Garden Lites® have become my new favorite convenience food. And it they might just be the yummiest way to eat more veggies.
Right now I’m eating an incredibly delicious blueberry muffin. OK, I admit that it’s my second one tonight. I couldn’t eat just one.
But I feel no guilt in these muffins. Not only do they satisfy my craving for baked goods, but they also boost my daily veggie intake.
I recently discovered Garden Lites–an entire line of wholesome baked goods that always have vegetables as one of their first three ingredients.
Their products currently include muffins, snacks, and entrees, with the brand introducing veggie-rich waffles in October. All Garden Lites products are frozen and can be found in the freezer section at your local grocery store, but only take seconds to minutes to heat and enjoy.
I cannot tell you the number of reviews I have canceled this past year because I didn’t care for the product once I tried it, but Garden Lites impressed me from the first bite.
You all know I advocate for making your own foods from scratch when you can because it both controls the ingredients and is usually healthier for you than most store-bought products.
But when life hits and you are in a season of needing to purchase more pre-made items, it’s nice to have the option there. When I first started eating healthier about a decade ago, there wasn’t a whole lot on the market that I would deem truly nutritious–especially when it came to baked goods.
Thankfully, companies have gotten the message over the past few years that we consumers are demanding more healthful foods for our families.
Here is what impressed me about Garden Lites:
1. They are incredibly delicious.
I took one bite of the chocolate muffin, and knew I had to have more. (I ended up eating two in one sitting that day too!)
The top first two ingredients in the chocolate muffins? Zucchini and carrot. I’m a huge veggie lover myself, but I would have never known there were any vegetables in these muffins, much less that they were the top two ingredients.
We also tried the blueberry oat muffins and the superfood veggie muffins. Both were just as tasty as the chocolate. It goes without saying that my kids gobbled these muffins up as well. They are already asking for more!
2. They are super convenient.
I like to give our girls a hearty start to the day, so I normally spend at least thirty minutes cooking them a full breakfast of eggs and bacon, grits, and some kind of fruit. My husband has been telling me all school year that I need to find something more convenient to feed them for busy mornings when we just need to get out the door.
We ate our Garden Lites samples before church two Sundays in a row. Not only was it easy to simply pull them out of the freezer and heat them quickly in the toaster oven, but I didn’t feel bad about it because I knew we were still eating well.
3. They are made with truly nutritious ingredients.
All of the Garden Lites products come with vegetables as one of their top three ingredients. They are also gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free, which is great news for allergy families. Our entire family is gluten-free, so I jumped at the opportunity to try these. (I’m so glad I did!)
Where to find Garden Lites
I’ve been able to find Garden Lites at my local Target, Harris Teeter, Food Lion, and Lowes Foods, but you can locate a store near you here. So often healthful food options like Garden Lites are hard to find in regular grocery stores, and I’ve been impressed that so many of our area supermarkets carry them.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Garden Lites. The opinions and text are all mine.
Michelle
We buy the zucchini chocolate ones at Costco. They’re so good! They’re $12-ish for 20 muffins.
Erin
I wish we had Costco near us! The zucchini chocolate ones are our favorite!!
Lucinda
Are they in the freezer section at Costco?
Michelle
That’s where they are at ours. Between the ice cream and appetizer-ish items. 🙂