I spend a lot of time saying no to my kids.
No, you can’t have that.
No, you haven’t finished your dinner yet.
No, you may not have a treat.
No. No. No.
It gets tiring having to say no all the time. But as a mum it is one of the unavoidable parts of life.
One of the biggest areas of dispute in our home is my children’s diet.
They want every single preservative-filled treat they can get their hands on and I, like all parents, want them to be healthy.
But it’s really tricky isn’t it?
At each and every turn there is something on offer to tempt them. Breakfast cereals full of artificial flavourings, artificial packet food for morning tea and that inevitable slow crawl through the supermarket to the soundtrack of “Can-I-have-a?”
No. No. No.
So when I was asked to review the new Natural Confectionery Co. Jelly Pops I was a little dubious. A fridge full of ice blocks for me to just have to say “no” to? But I agreed to give them a go.
"I was a little dubious." Image: supplied.
Can you imagine the excitement in our house when my kids heard that they were trying these new ice blocks?
The stash arrived on a Friday afternoon and my children had invited some friends around to help them have the first taste.
Thankfully, just like The Natural Confectionery Co's other products, these Jelly Pops are no different with no artificial colours, no artificial flavours – so that’s a great start.
The other thing that as a mum I loved straight out was the size of these ice-blocks –at just 40ml they are a perfect after school snack.
"At just 40ml they are a perfect after school snack." Image: supplied.
The Natural Confectionery Co. Jelly Pops come in two delicious flavours – Raspberry and Blackcurrant. And it's not just about what mum wants though, is it? I needed to send these icy suckers into the ultimate battle: the kids' taste test.
We had a group of boys and girls over to test the new ice-blocks. Being a new product, none of them had tried these before but they sure were excited to give it a go.
Jasper, nine, Odie, seven, Beau, 10, and Kai, eight, were the first to try these new ice-blocks. Now these boys know their sweets and they know the experience of being told “no” you can’t have one, so they were pretty excited to have the chance to taste a new ice block: especially one that has a yummy jelly centre – yes real jelly – and a fruity, cool, delicious icey shell.
I loved that each of the boys enjoyed the multi-sensory experience.
The yummy jelly centre. Image: supplied.
Each one ate them differently. Jasper just munched it down like a regular old ice block, while Odie peeled back the layer of flavoured ice and crunched through that before eating the jelly.
Beau and Kai decided the best idea was to lick off the fruity icy shell first so they could then make the jelly centre softer!
There was some dispute over the flavours: it seemed that both Jasper and Odie thought the raspberry was best, while Beau was keen for the blackcurrant. Jasper appeared to like them equally.
Overall, the boys were thrilled with them, so my verdict: a winner.
Next up was Emme aged five.
She unwrapped it, unsure at first. After a few bites, she seemed just as happy as the boys. Another tick from me.
The kids seemed to enjoy the Jelly Pops so much that I thought I’d better give them a go myself and I too give them the tick of approval.
What they loved best was the taste and sensory experience. What I loved best was the fact that I’ve found the ultimate treat that I don’t have to say no to.
Win win all around.
What do your kids think of the new Jelly Pops?