My son is not normal. At 2 and a half years old, there is pretty much nothing that he won't eat, with the exception of spicy foods. He may not always want more grapefruit or black bean soup, but he's always willing to try things. He likes a remarkable variety of foods, including olives, mushrooms, fish, walnuts, carrots and asparagus.
It is not my intention here to taunt the parents of "normal" toddlers and kids who have more selective taste buds than my own child. My point is that, despite his open-mindedness in regards to food choices, making sure he eats snacks that are actually nutritious and not just tasty and filling is a challenge.
I think there are a few reasons for this. First, snack foods have to be convenient. They have to be available on demand and easily stuffed into a pocket or backpack. Second, most of the foods marketed to us (and our kids!) as "snack foods" are highly processed, nutritionally void, overpriced junk. And, third, sometimes we are led to believe that certain foods are super healthy for our kids, when, in fact, they leave a lot to be desired.
This third point is one I have been dwelling on for a while, and is what this week's blog is about; snack foods we think (wish!) are good for our kids but really aren't. My list of sneaky snacks: juice, flavored yogurt, snack bars, and crackers. Why? Sugar (and other crap)!
Sugar is not inherently bad. In fact, we need sugar to live; it is an essential carbohydrate. The problem is that most American children eat way too much of eat, replacing calories that could be coming from complex carbohydrates, healthy fats or protein with lots of sugar. The World Health Organization recommends that a maximum of 10% of our daily calories come from sugar. That's a maximum of 140 calories per day of sugar for 2 and 3 year olds. And we get plenty naturally occurring sugars in wholesome foods like fresh and dried fruit and dairy products.
Here's a few examples what we get in the sneaky snacks:
8 oz. of orange juice? 112 calories, almost all sugar.
Barry Popkin, a Professor of Nutrition at my Alma Mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, is a world expert on nutrition and obesity and has this to say about juice: “It's better to eat real fruit. These juices have as many calories as sweetened soft drinks, with minimal nutrition. The core beverage we need for life for health? It's water.”
8 oz. vanilla lowfat yogurt? 250 calories, 200 from sugar.
The same amount of plain lowfat yogurt has 156 calories, 66 from from the sugars which occur naturally in milk.
Kellogg's nutrigrain bars? 30% sugar and so much other good stuff I decided to share the list of ingredients with you:
Cereals ([34 per cent] wheat flour, whole oats, wheat bran), glucose-fructose syrup, apple (eight per cent), sugar, vegetable oil, humectant (glycerol), maltodextrin, honey, dextrose, stabilisers (sodium alginate, cellulose, xanthan gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum), calcium carbonate, modified starch, dried skimmed milk, salt, flavourings, cinnamon, raising agent (potassium hydrogen carbonate), malic acid, calcium phosphate, citric acid, colour (caramel E150c), emulsifiers (E472e, E471, soy lecithin), wheat gluten, starch, niacin, iron, vitamin B6, riboflavin (B2), thiamine (B1), folic acid, vitamin B12 (From the Ecologist)
55 Goldfish? (This one hurts!) 140 calories, 73 from sugar.
Ooh, and don't forget the nutritionally void white flour and all the salt!
Now, let me be clear that I am not a sugar Nazi. I have no intention of trying to ban sweet foods from my household or my life. I love to bake, and I think that sweet treats should be exactly that, treats. Something special we get to share in celebration. Homemade cookies for Daddy when he gets home from a trip, or some ice cream after a family outing.
What bothers me is the hidden sugar, the sugar tucked away in supposedly wholesome foods to make them more appealing to us and our kids. If my kid is going to consume 40 grams of sugar, I want him to know it and enjoy it, by golly!
My point is that we are getting played, people!
But don't worry, this isn't going to be just a forum for me to complain about why corporate American is evil and another attempt to make parents feel guilty about how we're ruining our children. I want to provide some ideas for what I hope are easy and appealing alternatives.
So, check it out,and let me know if you have some ideas to add:
Instead of juice:
Water or fresh fruit. Not appealing enough? Try adding a slice of lemon or lime to plain or seltzer water or make herbal tea; my son loves the fruity ones and they don't have any sugar. Limit daily juice consumption as much as possible. Water it down or make it available only at breakfast.
Instead of flavored yogurt:
Plain yogurt. Make it yummier with fresh fruit, a sprinkle of granola or just a touch of honey. Try Greek yogurt, which is creamier and higher in protein than regular yogurt (and comes plain in single serve packages, which regular yogurt does not seem to in this country).
Instead of snack and granola bars:
The only widely available bar I have found without added sugar or fillers in the Lara Bar. Ingredients: Dried fruit and nuts. That's it! They come in a bunch of flavors. They are one of my son's staple snacks.
Instead of processed crackers:
Crackers made with 100% whole grains and a short ingredients list. Our favorite: Triscuits (the Hint of Salt variety)! Ingredients: whole wheat, soybean oil, salt.
Just remember: the entire package is an ad except for the nutrition information and ingredients list. So check them out before you buy and be sure you like what you see.
A final note:
I am not a fan of fake sugars. Mostly because, ew, they're not good. But also because drinking and eating even fake sweet things just adds to our craving for more sweets. And the long term health effects of artificial sugar replacements are not well understood.
You could, however, try Stevia for sweetening tea or lemonade. It is a naturally super sweet plant extract with almost calories. It's pretty yummy.
Whew! I ended up having a lot more to say on this topic than I expected, but I hope you found it a bit helpful. Healthy snacking!
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