seriously superb snacks {and a giveaway!}

I was a couple kids into my foray into motherhood when a sort of light bulb went off that's probably obvious to most but it changed our lives for the better once I figured it out. I've written about this before but I realized that a lot of bad moods and tantrums (both mine and the kids') could be easily and happily avoided if I kept an eye on empty stomachs and blood sugars. No, I don't test anyone's blood sugar but sometimes when kids wake up from naps and are just downright cranky or are especially whiny right before lunch or dinner it's often because they're hungry! Fancy that. Does this mean we snack all day? Absolutely not. Does it mean I like to have some easy and relatively healthy snacks on hand that I can quickly grab for the kids while I'm holding a baby with one hand and making a mediocre dinner with the other? Absolutely yes.

This goes for outings with the kids as well. While it's feasible to bring a cooler on longer treks out of the house, sometimes we like to take spontaneous(ish - ha) trips to the beach in the evening, or make drives to try out new playgrounds/splash pads for a change of scenery and packing a cooler is definitely not on my radar. Enter the genius (seriously) that is: Bitsy's Brainfood. Developed by two moms and former educators who know their target audience quite well, Bitsy's Brainfood is a delicious line of smart crackers, cookies, and cereal that are all packed full of nutrients and vegetables. Lots of vegetables! (giveaway forthcoming -- in a few paragraphs! hold tight ... )

The Smart Crackers come in three different addicting flavors: Cheddar Chia Veggie, Maple Carrot Crisp, and Sweet Potato Cinna-gram. The crackers come in fun Tangram shapes which makes playing with your food fun and educational. B-b-b-bonus.

The organic Smart Cookies were probably the biggest hit with the kids because they are alphabet shaped and the kids loved fishing out the letters for their names - you should've seen Theo beam with pride when he finally found a T that Phoebe hadn't broken in half or eaten. They come in Orange Chocolate Beet, Zucchini Gingerbread Carrot, and Sweet Potato Oatmeal Raisin. I was fully prepared to pass on the last flavor because I'm not the biggest fan of raisins in cookies, breads etc but I LOVED them - capital letters necessary. I feel like I need to confess that Bitsy's Brainfood kindly sent us lots of samples to try out but before we could snap some photos -- we'd eaten all the cookies. They are that good. And so healthy. And we had to go buy more. Darn.

The other night I went to get in bed when I found a paper towel on my pillow adorned with a "G" cookie - a little surprise from Julia. Most thoughtful child ever? No - but close! Very close ... methinks.

Even Simon who has an impressive aversion to vegetables, and baked goods I try to make healthier was pleasantly surprised when he couldn't stop eating the Veggie Chia crackers at the beach.

We've got a few picky kid-eaters on our hands and it can get really frustrating when they only want and ask for two specific foods over and over again, day after day and I was expecting some resistance from them on the new food front but every Patton child gave Bitsy's Brainfood a figurative thumbs up.

 Bitsy's Brainfood recently came out with a cereal line as well ...

Their cereal comes in two flavors: Berry Blast and Fruity Number Crunch and were both big hits with the kids.

I let them pour their own bowls - hence the slight exaggeration on the portion size front. Both cereals are gluten free, Bitsy's Brainfood Crackers and Cookies are baked in a peanut-free and tree nut-free facility, and the cereals are made in a peanut and egg-free facility.

Bitsy's Brainfood is one of the 20 organic and sustainable brands selected for the "Made to Matter - handpicked by Target" program which makes it easy for Target patrons to find natural, organic, and sustainable options in their stores. 

You can find a link to buy the line at Target here! And a store locator here!

And before you go we've got a fun giveaway for you - one lucky winner will win a prize pack of Bitsy's Brainfood and a $50 Target Gift Card and TWENTY winners will receive coupons for free Bitsy's Brainfood products so your odds aren't bad!

You know the Rafflecopter drill by now :)

Best of luck and a big thanks to Bitsy's Brainfood for doing what you do and sponsoring this post!

a Rafflecopter giveaway