to go off the shelf more quickly in the supermarket though. Innocent have again worked their magic here in the mixing of fruits. It is difficult to believe there is no added sugar. Both tastes are sweet and scenty with a gentle aftertaste that leaves you refreshed. It is genuinely hard to believe that these are good for you!

+ Who are innocent? +

Innocent smoothies and fruit products have recently taken our supermarkets by storm. Their approach to marketing is humorous and entertaining and just like the nostalgic picture of learning to read from the back of a cereal box, there is always plenty to read on the product.

Each of the squeezie tubes has a to -do idea on it. eg. how to use cold tea to make white paper appear old for a treasure map. They appeal to kids, older children and of course grown ups who want their children to learn all the time and those who just want a smile over their lunch!

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/things_we_make/sq ueezies/

is well worth a look and is fast becoming a chat site in its own right. There is even a video made by primary children about fruit and what they think of squeezies! There is, of course, a cynical way to look at all this marketing, but a company wants to sell - we might as well enjoy the process of being a consumer!

+ Price +
Tesco price for these today is £2.19 which works out as 36.5p per tube. I have seen them in other supermarkets at £3 per tube. Currently tesco's deal is 2 for £3 which is much more my style.
Still, for a portion of fruit per child it's not majorly expensive.

+ Verdict +
Tasty.
Good for you.
Can be pricey
Well marketed to be attractive and entertaining to all ages.
Slightly tricky to get into.
Yummy.

Thanks for reading.
Cutecandy

Summary: Worth the effort and entertaining too! (but no dinosaurs included!)