As a parent, making sure your child is ready for college not only means getting their books, backpacks, pens and schedule ready, it also means making sure your child eats healthy when they are away from home. When I was at the college this week with my sons buying their books, I noticed that there were several vending machines filled with unhealthy foods that I wouldn’t even want to eat – many were filled with preservatives and unhealthy fats and this got me to thinking about Dole, in a good way. I was at BlogHer’12 this month and Dole was a huge sponsor, they not only filled us up with amazing, delicious and healthy foods but they also gave us samples to take home and my sons loved them. As a parent of boys, I know, that if it’s simple and delicious, they will eat it and if it’s not, the won’t.

One of my favourite products at the conference were Dole’s Real Fruit Bites that are made of real fruit, yogurt and toasted whole grains. They offer a healthy snack that packs well in your child’s backpack and are available in three delicious flavours; pineapple, apple and mango, with as low as 80 calories per pack.

Another product I was fortunate to try was the Dole Shakers fruit smoothie and I can honestly tell you that I went back a couple of times for more because they were so delicious. This product is another awesome choice to pack in your child’s backpack and it can actually make the vending machine useful. All your child had to do is buy real fruit juice from the vending machine and shake, that’s it! No blender, no mess and we all know how much children love smoothies. Dole has added all natural fruit and yogurt with pre and probiotics, less than 200 calories and a healthy dose of fiber, calcium and vitamin C, what more can you ask for.

There are more amazing products, some of my old favourites and some news ones that I recently tried, head on over to Dole’s website here  for more information on their full product line for you and your family.