GoPicnic Review and Giveaway

The worst part of having to go and run errands or taking “Bug” to the park is the fact that he needs to eat pretty often and I don’t always think to take something along with us so we usually end up eating fast food which I really don’t like to do because I prefer “Bug” to eat nutritious foods and not the fatty fast foods, so I was really looking for something I could keep in the diaper bag so that when he needs a healthy snack I can just pull it right out of the bag and not have to worry about it going bad too fast so when I came across GoPicnic I thought that this could be the solution to that little problem.

About GoPicnic (Taken From Website):

GoPicnic's founders developed the concept of the shelf-stable picnic meal in 2004 for a major US airline whose existing buy-on-board fresh food service program was costing it millions of dollars annually due to high levels of waste from unused meals as well as incremental personnel expenses stemming from the need for in-flight food preparation. The shelf-stable snackbox solution that the GoPicnic founders created to address these issues generated profit for the airline for the first time in its food service history and provided customers with a reliable quality product at a good value. Recognizing the many benefits such shelf-stable "picnic" meal programs could bring to a wide array of other industries, the GoPicnic founders expanded on the original concept, making nutritious high-quality shelf-stable meal solutions available to new markets and clients.

If I order GoPicnic meals for my organization, can I include my organization's branding on the box?
GoPicnic boxes are designed to include a customized label for your organization if desired, or you can use our standard GoPicnic boxes without customized labeling. For orders over a minimum quantity requirement, you can customize the whole box, including the products inside. Contact us for more information.

Can GoPicnic develop customized or private-label meal combinations for my organization?
Yes! Besides offering the featured GoPicnic branded meals that are appropriate for any market size, GoPicnic also specializes in designing customized product lines to suit most dietary preferences, with the ability to incorporate client artwork and branding on the packaging. Minimum orders apply; please contact us for more information.

How does GoPicnic find single-serving versions of all of these products?
GoPicnic works directly with manufacturers to develop single-serving sizes of interesting and nutritious products. We continually investigate new packaging technologies that will allow more types and varieties of food to be preserved at room temperature without heavy doses of preservatives or refrigeration. If you have a product that you believe belongs in a GoPicnic meal, please contact us.

Do you make meals that fit particular nutritional requirements or avoid specific allergens?
We currently have Kosher meals, Gluten-Free meals, Vegetarian meals, and Halal meals available. GoPicnic can also produce custom meal combinations that meet most dietary and nutritional requirements, including meals that meet school district nutrition standards. Many GoPicnic meals are peanut-free, and we can also produce meals that avoid common allergens including soy, tree nuts, and wheat gluten. Minimum order quantities apply, please contact us for more information.

Can GoPicnic include products other than food products in the picnic boxes?
Yes. GoPicnic can also create custom promotional boxes that include amenities (beauty/hygiene, health products, etc.) and other product samples. Please contact us for more information.


Our Thoughts:
I was sent a few boxes of GoPicnic to review and we received the the ExploreMunch, SafariMunch and GoTrek and I can say that “Bug” could not wait to try the ExploreMunch, so the first thing I did was put them in the diaper bag for the next days of running errands and trips to the park.

The first meal that “Bug” tried was the ExploreMunch that includes:
Old Wisconsin turkey snack stick
Copper Cowbell white cheddar cheese slice
Sweet Perry Orchards natural strawberry applesauce
Calbee baked snap pea crisps
Mrs. May’s sunflower seed crunch
Surf Sweets natural gummy bears
The first thing we did was lay all the goodies out and as he decided what he wanted to snack on we opened them until he was full and to my surprise he ate almost all of the foods included and tasted everyone of them. His favorite items out of this box was the Old Wisconsin turkey snack stick, the Copper Cowbell white cheddar cheese slice and the Sweet Perry Orchards natural strawberry applesauce. I grabbed a few bites of the foods in this snack box and they are all very yummy and the best part is they all seem to be very healthy and very convenient to carry with us on the go and very filling!

Next we tried the SafariMunch that includes:
Salba Smart organic tortilla chips
Ortega chunky salsa
Mrs. May’s sunflower seed crunch
Sweet Perry Orchards natural strawberry applesauce
Sheffa zesty snack mix
Enjoy Life snickerdoodle cookies
Again we laid all of the snacks out and let “Bug” pick and choose what he wanted to eat and he was very pleased again with the taste of these foods and they made a wonderful snack at the park where he could come and snack as he wanted without having to sit still and eat it all at once. While he was out playing I will admit that I had a taste of the salsa and it is really good and the best part is that it isn’t so spicy that he wont eat it but it is very flavorful! He did end up eating all of the chips, salsa and the snickerdoodle cookies!

The last meal we were sent and tried was the GoTrek and I let my husband try this one out he took it with him to work to eat as a mid morning snack! This meal includes:
Jack Links Beef Steak Nuggets
Sheffa Zesty Snack Mix
Copper Cowbell Swiss Cheese Slice
Mariani Cranberry Pineapple Mix
Frey Milk Chocolate Mini Chocobloc
Chad said that this was one of the best snack mixes he had ever ate! It had all the foods that he loves and in convenient sizes that are perfect for his mid morning snack to hold him over until lunch. He has said over and over that I need to get him some to keep in his tool box at work so he will have a snack anytime he needs one without having to go to the store.

Bottom Line:

I am very impressed with all three meals we were sent to sample and I will be purchasing more in the future to keep with us in the car and for my husband to keep at work with him. Not only are these meals convenient but they are tasty and a very healthy option to fast food snacking. The prices are also very reasonable and I feel a lot better spending money on these snacks and meals vs. at the local fast food joint!

If you are looking for a tasty, easy meal for on the go for your toddlers, kids, husband or just yourself you should defiantly check out the selection at GoPicnic I’m sure you will find something you cant resist.

Buy It:
To purchase GoPicnic products for yourself visit their website!

Win It:
GoPicnic has offered one of my readers three of their kids meals so you can try them out for yourself you have the choice of what meal you would like two of the ExploreMunch or SafariMunch and one of the other.

Mandatory Entry: Visit GoPicnic and tell me what meal you would like to try! Please remember to leave your e-mail address if it’s not visible in your profile.

Want or need extra entries? Check out how to grab em’ below! (Mandatory Entry must be complete for these to count)

1. Become a public follower of my blog (current follower count too)

2. Follow me on twitter @sgrant2005 and tweet this giveaway (can be done daily)

3. Subscribe to my feed via a reader

4. Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post and to GoPicnic be sure to leave me a link (5 extra)

5. Follow GoPicnic on Twitter

6. “Like” GoPicnic on Facebook


Giveaway ends Oct 19, 2010 @ midnight CST. Winner will be chosen at random, using random.org and contacted by e-mail and has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion with the product listed above. I did receive the meals mentioned above complementary for this review. No monetary compensation was received.