When I think of oranges as a snack, Mandarin oranges are usually way off the list. These are the things one sticks in a Hawaiian salad or a fruity drink. These are the things I personally abhor for three reasons:
Seeds. All up and through the tiny fruit. It means they're close together and you're spending well over ten minutes removing seeds. Where's the time to enjoy the fruit?
Taste. Tangy, itchy tongue-making fruit. The ones in the can don't taste like this.
Size. Once again--made for salads and drinks. I need a man's orange, dang it! One as big as a baseball or a softball. Don't give me that girly stuff!
Cuties Oranges! Cute, and orange.
So imagine my surprise the other late night when I saw these things chillin' out in our fridge. We're not a family of tiny orange-loving people. There has to be a reason why these little invaders are in our fridge. Then it dawns on me--"oh Lord, these people have seen that cutesy commercial with the oranges for children." I thought it was pretty silly at first. A child-sized, seedless orange? Oh sure, because regular-sized oranges are pretty darned hard to peel. (I joke about this in the video above.) As the curious, sarcastic thing I am, I go on and try one of 'em. The commercial for it drives me crazy. Just how special are these clementine-looking oranges? How easy is the peel? Are children going to like these things? And why, WHY are they invading my fridge? The investigation begins.
So cute--Reminds me of Dora, though!
I browsed the Cuties Website. I was introduced to Li'l Zipper, the tiny orange with all sorts of likes and dislikes. I laughed, failing to realize just how strong the marketing is for this product. I began to look over the media page and the recipes page. What we have here is one fierce little orange that steps over the lines of being "just a cooking fruit". There's true innovation packed inside these tiny clementines! I joked hard in that video, but the Li'l Cuties are actually worth the shopping trip. The buzz is rightfully placed over this fruit. First and foremost, they ARE very easy to peel. Tiny size aside, it took me a few seconds to rip through one. With children in mind, this is a perfect snack for tiny hands and even tinier nails. With the supervision of an adult, even a three year-old would be able to handle this fruit. Nutritionally speaking, I see myself dropping sweets for a bite of these babies.
Taste-wise, my first Cutie orange came out tangy. By the second or third piece (notice how I say in the video that I might as well eat it all...wink wink...) it began to taste incredibly sweet--better than a regular orange! By then, I realized whom exactly these were for--our own little resident sweetie pie Niah. She's just the right age (three) for a Cutie orange. Considering the fact that she's always asking for the regular-sized oranges, I see why we're so stocked up on these treats. So, although I may have joked about Li'l Zipper by calling him "Little Zip A Roo", Cuties are in fact a sweet, smooth winner in this household. It's not about making it "too easy" for kids, it's about making a fruit just for them that will allow them to get their citrus and not get all messy in the process. Think of them as training oranges and non-messy snacks for the backpack and the lunch sack.
I browsed the Cuties Website. I was introduced to Li'l Zipper, the tiny orange with all sorts of likes and dislikes. I laughed, failing to realize just how strong the marketing is for this product. I began to look over the media page and the recipes page. What we have here is one fierce little orange that steps over the lines of being "just a cooking fruit". There's true innovation packed inside these tiny clementines! I joked hard in that video, but the Li'l Cuties are actually worth the shopping trip. The buzz is rightfully placed over this fruit. First and foremost, they ARE very easy to peel. Tiny size aside, it took me a few seconds to rip through one. With children in mind, this is a perfect snack for tiny hands and even tinier nails. With the supervision of an adult, even a three year-old would be able to handle this fruit. Nutritionally speaking, I see myself dropping sweets for a bite of these babies.
I browsed the Cuties Website. I was introduced to Li'l Zipper, the tiny orange with all sorts of likes and dislikes. I laughed, failing to realize just how strong the marketing is for this product. I began to look over the media page and the recipes page. What we have here is one fierce little orange that steps over the lines of being "just a cooking fruit". There's true innovation packed inside these tiny clementines! I joked hard in that video, but the Li'l Cuties are actually worth the shopping trip. The buzz is rightfully placed over this fruit. First and foremost, they ARE very easy to peel. Tiny size aside, it took me a few seconds to rip through one. With children in mind, this is a perfect snack for tiny hands and even tinier nails. With the supervision of an adult, even a three year-old would be able to handle this fruit. Nutritionally speaking, I see myself dropping sweets for a bite of these babies.