Snack rut-- need inspiration

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bagels

Refined carbs, useless snack.

Oh my god snack police, everything in moderation. You probably think Goldfish are evil too, right?

I have a few of the Annie's crackers that I like - cheddar cheese bunnies, etc. A few of those and some cheese or fruit.

Cheese sticks are good too, how about apple slices with those?

You can also throw some cream cheese on one of those bad-for-you bagels.

They are not evil, they are just empty calories. Toddler Chow, as it were.

Cream cheese isn't any better. Empty calories.

I agree that real cheese and an apple makes a good snack.

Enough with the 'empty calories'. You sound like you have your kid on a diet. Moderation, lady.

Toddler Chow, lady.

You are ridiculous. Bagels and cream cheese are not empty calories. Whole wheat bagels contain fiber, some iron, and protein. Cream cheese contains some fat and protein. Are there better options? Sure, but you sound like an unpleasant food Nazi who takes all pleasure out of eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, yes -- those freeze dried snacks are amazing, and they're nothing but fruit, so no protein, but nothing without value either. The fact that they have the water removed also makes them lighter to tote around. DD inhaled an entire bag of the strawberries on Saturday, though I'll confess that I had a few too, and they're delish.

Actually they don't have any real value nutritionally speaking. And they have an incredible amount of sugar.

http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/trader-joes/freeze-dried-mango/healthy-alternatives/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:bagels

Refined carbs, useless snack.

Oh my god snack police, everything in moderation. You probably think Goldfish are evil too, right?

I have a few of the Annie's crackers that I like - cheddar cheese bunnies, etc. A few of those and some cheese or fruit.

Cheese sticks are good too, how about apple slices with those?

You can also throw some cream cheese on one of those bad-for-you bagels.

They are not evil, they are just empty calories. Toddler Chow, as it were.

Cream cheese isn't any better. Empty calories.

I agree that real cheese and an apple makes a good snack.

Enough with the 'empty calories'. You sound like you have your kid on a diet. Moderation, lady.

Toddler Chow, lady.

You are ridiculous. Bagels and cream cheese are not empty calories. Whole wheat bagels contain fiber, some iron, and protein. Cream cheese contains some fat and protein. Are there better options? Sure, but you sound like an unpleasant food Nazi who takes all pleasure out of eating.

Cream cheese: Negligible protein, saturated fat:

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/cream-cheese

Whole wheat bagel: Has fiber and protein. That's about all it has going for it.

http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/bagel-whole-wheat

[Anonymous]

We NEED saturated fat, just not in the quantities typical Americans consume. But children, especially those under age 3, need even more sat fat for brain development. Bring on the cream cheese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We NEED saturated fat, just not in the quantities typical Americans consume. But children, especially those under age 3, need even more sat fat for brain development. Bring on the cream cheese.

I don't disagree that children need fat. But if that's all a food has going for it, it's probably not the best choice.

Cream cheese isn't even cheese.

[Anonymous]

Agree re cream cheese -- it's more for taste than for nutrition. I'm also one of the recommenders of the TJ's fruit, and they really are pure fruit, with no added sugar. Yes, they have naturally-occurring fruit sugar, but they also have all the fiber and vitamins that a regular cup of fruit would have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We NEED saturated fat, just not in the quantities typical Americans consume. But children, especially those under age 3, need even more sat fat for brain development. Bring on the cream cheese.

I don't disagree that children need fat. But if that's all a food has going for it, it's probably not the best choice.

Cream cheese isn't even cheese.

Not the best choice vs. empty calories are two different things. If cream cheese gets a whole grain cracker into your kid, so be it. The more variety in a diet, the better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree re cream cheese -- it's more for taste than for nutrition. I'm also one of the recommenders of the TJ's fruit, and they really are pure fruit, with no added sugar. Yes, they have naturally-occurring fruit sugar, but they also have all the fiber and vitamins that a regular cup of fruit would have.

The TJ's fruit is fruit, but it does not have all the fiber of real fruit.

Mango:

Dried:
http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/nutrition-calories/food/trader-joes/freeze-dried-mango/healthy-alternatives/

2 g fiber, 39 g sugar

Fresh:
http://www.peertrainer.com/DFcaloriecounterB.aspx?id=2132

3 g fiber, 24 g sugar

Why not just give him the real thing?

[Anonymous]

Trader Joe's has bags of frozen pineapple and pomegranate seeds that my kids love (pomegranate seeds are messy, of course). Hard boiled eggs if there are no allergies, whole wheat tortillas (also from TJ's) warmed just a bit with nut butter (my DS's favorite thing in the world), slices of avocado, dehydrated peas (I think the brand is called "Just Tomatoes"--from Whole Foods), clementines...

[Anonymous]

My 22 month old LOVES those dried peas from Whole Foods. They are a fun, crunchy snack, and he eats them by the handful. Great mixed with bite-sized crackers for a good snack on the go.