A Sprinkle A Day - Healthy Sprinkles.com
Written: Apr 7, 2004 (Updated Apr 9, 2004)
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I have visited Healthy Sprinkles.com for a few months, but never placed an order until recently. Initially I learned of this site through an online support group. A very straight forward site that only sells one product in five varieties." Healthy Sprinkles 100% real healthy foods designed to be deviously hidden from your health-food fearing family".
In March the site started redirecting the orders through National Autism Association to help support Autism Awareness Month in April. The founder of Healthy Sprinkles.com is the parent of an autistic child. The site now states that the Healthy Sprinkles are sold exclusively through National Autism Association. When I checked back to the recent email from an Autism group it mentions that the owners of Healthy Sprinkles.com have generously donated their online business and products to The National Autism Association.
I find the site a bit confusing after this association since I never know which site I am being led to. When you click on to learn more about the products you stay within the main site, and when you order there is another step to get to the site.
On one page are the five varieties of Healthy Sprinkles, but when you click on details a new window does not open, and the link for Healthy Sprinkles.com is shown. There is still the option to add to cart from this screen and also to email a friend this page. What is different is the two sides of the screen show links and stories within the National Autism Association site.
" For a limited time...1 free shaker of Green Onion Healthy Sprinkles will automatically ship with your Healthy Sprinkles order". I did not notice this when I placed my order on March 10, 2004, but I did receive the free shaker and this is still posted on the site. "It's a wonderful way to get veggies into kids with the most narrow food preferences and food sensitivities." These are natural and can be consumed by those on the gfcf diet.
The Healthy Sprinkles come in the following varieties:
Veggie - 100% raw pea, spinach & green bean powder
Onion - 100% green & white onion powder
pineapple - 100% raw pineapple powder
green beans - 100% freeze dried green beans
peas - 100% freeze dried peas
On March 10, 2004 I placed an order for 2 veggie containers at $3.50 each with the s&h rate of $4.00. The payment options for online are credit cards only. These are Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. The site states all orders are sent via priority mail.
I printed out a copy of my receipt that showed the order number, quantity, email address, phone number, shipping address and total. The notation on the top states they will be in contact as soon as possible.
On March 15, 2004 I received my package in a small white box via regular postal methods, or so I thought. I always write down on my receipts the method of delivery used and noted usps on this one. They use delivery confirmation with their shipping as well, but the number is not sent to customer prior for tracking purposes. Inside the box was the sales receipt showing payment method as VISA, although I only have a MasterCard and the items stated one veggie and one pineapple with one onion free with order.
The pineapple shaker is the only one that needs to be refrigerated and thus far the only one we have used. I sprinkled a few shakes inside the popcorn bag after opening upon removal from microwave. My son is non-verbal with autism and ate the entire bag in two bowlfuls without hesitation. I tried one handful with the pineapple being evident.
I did not contact them about the error in my order and decided just to try all three varieties at our leisure. There are some discrepancies with the receipt and what the site states though. They got the quantity and items wrong as well as the card I used was listed wrong.
In response to the question of whether the product is gfcf I sent an email to Healthy Sprinkles and received a reply from the President of National Autism Association with the resonse that they are, which I have updated this review to reflect that. Also I received a tracking number for the delivery confirmation and the priority transaction number. It is possible that I got that part wrong about the order and it could have been sent priority mail and I neglected to note that on my receipt.
One other reason for not making an issue out of the errors was the surprise in getting a free shaker with the order.
My son has been receiving feeding therapy for the last sixteen months on a weekly basis. I brought the containers from Healthy Sprinkles.com to show the Occupational Therapist and she wrote down details to tell the Dietician about these products. A few weeks later I was informed they ordered a supply as well.
The site has a link to print out an order form and mail in if you prefer this method. The labels list at the bottom, " We Thinkle You'll Like 'Em!". Before you click on the check out you will see a heading "Linkles". This brings you to some nutritional links. Personally I could do without the cutesy words.
Each shaker is like a miniature container you would find garlic salt or bacon bits in. They measure .9 ounces or 25 grams. Peas contains 2 grams of sugar, 7 grams of carbs, 3 grams of protein, 11% iron, 7% calcium, 46% Vitamin C and 72% Vitamin A with 41 calories.
The onion shaker has 44 calories, 1% iron, 2% calcium, 12% Vitamin C, 10 grams of carbs, 3 grams of sodium, 4 grams protein and 2 grams of fiber.
The pineapple variety has 11 grams of carbs, 2% iron and calcium, 23 % Vitamin C, 10 grams sugar, 1 gram of fiber and 49 calories.
Each has a screw on red cap with a plastic ring with varying numbers of holes. There is a paper tab underneath that needs to be removed and then place the plastic ring back over. The confusing part for me is that the shakers have listed the serving size as half a bottle with only 2 servings per container. There is nothing explaining how you can deviate from this. I certainly was not about to pour half a container into food to test with my child and only used a few shakes.
The scent to the pineapple is just like it implies and is the only one I have opened thus far, but the scents of the peas and onion are evident through the top of the container.
The labels advise you on which meals to include the sprinkles in. For example the pineapple suggests chicken, ham, kabobs and cottage cheese. I think they should now include microwave popcorn to this since it worked so well with my son. I also told the OT today during her home visit to share with others at the clinic.
The veggie variety is good to use on hamburgers, pasta, soups and salads. The peas shaker can also be used with the same dishes as well as meatloaf and dips.
There is no expiration date on these shakers. The concept of using these to get your children to eat vegetables they would not normally try is good. The picture on the site shows a child eating something with the jar visible beside his meal. I would not go so far as showing my child what I am inputting into the food since this is a sneaky way to get them added.
The possibilities are endless like using for omelets, steaks, rice, pancakes, grilled cheese, peanut butter and jelly, etc. I do not think the customer gets the impression that there are only two servings per container when shopping online. Now that I know this, but not using it in that fashion for my family, I feel the price is rather high for the limited time you might be using the product. This might be a way to have customers order larger quantities and buy in bulk. However, the free shaker per order is a nice incentive.
My confirmation email was from National Autism Association and did list two of the veggie shakers and no indication of a free onion shaker with this order. My first email was sent at 04:16 with the subject line thank you for your order. The second email arrived also on the same date as the order was placed, at 21:16 showing the payment through MasterCard and the two veggie shakers. There was also the mention of all orders through priority mail. This included an email address to contact about the order, which was info@nationalautism.org.
The merging of the company product line with this newly formed non-profit, not-for-salary organization seemed to have some glitches along the way. I brought them some business even though my only order was not perfect. I feel it is a bit confusing for customers to figure out the two links, but in due time I hope that changes and it can all be on one site with less disruption to the online shopper.
*** UPDATE***
I believe I solved the mystery of why I got the wrong items and the receipt showed a different credit card used. I just looked at the receipt to see my notation of what form of shipping was used and noticed for the first time that the name and address on the receipt are not mine. I imagine this person may have received my order, or someone else entirely. Luckily for customers they do not print out the credit card number on the receipt.
This is a serious blunder for an online store, but I will keep the average rating with the recommendation, and hope others do not experience this confusion. I want to promote Autism Awareness with unique items parents can find for their kids and ended up with the wrong order. Still check out the site and see if this product is worth trying.
Recommended:
Yes
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About the Author
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 842
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