During July of 2020, Aldi introduced a limited-time range of lemon-themed products, with a portion of proceeds from the sale of those products going to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which helps fund childhood cancer research.
Lemon-themed items bearing the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation logo included both non-food items such as baking dishes, paper plates, soap dispensers, and totes, as well as food and drinks such as cookies, kettle corn, lemon bars, lemon chocolate truffles, biscotti, and various lemonade drinks. Aldi stated in its weekly ad that the store would donate part of the profits from the sale of these items, up to a total of $1 million.
I wanted to purchase some of the lemon food items, but I was also trying to avoid large amounts of sugar, so I picked up some healthy-looking options: two boxes of Simply Nature Apple-Ade Bursts. These are pouches of pureed fruit, similar to the applesauce pouches that are popular these days for kids’ snacks or as a grab-and-go item for lunch boxes.
Simply Nature Apple-Ade Bursts cost $1.49 at the time of publication for a box containing four 3.2-oz. pouches (about 37 cents per pouch). They come in two flavors: lemonade applesauce and blackberry lemonade applesauce. I got one box of each flavor. These are Aldi Finds, which means they’re only in stores for a limited time, and once they’re gone, that’s it.
The boxes advertise that these have no artificial colors (a move Aldi made with all of its house-brand products a few years ago), no high fructose corn syrup, and are nut free. They’re a product of Chile and are certified non-GMO. They also feature BPA free packaging.
The boxes also state to refrigerate individual pouches after opening if the entire pouch is not consumed right away. A pouch should be eaten within 48 hours of opening. Shake the pouch before consuming, and do not microwave pouches.
Here’s a closer look at the two flavors:
Simply Nature Lemonade Applesauce Apple-Ade Bursts
These taste pretty similar to traditional applesauce pouches. Because a lot of commercial applesauce includes ingredients such as ascorbic acid as a preservative, and since lemon juice is also acidic, that might be why these don’t taste all that different from regular store-bought applesauce and don’t especially taste like lemonade. They still taste good, though. I did note that of the two flavors in this Apple-Ade product line, this one has the most added sugar at 6 grams per pouch, but no one ever said lemonade was a low-sugar treat.
Ingredients are: apple puree, apple juice concentrate, apple puree concentrate, lemon juice, natural lemon flavor, and lemon juice concentrate.
Nutrition information and ingredients for Simply Nature Lemonade Applesauce Apple-Ade Bursts. Click to enlarge.)
One pouch has 70 calories, 17 grams of carbohydrates (6% DV), 14 grams of total sugars, and 6 grams of added sugars (12% DV).
Simply Nature Blackberry Lemonade Apple-Ade Bursts
These also taste similar to regular applesauce pouches, but with a tarty zing to them. While the blackberry flavor is there, it is fairly mild. These get points in my book for having a small amount of added sugar compared to other pouches like this, with these containing only 2 grams per pouch.
Ingredients are: apple puree, blackberry puree, apple puree concentrate, lemon juice, apple juice concentrate, and lemon juice concentrate.
Nutrition information and ingredients for Simply Nature Blackberry Lemonade Apple-Ade Bursts. (Click to enlarge.)
One pouch has 60 calories, 14 grams of total carbohydrates (5% DV), 13 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of added sugars (4% DV).
The Verdict:
Simply Nature Apple-Ade Bursts are applesauce fruit pouches that come in two flavors: lemonade applesauce and blackberry lemonade applesauce. Both flavors taste good and make for a healthy-ish snack, although the lemonade and berry flavors are not quite as pronounced as I expected.
