10 Worst snacks for kids

Find out the top 10 worst snacks for kids, and how to satisfy those cravings in a healthier way.

1. Potato Chips

One of the most tasty, but unhealthiest treats, the potato chip. Potato chips are high in fat, sodium, calories, and they spike blood sugar. They have minimal nutritional value, which makes them empty calories. You would be doing your body a favor by replacing packaged potato chips with baked sweet potato chips if you are at home, or apple slices with a peanut butter dip to carry in the lunchbox.

3. Granola bars

Granola bars are marketed as healthy, wholesome snacks. They give us the illusion of being healthy, but what you didn't know is that they they contain processed carbs, dried fruit (high in sugar), and are held together with sugar syrups. They don't contain much filling fiber, and are loaded with calories. So unless you are planning to do a 5km family run, resist the urge to pack in a granola bar for your child. To replace this, you could make your own granola bars at home with fruit, nut and oats, equally as tasty and a lot healthier.

2. Muffins

A sweet, fluffy, soft, and smooth sin: muffins. Store-bought muffins are full of sugar, and even if they have fruit in them, the amount of nutrition they give you is almost non-existent. The flavoring is usually artificial and sugars are added, making it one of the worst snacks for kids. To replace this, you could bake homemade whole grain muffins with real fruit. They will be just as tasty and a lot more healthy.

4. Sweetened OJ

Orange juice is everyone's favorite breakfast drink, and it's also probably what is shrinking your clothes... Sunny D Orange Juice for example, contains only 5% real orange juice, which means that 95% of the juice is artificial flavoring, sugar syrup, and water. One glass is equivalent to more than five chocolate bars when it comes to calories. This can easily be replaced with fresh-squeezed orange juice which can be taken to school in a bottle.

Image: Sunny D Orange Juice Facebook

5. Luncheon Meats

Kids' favorite sandwich meats are bologna, smoked ham and roast beef. However, a meat sandwich a day exposes your kid to preservatives which increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. This can be avoided by only giving your kid meat sandwiches once a week, or replacing the meat slices with real meat (like roast chicken chunks), cheese, tomato and cucumber or peanut butter.

6. Crackers

Crackers are a handy snack and they keep your kid satisfied for a while. However, crackers are made from processed white flour, oils and preservatives. You'll thank yourself later when you replace these with something healthier! These can easily be replaced with whole grain crackers which will give your kid more energy, and keep them full for longer. They won't even know the difference!

7. Gummy bears

Gummy Bears, these are every kids favorite fruity snack, except that they're actually not fruity... at all. Gummy Bears contain artificial fruit flavoring, and they are filled with sugar, gelatin and preservatives. In addition to this, they stick to kids' teeth, causing cavities. This makes them one of the worst snacks for kids. Switch these out for real fruit!

8. Sports drinks

Be it vitamin-enhanced, or an electrolyte drink, sports drinks contain unnecessary calories. Sports drinks were designed for athletes. Unless your kid is an athlete, it's better to stick to natural fruit juices, natural lemonade or water.

9. Donuts

Donuts are fried, sugary, contain preservatives and have no nutrition, automatically making it one of the worst snacks for kids. The average donut is around 300 calories, and only keeps one full for an hour. In order to get a similar taste, and lay off the calories, you could butter a whole grain slice of toast and sprinkle some cinnamon on it.

10. Yogurt

Many of the popular store-bought yogurts are loaded with artificial color and flavoring. These have added sugars, and turn a healthy snack into something that is unhealthy. The best way to get a similar taste, is to buy low fat plain yogurt, and mix fresh fruits in it.

Republished with permission from: theAsianparent Singapore

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Written by

ReinaldTudawali

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