I’ve had a few parents recently show me what kid snacks schools are recommending they pack. It’s truly unfortunate how poor the recommendations are. Let me ask you this…..
Would you send Oreo Cookies as a healthy snack to school? Of course not. Why? Because they are nothing but refined grains, sugars, processed oils…. a terribly unhealthy “food” I hate to even call it food.
What’s an animal cracker made from?? THE SAME THING!!! What about a graham cracker? Goldfish? Many Cereals? It’s all THE SAME JUNK ingredients with next to ZERO nutritional benefits.
– Animal Crackers……I see these dumb things everywhere. I made this short video explaining how unhealthy this common snack is. [activecampaign form=82]
– Goldfish and Cheeze-its. I’d put them in same category as Animal Crackers. It’s not food.
– Cookies? Are cookies a healthy snack? Are crackers any better? I’d argue crackers are worse. Watch this short video and I’ll explain.
– Fat-free Pretzels, chex mix, honey wheat pretzels. All are processed grain, refined oil, very low nutrient snacks (aka garbage snacks) that I would not recommend.
– There actually wasn’t a single “food” on the lists shown to me that I’d recommend.
Can you think of anything more important than the health of our kids? I can’t, not a single thing. It may be a bit inconvenient and a bit more expensive to provide healthier options…. But when it comes to their health it’s absolutely worth it. There’s literally nothing more important.
Childhood obesity has drastically increased in recent history. Consistent high sugar, processed grains and seed oil filled snacks are a part of the problem. Here are some far better options.
Apple
Banana
Pear
Any Fruit or Berries….
Any fruit is a better carbohydrate than the animal crackers, cereals, pretzels, crackers or other recommended low fiber, low nutrient, grain based snacks. Water soluble fiber is an extremely important nutrient found in fruits and vegetables that most kids don’t get nearly enough of.
A banana with Pecans – It tastes like maple pecan ice cream. Flippin amazing. Trust me…go try it and thank me later. It’s filling – tastes great – and nutrient dense.
A banana with any other tree nut
Apple slices with almond butter – Another snack that’s almost too good.
Raw or Cooked Veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, avocado, cucumber, tomatoes, bell peppers, jicama, cauliflower)….yes, some are technically fruits. All are great sources of good fiber and packed full of health promoting nutrients.
Olives
Pickles
Pickled Beets – My weirdo kid loves them.
Trail mix – Raw mixed nuts with dried fruits. I understand that schools may not recommend snacks with nuts because of potential allergies. Often times the serious allergy is to peanuts. Remember a peanut is NOT a nut. Sometimes I think tree nuts mistakenly get lumped with peanut allergies. Banning tree nuts because of a peanut allergy is like banning dogs because of a cat allergy.
Jerky – A filling complete protein that is loaded with nutrients.
Quality Hotdogs – It’s usually the more expensive option. Our kids’ health is worth the money. Just don’t buy any with added corn syrup or stuff you know is bad. The good ones will just have turkey, or grass fed beef, and then some spices.
Quality Deli Meat – A couple slices of high quality deli meat is a great snack.
Tuna Pack
Hard boiled eggs. Inexpensive, filling, a complete protein and loaded with nutrients.
Epic Bars
All you have to do is find a couple snacks your kid loves and send them with every day. Make it a habit – it’s really not hard and again…NOTHING is more important than the health of your child.
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