This post brought to you by Nuffnang…
What could possibly be more fun for kids than having a farm to go and stay on?
My kids are so lucky, and I remind myself of that often- whenever I’m feeling sorry for myself, or for them. High on the list of awesome things they have in their life is their Nonna and Poppy’s farm. It’s relatively small (as farms go) and more of a hobby farm than a livelihood. But there are chooks and sheep and cows. And oh my, isn’t it beautiful. Rolling green hills. Large full dams. Well-kept fences. And a river that trails along the bottom border of the property, with sandstone cliffs on one side and countless wombat holes on the other.
One late January afternoon, when the school holidays were not quite close enough to being over, we decide to have a picnic on the farm. Pepsi Next had sent us a picnic basket and blanket and the instructions to go and do something natural and fun. The farm’s green open spaces called to us. You can sit in the middle paddock and forget that you’re so close to everything. The only things you can hear are the call of the birds and the occasional baa-ing of the not-too-bright sheep. The kids can run for miles. We jump in the tray of their Poppy’s white, dented farm ute and arrive at our destination no more than five minutes later.
My kids love a picnic. I get it. Picnics are the things of wholesome children’s stories, the typical family together-ness experience. And there always seems to be junk food when we picnic… I’m not sure why. Maybe because I know the kids wouldn’t love it quite so much if we only packed sandwiches and fruit. Maybe because I’m just as bad as they are.
The kidlets don’t drink soft drinks very often. We never have them at home- they’re a special occasion thing. I’ve drummed the concept of too much sugar into my son, feeling like a hypocrite because I know I drink the equivalent of thirty of forty teaspoons of sugar a day myself (and doesn’t it sound awful when I put it like that?).
With my huge sugar intake in mind, I was interested to try the Pepsi Next we had been sent. From what they tell me, it has naturally less sugar than other cola drinks. Pepsi Next contains Stevia, a natural sweetener, rather than ‘real’ sugar or that nasty chemical-y artificial stuff. I actually predicted it would not be great- generally I hate the taste of diet drinks, like Pepsi Max. But- pleasant surprise- Pepsi Next actually didn’t taste any different to regular cola. In fact, it was pretty good. And I didn’t feel quite so bad when I gave into the incessant nagging and let my kids have a glass of it. Because, ya know- less sugar. Given the terrible example I set for them, that has to be a good thing.
Anyway. The general consensus was that the picnic on the farm was awesome. So was the Pepsi. If you happen to come across one of the Pepsi Next blind taste challenges- where you compare to the taste of a full sugar cola- give it a go. And check out the Pepsi FaceBook page, too.
So you can have your own lovely picnic- on a farm if you’re lucky enough to have one, or elsewhere if you’re not- Pepsi Next has given me a picnic pack with a blanket and super cool picnic hamper to giveaway. To enter, just leave me a comment or email me with your answer to this question-
Why would you choose Pepsi Next instead of full sugar cola on your next shopping trip?
Giveaway ends next Friday, 14 Feb at 5pm AEDST and is open to Australian residents only.
Full t’s & c’s can be found here. Happy picnic-ing, jellybeans.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Considering the fact that Pepsi Next contains naturally less sugar than regular colas and tastes great at the same time – i am definitely going to choose it during my next shopping trip . My son is growing big and i always feel that its unfair to stop him from drinking soft drink and i always feel guilty for my decision. So now i can buy Pepsi next for everyone in the family so that my son can also enjoy it as a treat on special occasions and does not feel left out.
I’d choose Pepsi Next, so that I can have my sugary sweet treat, but miss out on some of the calories. I’ve been making some great choices lately food wise and I’ve learnt that you’ve got to make them stick. So choosing Pepsi next means I don’t get to miss out!
Because it’s new. The reason many strange things find their way into our trolley. Cola flavoured raisin, anyone?
Leah recently posted…Lazy holidays
I should choose Pepsi next, because our family has taken on all new healthy habits, but I still haven’t managed to kick my coke habit!!
I would try it because you said it was good lol. I’m also a non diet drink soft drink drinker because I just have never come across one that actually tasted good. Thanks for the info. Also I would love to win the picnic pack. I have never taken my kids on a picnic (10 & 5) because I don’t hv a nice set and didn’t want to take KFC to the park in a plastic bag and just sit on the grass
Lori, just the fact that you like it and you allowed the Chop and the Bump to drink it sells it to me!!! You are ‘The Most Honest Woman in the Universe’ so I will definitely be trying Pepsi Next when ‘next’ at the superduper market!! We picnic at the beach on hot summer nights, a blanket and basket of goodies along with some Pepsi Next would put extra big smiles on my little beach babies faces’. Thanks for the heads up! Good luck to whoever is the lucky winner.
I’d choose Pepsi Next because you’ve totally sold it to me!! Absolutely the ‘Next’ soft drink I’ll be buying.
I’d choose Pepsi Next because it is far less Weight Watchers point, leaving me with more points for jelly beans!
The diabetic in me thinks it is probably a better option
I would choose Pepsi Next because less sugar in my soft drink means more I can eat in cakes and other goodies! Winning!
Why would i choose Pepsi Next? because it’s the one drink my husband and i agree on. He likes diet drinks, which i refuse to drink due to the artificial sweetners, and i like ‘normal’ drinks in a bid to avoid said sweetners. Pepsi next gives us the best of both worlds, less sugar for him and no nasties for me
I would choose Pepsi Next because it’s yum! I’m a die hard Coke fan but we were lucky enough to do one of the challenges at The Rocks on Australia Day and I was so pleasantly surprised!
As a family of 5 we have lots of picnics and would love to win this hamper to spoil our family a bit more!
I would choose Pepsi Next because we can’t have refined sugars at home due to a few health reasons, so we normally buy the chemically sugar free stuff, even though we’re all for natural living. This sounds like the perfect balance for an occasional treat.
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