The Good Foundation
Over the past 30 years, pre-packaged and heavily processed foods have sadly become the increasingly popular choice for time-poor parents. Pre-packaged foods are seen as a convenient, time-saving and are often perceived as being the cheaper choice. However, consuming these discretionary foods are making our children unhealthy and overweight, with 1 in 4 children, between 5-17 years old being overweight or obese.
Most pre-packaged and processed snack options are empty in nutrients and won’t keep children full. Below are our top tips to keeping your kids happy and energised with healthy snacks.
Read the label
Labels don’t lie. By law, they tell you exactly what’s in the product they’re stuck to. If an ingredients list is full of chemicals you’ve never heard of, or is high in saturated fat or salt, it’s probably not healthy. We encourage people not to eat, processed versions of delicious foods, riddled with preservatives, additives and low-quality ingredients. Instead reach for a fresh or homemade snack that’s not only tasty, but packed with nutrients which are good for your body!
Treats
We know that treats are a part of a balanced diet, but it’s also important to recognise when we’re pushing things too far – we need to understand what treats are and to balance them out with other nutrient meals. Children don’t need processed treats every day, despite the endless pressure from manufacturers through advertising campaigns – there are plenty of healthy treats we can offer our kids instead!
Homemade is best
Homemade food is tastier than pre-packaged and processed food and is generally a lot better for you as you have total control over the ingredients that you use. The biggest misconception around healthy food is it’s an expensive option to feeding your family. This is often presented as a barrier to not consuming real food. When you look at eating seasonally, the health benefits of consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, far outweigh heavily processed snacks, in both price and nutritional value.
Healthy snack alternatives
If you’re looking to make some easy changes to your snack rotation, here are some of our favourite fresh snack picks:
- Air-popped popcorn rather than potato chips
- Baked pretzels rather than savoury packaged biscuits
- Mini or cut up pancakes rather than packaged cookies
- Mixed nuts with cranberries rather than muesli bars
- Greek yoghurt with frozen berries rather than flavoured yoghurt
- Sliced cheese and wafer crackers rather than packaged processed cheese and crackers
- Homemade banana bread rather than pre-packaged muffins
Listen to Siobhan’s podcast below or visit The Good Foundation’s website for more information.
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