Some of you may remember your mom buying you Lunchables to take to school. You know, the little DIY kits with everything from crackers and meat and cheese, to little pizzas. When you think of “processed food,” Lunchables should immediately come to mind. What’s for lunch? CHEMICALS! But now there is a (slightly) healthier option for busy moms and dads who struggle to find time to pack their kids’ lunches: Organic Lunchables.
A little bit healthier. Emphasis on “a little bit.”
There are currently 2 Organic Lunchables options: “Extra Cheesy Pizza” and “Pizza With Pepperoni.” The mini-meal kits boast a “certified organic option that’s free of artificial preservatives, ingredients, flavors, and colors.” [1]
That’s good, right?
Right?
I tried to find an ingredient list for the Organic Lunchables options, but couldn’t find one online. It would be interesting to find out whether they contain high-fructose corn syrup.
They’re still made with bleached white flour, and the pepperoni is a processed meat – the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says processed meats are carcinogenic – so I’m hesitant to call Organic Lunchables “healthy.” [2]
Are the cows that provide their milk and cheese fed non-GMO feed? Are there antibiotics in the milk and cheese? Is the little tomato sauce packet made with non-GMO tomatoes?
Lunchables get pretty low scores from Environmental Working Group, that’s for sure.
You can pick up either not-quite-as-terrible-for-you option at supermarkets nationwide beginning in August 2017 for $2.99. That’s about $2 more than the more-terrible-for-you versions of Lunchables. [1]
Sources:
[1] Today
[2] PopSugar
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