Fruttare Fruit Bars: the Bright Side of Summer {Sponsored}

Vietnamese Lemongrass Grilled Pork Tenderloin
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Fruttare bars

 

I remember summers of my childhood being magic – long lazy days in the pool, haunting the aisles of my local library, fun classes and camps and playdates, barbecues and s’mores and ice cream sundaes, and amazing family trips.  My parents were both college professors, so we had time as a family in the summer to really travel.

However, Summer can be a bit bittersweet for adults.  I’m still working, only now it’s hot and there’s no school.  So summer means a lot less laziness and a lot more scrambling to fill in the gaps with childcare.  I catch my reading time late at night or when the baby is napping, as usual, and the longer days mean it’s just harder to get the Nuni to bed at a reasonable hour.  Vacations are still fun, but they involve a rather massive organizational strategy on my part – packing lists for my family of four start being put together a month in advance.

Even with all the hassles, summertime still carries a bit of that childhood magic.  There are still barbecues, and s’mores, and trips to the local library (on Saturday).  Now that I have kids, I get to experience childhood summer vicariously through them – the Nuni has gone to Spanish camp and storytelling class and swim lessons and will go to camp at the end of the summer where she’ll build forts and make lanyards and sing songs about bathroom functions.   I want her to have the same fond memories of childhood summers to get her through her adult ones, so I work hard to recreate that feeling of indulgence from childhood summers – even if it’s a few minutes of relaxation instead of hours.   We plan special outings, and have a few more treats than usual – it is summer, after all.

Fruttare Boxes

Fruttare fruit bars – a new line of frozen treats which came to the US this spring, are a great addition to my summer indulgence.  They come in two varieties  – fruit with milk and fruit with juice – and each variety comes in four different flavors.  As part of this program, I tasted the banana with milk, the peach with milk,  and the mango flavor with juice. All of  them were creamy and full of fruit flavor, and seemed much more indulgent than the 60 calories (for the mango flavor) or the 120 calories (for the milk varieties) would suggest.    Because they’re made with real fruit and juice and milk, they’re a great special treat on a hot afternoon or a warm evening to share with the kids (or for the kids to share with each other).

Fruttare Family 2

When I sit with my daughter on the deck, sharing a fruit bar and talking about what happened at camp this week, summer hassles seem to fade away.  I’m a kid again too, and summer is just a little bit … magic.

If you’d like to try Fruttare, I have a coupons for a free box to give away to up to six readers. Follow the instructions below to enter:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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