Sunday, July 3, 2011

Sugar Free RingPops - A Review and Giveaway

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone is enjoying a weekend full of family, friends and fun!

And FOOD!

I don't know about you, but always go to at least one cookout - if not more - over the holiday weekend.  It's a time that we indulge a little in some special treats that we might not otherwise enjoy.

So, in honor of the Fourth of July, I am having a little giveaway!

How many of you remember eating Ring Pops as a kid?!?
I sure do!  I LOVED them.  Heck, I still do!

 So when I was asked to review the new Sugar Free Ring Pops, I jumped at the chance!  Yum-O!

They came in a bag of 3 individually wrapped pops - Strawberry, Watermelon, and Blue Raspberry.




They are made with Splenda and are marketed as a "diabetic friendly candy that's ideal for today's active kids".  The press release states, "Sugar Free Ring Pop is a Mom-approved treat for kids with diabetes, with 0 sugar carbs and 0 impact carbs. Long-lasting pops are ideal for special occasions like school parties, allowing children to satisfy sweet-tooth cravings just like other classmates! Long-lasting, great-tasting flavor won’t cause cavities and will sweeten holidays, birthday parties, and beyond."

Look for Sugar Free Ring Pops at Walmart and BJ's stores nationwide. Sugar Free Ring Pops are also available at Amazon.com and ShopTopps.com.  You can also "like" Sugar Free Ring Pops on Facebook!
Here's what I think:

What I Like:
*  They taste good!  Just like the ones made with sugar!
*  They still have the awesome plastic ring design that makes them Oh-So fun to eat and wear.
*  The ring design makes them less messier than a normal sucker.


What makes me Hesitate:
*  Although they are advertised as having 0 impact carbs, they still have carbs.  So you still have to bolus for them.  Don't think that they are "free" treat if you are counting carbs.  They are not.  Each pop has 13g of carbs.
*  The 13g of carbs are from Sugar Alcohols.  I don't know how you feel about Sugar Alcohol.  We were advised by the nutritionist that we worked with in the hospital to stay away most of the time.  She told us that 1g of sugar alcohol does not quite equal 1g of regular carb so that makes them difficult to correctly bolus for. 
*  I do not love the statement above that says "allowing children to satisfy sweet-tooth cravings just like other classmates".  Kids with diabetes can eat food with sugar just like anyone else.  Is it better not to when blood sugar is high?  Yes.  But as long as you bolus correctly, they eat the same thing as anyone else.

Would I give Sugar Free Ring Pops to Sweetpea? 

Yes, I would.  And I did!  She helped me sample them.  The sugar alcohol makes me nervous.  It's not something that I want to give her frequently.  However, It's a fun treat to enjoy every now and then! We both liked the Strawberry ones! 



Thank you to Sugar Free Ring Pops for allowing to try them out!

The best part is that now YOU can try them out too!

Of course, I would never leave you out!  So, I'm giving away 2 bags of Sugar Free Ring Pops!

The Rules:
*Leave me a comment telling me your favorite flavor of Ring Pop and your favorite Ring Pop memory! (I remember wearing at the pool in the summer time - pretending I had such beautiful jewelry!)
*  Make sure to leave your name!
*  Winner will be chosen by random.org
*  I'm sorry to my friends living out of the country - but this giveaway is only open to US residents.

Enter by MIDNIGHT on July 4th for your chance to win a special treat!

Good Luck!



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10 comments:

  1. I loved the blue rasberry pop it was my all time fav. When I was a kid I would always have a ring pop with special sleepover night at my best friends house we would prance around and act like we were the queens of a big country with fancy rings to have our "subjects" kiss!! it was great!! I love your blog and read it all the time. I am Carey BTW.

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  2. When I was first diagnosed, the nutritionist I saw said to divide sugar alcohols by 2 and add that on to the carb amount...so if there are 13g of sugar alcohols, you'd bolus for about 6 or 7. Of course that might not work for everyone!

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  3. That's great advice, Valerie! Thanks for sharing! :)

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  4. I'm a huge blue raspberry fan! My sister and I would each eat them on our long car rides from Ohio to north Carolina and south Carolina to visit grandparents before we moved south too. That made for 12-13 hr. Car rides with little kids and the ring pops were great because they would last a long time, and they weren't messy like a regular lollipop. So many pre-d memories. :-) nice to know there is a sugar free version, even with the sugar alcohols, and even knowing that we D's can bolus for anything. LOVE your blog. You are definitely a type 3 type awesome in my mind!! (D-hugs )

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  5. I may embarrass myself (all over again!) by sharing my favorite Ring Pop memory! I don't remember the flavor, but I do remember this...
    It was my 21st birthday and my college roommates arranged for a Ring Pop sort of surprise for me. You see, there was this guy that I had a huge crush on...the secret crush kind! Only my roommates knew of this crush. But we were all friends and hung out with said boy all the time. Well, on my 21st they had arranged for crush boy and his fraternity brothers to serenade me. The serenade ended with crush boy on one knee offering me a ring...the Ring Pop kind!

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  6. OOOH Misty!!! Bow chicka wow wow!!!
    I have to talk to her about the REST of her b day later ;)

    I like the blue the best. My memory is a lot like yours... I sported a big ol' rock ring pop along with those beaded candy necklaces and matching bracelets. lol
    I was such a nerd!

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  7. Oh my...my favorite flavor is watermelon. My memory of a ring pop was pretending that it was a huge diamond ring from Kirk Cameron...he was "it" back then...lol!

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  8. Used to wear these non-SF kind and pretend they were magic rings, and I'd use my little plastic He-Man sword and hold my sword and magic Ring Pop up in the air and yell, "I have the power." It was all very cool, in the world of a 10-year old boy.

    Oh, should I mention: I'm currently writing this with one of those blue sugar free ring pops on my finger... Don't believe me? Well, I think I may need to tweet the proof!

    Hope they come up with more than three flavors!

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  9. Love your review too! I don't like that comment, makes it seem like type 1s can only eat SF.
    We never eat SF lol

    I love the grape. And I use to wear em pretending I was married to Donnie of NKOTB. No judgement right?

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  10. Oh cool - I'm definitely going to look for these. But don't enter me in the contest, because I think a kid should win them instead of an adult like me. :) I just wanted to say that they look fun, and that I agree with you 100% on your "What makes me hesitate" points. Especially the statement about allowing children to satisfy sweet-tooth cravings like other classmates - I cringed when I read that.

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