Lunch Box Battle: New Take on Lunch Kits with a Healthy Twist - East Idaho News
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Lunch Box Battle: New Take on Lunch Kits with a Healthy Twist

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Getty 082813 SchoolLunch?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1377708763647Jamie Grill / Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) — Parents are constantly searching for healthy food options for their children.

But now, Kirsten Saenz Tobey and Kristin Groos Richmond, two California moms and former teachers, think they’ve found the answer with their low-sodium, preservative-free Revolution Foods Meal Kits.

The women founded their Oakland, Calif.-based company, Revolution Foods, seven years ago to provide school cafeterias with healthier food options. Revolution Foods is currently serving more than 1 million healthy meals a week in school districts across the country.

But now their Revolution Foods Meal Kits will be sharing shelf space in grocery stores next to other grab-and-go’s, like Lunchables, the powerhouse in the prepackaged lunch arena.

“I think comparisons are for other people to make,” Tobey, co-founder and chief innovation officer, told ABC News. “What we really focused on in creating the meal kits was putting real quality ingredients in there. There’s whole grains, there’s high quality protein, there’s fruit snack.”

Richmond, co-founder and chief executive of Revolution Foods, said there aren’t other things on the market quite like this.

“I can tell you as a mom that shops in a grocery store, and not just for market research but for my own family, this meal kit is something that I’ve been waiting for a very long time,” she explained.

The meal kits contain 100 percent fruit, no artificial colors, no artificial flavors and no artificial preservatives.

From build-it-yourself pizzas, to ham and cheese crackers, to peanut butter and jelly crackers, fruit snack strips and turkey and cheese with whole grain crackers, there are plenty of options to keep your kids happy.

When asked if the Revolution Foods Meal Kits were more expensive than other kits on the market, the women explained “it is right in line with the competition.”

“A good rule of thumb when you’re looking at processed or packaged food is to look for a short ingredients list,” said Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian and author of Feed Your Family, who suggests that parents supplement any pre-packaged lunch with fresh fruits and vegetables. “If there are words you can’t pronounce, if the list is so lengthy, that’s kind of a red flag.”

But Tobey and Richmond have big plans to expand their company to win the school lunch box battle.

“We would love to be in every family’s refrigerator and in every school because I think that we have impact in both places,” the two moms and company founders said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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