OH, I Wish I Were an Oscar Mayer...

..Lunchable. (Thought I was going to say weiner, didn't you? I'm full of surprises like that.)

Oscar Mayer Lunchables are what we're here to discuss today, people, and if you think you know what that means, you might be surprised.

That's because Oscar Mayer Lunchables have been given a makeover. They're still budget-friendly and filling, but now they're health conscious, too.

The new line of healthier food choices from Oscar Mayer Lunchables are called "better-for-you," and I had a chance to try them out.

My overall impression was really favorable, because what was inside the box was similar to the kind of lunch we might have at home.

Only (yay!) I didn't have to do a lot of prep work.

The Lunchable I tried out consisted of ham, cheese and crackers, which is great, because those are all typical fare for us during the hot summer months.

We don't like to eat heavy meals when it's really hot outside, so we typically cut up some cheese and crackers, maybe some ham. I liked the convenience of not having to cut up cheese and ham this time.

For a healthy "dessert", we usually also add some apple slices.

The new Oscar Mayer Lunchables, rather than apple slices, came with chocolate chip cookies, which I can also get behind. This weekend, we've got a household full of teen guys spending the night for Labor Day, and chocolate chip cookies are a HUGE hit with the neverending pits that are teenagers' stomachs. I'm planning on making a batch myself.

So my boys naturally also loved he idea of chocolate chip cookies. So that's all good.

The Lunchables drink was a bottled water, and I like that, since these are meant to be taken to school and so need to be portable (I'm trying to cut down on my own bottled water intake, because of the bad effects on the environment from all the bottles). Water is a good choice, and healthy. Thing is, there's also some KoolAid brand flavored powder in the Lunchable, and that would be the one feature I'm not so keen on. You've already got the chocolate chip cookies, so you don't really need a 'sweet' to complete the meal.

I know that we are dealing with standard lunch fare for kids here, and kids like sweets, so I understand why they went with KoolAid, a perennial favorite, but I would have preferred a natural fruit drink instead of the water plus powder combo.

My kids, though, especially the Rhino, really liked the idea of pouring the powder into the water and shaking it up for some KoolAid on the spot. That's like magic to him. Sweet, sweet magic.

So the kids' response was very positive, and the drink, as I say, was my only complaint.

And it's hardly worth mentioning, because I really do like the new better-for-you Lunchables. Not just for the healthier content, which is a plus, but also because my kids would actually eat these, even at school when lunch time in just 25 minutes and they're in a hurry. Lots of finger foods, easy and quick and filling. That's perfect for school lunch.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central on behalf of Oscar Mayer Lunchables and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.span style.