I’m always searching for healthy snacks for my son and me, usually for food that’s quick to prepare and easy to take with us on the go. Whenever I find something interesting on store shelves, I check the back label, looking for minimal ingredients and plenty of nutrition. Recently, I received several boxes of Garden Lites Veggie Muffins to review. I was pleasantly surprised by the ingredient label and the taste!

Baby J and I tried out the following flavors:

• Veggie blueberry oat
• Zucchini banana chocolate chip
• Zucchini chocolate
• Carrot berry
• Golden corn

The muffins arrived at our door tucked away with ice packs inside a styrofoam cooler box. Baby J and the cats, of course, immediately thought there had to be something incredibly awesome in a box like that. If my memory serves me correctly, Baby J’s words were, “Oh woooow!”

Keep the muffins frozen, until you’re ready to eat them. I would assume this is how the company avoids filling them with preservatives.

To eat, leave the frozen muffins inside their individual packaging and heat them in your microwave for about 35 seconds. They’ll be a little hot at that point, but soon afterwards cooled enough to eat. It’s also fine to toss them in the fridge and let them defrost. Then you only have to put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds.

One morning I also tossed a frozen muffin in the diaper bag when I knew we’d be gone all day running errands. By late afternoon, it was defrosted enough to eat, but I didn’t enjoy the texture. It’s edible, but these definitely taste better heated up.

The zucchini chocolate veggie muffins were my least favorite, but Baby J loved them. He’s more of a chocolate fan than I am. I liked the veggie blueberry oat muffins the best. Here’s the ingredient list:

Zucchini, Pasteurized Egg Whites, Evaporated Cane Juice, Pasteurized Whole Eggs, Blueberries, Soluble Corn Fiber, Certified Gluten Free Oats, Sorghum Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Corn Starch, Dried Blueberries (blueberries, sugar, sunflower oil), Certified Gluten Free Oat Flour, Carrot, Canola Oil, Baking Powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), Blueberry Flakes (blueberries, cane sugar, natural blueberry flavor), Salt, Vanilla Extract.

Not bad at all! I love that the first ingredient is zucchini. The other muffin flavors have similar ingredient lists too. These muffins really are packed with veggies, and each muffin is only 120 calories with 0 trans fat.

In the fall and early winter, I bake muffins that I like to call “Harvest Muffins.” The ingredients change, but I always keep them filled with veggies and fruits like squash, carrots, beets, and apples. Although making something fresh at home is usually the cheapest way to go, I can’t deny the convenience of keeping a pack of these individually-wrapped healthy veggie muffins in the freezer. We have a couple of muffins left in the freezer, but when we’re out of them, I will buy more.

Garden Lites Veggie Muffins are sold at numerous retailers, like Whole Foods, Publix, and The Fresh Market. Flavor variety and availability will vary.

Have you tried veggies in muffins before? What’s your favorite healthy snack?