Healthy In a Jar for 4th of July

4th of July is not only a day of independence, it’s an excuse to cook-out.  We just grilled ribs and chicken in celebration of the holiday!  There’s also lots of soda intake on this occasion and because I have been trying so hard to keep Truett away from soda and encourage water, I knew I needed a creative way for him to stay hydrated during 4th of July cook-outs, as well as all Summer long.  That’s where ‘healthy in a jar’ comes in.

Truett loves water and he loves fruit. I simply took the 4th of July theme and applied it to this kid beverage.  I used strawberries (but will probably use cherries next time), blueberries, and pears.  I filled the jars with water and fruit.  I took his play bucket that we bought at walmart, and filled it with the jars and ice to keep them cold.

Truett loved it. In fact, he never once asked for soda at the bbq.  He ended up drinking about 6 small and 2 large mason jars full of water and fruit. So not only was he staying hydrated, he was getting a good serving of fruit for the day.  That also made him less hungry and less inclined to reach for junk food that we had at the bbq.

It really made me feel good to watch Truett enjoying the jars of healthy.  He thought it was soooo good and such a cool idea.  How do you guys encourage your kids to drink more water?

By the way, our produce has greatly improved lately.  It was so nice to pick up a carton of strawberries and they be perfect.   The mason jars also came from walmart but I’ve had them for some time now.  Bucket was in the kids section where all the water and sand toys are and the little cutie in the pictures came from me and cowboy.  :) And if you’re curious why I called it ‘Healthy in a Jar’…well, it’s because when little man saw me making the jar of fruit and water, he said those words, “it’s everything healthy in a jar for me mom”. So there you go. I’m sure there is a better name but he feels super cool to see the title of my post and know he named it.

Have a happy, safe, hydrated 4th of July y’all!

Disclosure: I am an official Walmart Mom. Walmart has provided me with compensation and gift card in return for my time & efforts to create this post. Opinions are my own, always.