Let me put my cards on the table here. I avoid buying low salt, low sugar food like the plague, which it might as well be, if you ask me. And don’t get me started on low alcohol beer – I mean, really, what’s THAT all about? I like food (and beer) to taste like it’s meant to, not like some diluted version of itself, and I’d rather go without completely* than bother with allegedly ‘better for you’ options, which never taste as good as the real thing.
However when it comes to my kids, well, it’s my job to be more careful about what they eat, so I do tend to keep my eye out for snacks that they think are treats but which aren’t really, because they are good for them. That way the kids think I’m marvellous, I get to feel smug about the fact that they think I am marvellous as well as polishing my halo because they’re eating something that’s not actually bad for them, oh and I get to scoff my highly salted full fat snacks in peace – what’s not to like!
So there was great excitement all round when these arrived at our house…
Yay! Mighty Lights galore for us to taste and test! There was some disappointment when I told the kids that no, they could not have three packets each immediately, especially since they hadn’t had breakfast. When we got over that massive act of cruelty, (not without threats to report me to the Crisp People, because they want us to try ALL OF THEM Mummy, and THEY are the boss of the crisps, NOT YOU), we agreed that they could try some a bit later in the day. Whereupon I sat them down for breakfast and snuck upstairs to check them out myself. What? WHAT? No, I was not eating crisps before breakfast – what kind of slummy mummy do you think I am? I never actually have breakfast, so technically this crisp eating was taking place before lunch. And definitely not in bed. OK? And, yes I know I said above that I don’t do healthy versions of unhealthy food, but that probably should have read ‘unless they appear in front of me with no effort on my part in which case I could be persuaded’. Fickle? Me?
Well, the news hot off the press is that they are not too bad at all, for dastardly diet food. I might even start taking them to work in my packed lunch. I usually don’t pack crisps, because I always think that today’s the day that I might manage to eat my sandwich without them. But then I open my sandwich and it just looks so lonely and naked that I end up nipping to Spar anyway for an emergency pack of Ready Salted. So I could just cut out the kidding myself bit and throw in a pack of Mighty Lights and be done with it…What’s that there? The kids? You want to know what THEY think of them? For goodness sake, you think this blog is all about THEM? It’s called LearnerMOTHER for a reason you know….
But since you insist – the news is good there too. The youngest wanted to know how I had put the zig-zags into the crisps – it’s kind of cute the way he still assumes I am responsible for all the awesome stuff…poor wee dab, he’ll learn the truth soon enough. The middle one turned her nose up at the Chicken and Cheese & Onion flavours, but proclaimed the Ready Salted to be ‘quite nice actually’ (girl after my own heart there) while the eldest said that Cheese and Onion was his favourite but he would probably need another pack just to be sure….and then sulked when one wasn’t forthcoming. Well, I do have my packed lunches their health to take into consideration, after all.
So – the serious bit – are they healthy and good for your kids? Of course not. Are they better than a regular crisps? Yes, a bit. Would I give them to my kids every day? No. Would I worry about them having a pack as a treat? Also no. So there you have it. Hopefully my witterings on the Mighty Lights have been useful – but if not you can find out the proper useful stuff at www.walkersmightylights.co.uk or you can call round my house to try them for yourself.**
As always, thank you for reading!
*a small lie. I will eat anything if a) I am hungry enough and/or b) it is in front of me.
**a big lie. I’ve got my packed lunches to think about, you know.
DISCLOSURE – The Walkers Mighty Lights were sent to me free of charge; Walkers have paid me for this post (though they didn’t tell me what to write).
