A Healthier Alternative to Candy ~ Raisels Review & Giveaway

We try to eat healthy around our household, but like most people... we all have a sweet tooth at times too. Although a little candy every once in a while is ok, I'm always looking for a healthier alternative for my family. That's why I was excited when introduced to Raisels!

Raisels are a fruity flavored raisin created by the National Raisin Company. They are the first 100% real fruit snack that actually tastes like candy. What's better is that Raisels are rich in antioxidants, fat free, cholesterol free and contain no sodium, high fructose corn syrup or artifical sweeteners. They also have the 100% recommended daily allowance for Vitamin C!

I don't know about you, but I find that it's difficult just finding a couple of these things in a tasty treat, so you can imagine my excitement when I learned we were going to have the opportunity to review them. Would they really taste just as good as candy?!
Raisels are available in four great flavors: Sour Peach, Sour Lemon, Sour Apple, and Sour Orange (Watermelon is coming soon too!). We were sent each of the flavors to try out, and boy were my kids excited. Just looking at the colorful boxes peeked their interest right away! I have to admit, it did mine too.

My first thought as we pulled our Raisels out of the box was how nicely they are packaged. They come in 6 packs of 1.25 oz portion-controlled boxes. I love that they are individually packaged, making it easy to pull out for snack time no matter where we're at. The boxes are small enough to take with us in the car, throw in the diaper bag, etc. I love it!

Of course, we all were very curious as to how these fruity flavored raisins would taste. I wasn't sure how Kaelyn would react to a little sour taste, but to my surprise...she loves them! In fact, we all do. I gave my husband one without telling him what they were, and the first thing he said was... 'They taste like candy'. They are a fantastic healthy alternative to candy, cookies, and sugary fruit snacks and my kids love them. And, although they do have a light dusting of sugar (which is more than regular raisins), Raisels still have much less sugar added than candy, soft drinks...even sweetened dried cranberries!. With the #1 ingredient being Real Fruit and 90% of the sugar naturally occurring, I would still choose these any day over candy for my kids.

Overall we've been very impressed with Raisels. They are a great tasting, healthier alternative to many of the other snacks available on the market today. If you're looking for a healthier snack idea for your family, I would definitely recommend checking out Raisels!

Buy It: Raisels can be found in your grocer's dried fruit section, as well as a number of online retailers including Amazon.com.

Win It: One lucky reader is going to win a Raisels variety prize package!

Mandatory Entry - Visit Raisels and let me know something you learned.

Extra Entries: (Only valid after the mandatory entry has been completed. Leave 1 comment for each extra entry)

1. 1 extra entry - Like Raisels on Facebook

2. 1 extra entry - Follow Raisels on Twitter

3. 3 extra entries- Blog about this giveaway (linking to this post and Raisels) and leave THREE comments with the URL to that post.

4. 1 extra entry- Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (You can tweet once a day for one extra entry every day)! You can copy and paste:

#WIN a Raisels Variety Prize Pack! #momsbalancingact http://bit.ly/ed8Ijn Ends 3/25

5. 3 extra entries- Post my blog button or blog URL to your blog and leave a comment with the URL to your blog. (If it already is, leave me a comment letting me know)

6. 2 extra entries- subscribe to A Mom's Balancing Act via e-mail (found along the side column) and leave TWO comments letting me know.

7. 2 extra entries- 'Like' A Mom's Balancing Act on Facebook

8. 2 extra entries- Follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect

9. Enter any of my other current giveaways. Leave me a comment on which one(s)....ONE entry for EACH giveaway you enter!!

10. 1 extra entry- Share about this giveaway on your Facebook status by including a link back to this giveaway (you can do this once a day, for an extra entry every day).

Leave one comment for each entry you complete above including with each, your e-mail address (or make sure it's visible in your profile) so that I can easily contact the winner!!

This giveaway will end March 25th and is open to US Only

**Thank you to Raisels and Team Mom for providing the products for this review and giveaway. All opinions found here are my own and were not influenced in any way. The opinions of others may differ from my own.**