Peeled Snacks (plus a giveaway!)

So lately I've been really trying to make an effort to eat healthier to not only lose weight, but to just feel good and be healthy. One of the things I started doing is packing my own lunch for work, including my breakfast and snacks, instead of buying it every day at work. It not only saves money, but I can also plan everything I'll eat each day, which makes it SO much easier to make good choices throughout the day. Now don't let me impress you too much... I'm not real consistent with this just yet, but I'm working on it. I've found that I really need to do the lunch-making the night before or it just ain't happening.

So say you decide to start packing YOUR lunch for work every day. What type of things would you pack? A sandwich? Carrot and celery sticks? Cottage cheese? Chips? Those all sound like good options. How about something sweet? Instead of packing sugary cookies or candy, check out these packages of dried organic fruit by Peeled Snacks.

I recently got a chance to give these a try and I thought they were delicious! After tasting them, I immediately inspected the bag for a list of ingredients. I was happy to find that there is no added sugar and the only ingredients on each of these packages is just organic fruit, dried. That's it. You can get much simpler than that.  According to Peeled Snacks, they have "no artificial flavors or colors and are gluten, wheat, cholesterol, and dairy free.  Peeled Snacks sources from the U.S. whenever possible, and as part of its commitment to sustainability, has partnered with the American Farmland Trust to promote and save American farmland." 

Take a look at their website and you can see all the different varieties they offer, as well as different ways of packaging them. You can buy a bigger resealable bag, or little individual bags perfect for your lunch or your kids' school lunches.

I got a chance to try a few different varieties.  The Farmer's Market Trio (pictured above) comes with dried grapes, cherries, and apples.  I loved this one.  It's a great combination of flavors.  The apples have a nice chew to them and taste like super fresh sweet apples.  The dried grapes and cherries both taste like raisins, each a little different, but both deeeelish. 



I also tried the Apricot-a-lot which contained big, plump dried apricots. So yummy.



...and the Pine-4-Pineapple which contained sticky, sweet pieces of pineapple. They were literally like candy. I really liked these, too.



So where can you get these snacks you ask? Peeled Snacks are now available at Costco stores in the Midwest, Starbucks, as well as a variety of grocery and convenience stores across the country.  You can also order them from the Peeled Snacks website.

If you live near one of these Costco locations, you can even try a sample on Thursday, 8/18, and Wednesday, 8/24.

The people at Peeled Snacks were also nice enough to offer up a free bag of Organic Fruit Picks Variety Pack to one lucky FOODIE reader.  Here's how you can enter to win!  Between now and Wednesday, 8/24, do the following:

1. Visit the Peeled Snacks Facebook Fan Page and click the "Like" button and/or follow them on Twitter @PeeledSnacks
2. Leave a comment on this post explaining why you'd like to try Peeled Snacks

On Thursday, 8/25, I will randomly choose a winner and your Peeled Snacks will be shipped to you the next day!  Good luck!