Average Cost: $18.96/18ct
Official URL: http://www.clifbar.com
Rating:

Most “fruit snacks” can more accurately be named “High fructose corn syrup snacks with artificial fruit flavor”. Not the case with Clif Kid Twisted Fruit ropes. The first ingredient on every bar is “Organic apple puree”, followed by a list of organic and healthy ingredients and no additional sugars or corn syrup. (The only sweetener is organic apple juice concentrate). These fruit ropes actually count as a single serving of fruit.

TASTE

The first bite of one of these fruit ropes had me wondering why other brands even feel as if they need sugar. Apple puree on its own has a great sweetness, and the addition of apple juice concentrate throws it over the top into a delicious candy-like flavor without the downsides of cane sugar or corn syrup.

These fruit ropes are delicious. Each flavor has a hint of the apple base which makes the grape flavor more grape-apple, the pineapple flavor more pineapple-apple, etc. but all of the flavors work really well and they taste more like the fruit that they are named after rather than a bubblegum rendition of what fruit might taste like. The taste of the grape fruit rope was a bit overpowering for me, but might appeal to those who are used to a stronger sweetener.

TEXTURE

Most fruit snacks have a texture more similar to leather or gelatin. The twisted fruit ropes have a texture that is very strongly the texture of dried fruit puree (this is probably hard to imagine but you’ll understand once you bite into one). They are chewy and sticky but don’t stick to your teeth in quite the same way as other chewy snacks do.

HEALTH FACTOR

When looking for a wholesome snack, whole fresh fruit or canned fruit are probably the healthiest options, followed by dried whole fruit. However, Clif Kid Twisted Fruit ropes are a fun way to work an additional serving of fruit into your child’s diet, and you can easily pass it off as candy. Apple puree is less likely to damage your child’s teeth than items sweetened with cane sugar, and it has none of the downsides of unhealthy sweeteners such as high fructose corn syrup. It’s also a great way to keep the natural taste of fruit fresh on your picky eater’s mind. They have a variety of vitamins as you can see from the nutritional label below (grape flavor):

BOTTOM LINE

I love the sour apple flavor, and my 18 month old son loves the strawberry flavor. While I won’t be giving these to my child as a snack every day, I find them to be a great way to satisfy his sweet tooth naturally. They’re also a great way to keep him happy for 20 minutes in the grocery store… Just make sure to carry some wet naps to clean off your child’s hands afterwards, as younger children will end up quite sticky.