Snacks that are 'fun' but still not crap

[Anonymous]

So interesting to see all the different definitions of healthy choices.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel so challenged by my desire not to givi ey kids crap to eat yet wanting life to be easy. Example - yesterday, they went on a boat with friends. I filled the cooler with cut fruit and veggies, string cheese, and some homemade granola bars. And water. Of course they wanted to eat the other kids' Goldfish and CheezIts and juice boxes. So did I! My food went basically uneaten, and they ate the crap. What do you all buy that is still appealing and 'fun' for fun times like a boat ride but isn't junk? I feel like just giving up sometimes and buying the junk bc it's certainly easier and cheaper than buying and preparing fruits and veggies and other non-processed stuff.

String cheese and granola bares aren't healthy.

But it's a boat day, so I would just let it go unless they're boating every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel so challenged by my desire not to givi ey kids crap to eat yet wanting life to be easy. Example - yesterday, they went on a boat with friends. I filled the cooler with cut fruit and veggies, string cheese, and some homemade granola bars. And water. Of course they wanted to eat the other kids' Goldfish and CheezIts and juice boxes. So did I! My food went basically uneaten, and they ate the crap. What do you all buy that is still appealing and 'fun' for fun times like a boat ride but isn't junk? I feel like just giving up sometimes and buying the junk bc it's certainly easier and cheaper than buying and preparing fruits and veggies and other non-processed stuff.

String cheese and granola bares aren't healthy.

But it's a boat day, so I would just let it go unless they're boating every day.

really? why not the cheese doesn't have anytying in it but normal cheese ingredients (milk, rennet, salt), and the granola bars are super low sugar, made with quinoa/oats/etc - def not the nasty Quaker variety.

so - if you have to pack something besides fruit and veggies, what do you pack?? that you consider healthy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel so challenged by my desire not to givi ey kids crap to eat yet wanting life to be easy. Example - yesterday, they went on a boat with friends. I filled the cooler with cut fruit and veggies, string cheese, and some homemade granola bars. And water. Of course they wanted to eat the other kids' Goldfish and CheezIts and juice boxes. So did I! My food went basically uneaten, and they ate the crap. What do you all buy that is still appealing and 'fun' for fun times like a boat ride but isn't junk? I feel like just giving up sometimes and buying the junk bc it's certainly easier and cheaper than buying and preparing fruits and veggies and other non-processed stuff.

String cheese and granola bares aren't healthy.

But it's a boat day, so I would just let it go unless they're boating every day.

really? why not the cheese doesn't have anytying in it but normal cheese ingredients (milk, rennet, salt), and the granola bars are super low sugar, made with quinoa/oats/etc - def not the nasty Quaker variety.

so - if you have to pack something besides fruit and veggies, what do you pack?? that you consider healthy?

If I wanted cheese, I wouldn't pick string cheese. I would pick some good cheese, and it would be a small portion. Americans eat too much dairy.

Your granola bars sound healthier than normal granola bars, but carbs still turn into glucose when processed.

Other than fruit and veges, I would pack good beef jerky, hard boiled eggs, avocado, good yogurt and healthier dips like hummus or baba ganoush.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Goldfish? This is a non-event on the shitty junk food scale. I thought you were going to say Takis and Mt Dew.

Had to google this. They look crazy. Will try tomorrow. With my 12 y.o.

PP here. The kind in the purple bag are the best. They're really spicy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel so challenged by my desire not to givi ey kids crap to eat yet wanting life to be easy. Example - yesterday, they went on a boat with friends. I filled the cooler with cut fruit and veggies, string cheese, and some homemade granola bars. And water. Of course they wanted to eat the other kids' Goldfish and CheezIts and juice boxes. So did I! My food went basically uneaten, and they ate the crap. What do you all buy that is still appealing and 'fun' for fun times like a boat ride but isn't junk? I feel like just giving up sometimes and buying the junk bc it's certainly easier and cheaper than buying and preparing fruits and veggies and other non-processed stuff.

"Kids, you must eat balanced snacks. Here, once you eat some fruit, you may eat goldfish." This is what we do. And we also pack goldfish. We do some fresh stuff and some processed stuff and it balances out. Not a biggie.

[Anonymous]

It's a boat trip...if they're eating what you put in front of them most of the time at home, they can probably eat whatever they want on a special occasion like a weekend boat trip. I wouldn't worry about it.

[Anonymous]

I believe in "everything in moderation," and while at home we have healthy and well balanced meals and snacks, I also do not fully deprive my kids of treats at special times. However, my main problem (my kids are tweens now) is that the special times happen all-the-time in today's society. Between birthday parties, social get togethers at the pool (not to mention the snack bar at the pool which only sells junk), times at friends' houses with pantries stocked with oreos and chips, snacks after soccer games, team get togethers, so on and on. I feel like I never get a chance to give my kids a treat of my own because they are offered junk multiple times a week in various settings. So while a "day on a boat" is a special outing, it likely is not the only day that week that op's kids were given junk food (I don't have an issue with goldfish or carbs by the way, although I would also want my kids to have fruit or veggie and a protein).

[Anonymous]

Unclench.

[Anonymous]

We eat mostly clean at home and I don't worry about it while we're out. If someone else brings goldfish or cookies to share, my kids are welcome to have some. My 8 year old now knows where to draw the line for himself - when too much is too much. My 5 year old just dives right in and has few limits. Eventually he'll get there. Or, eventually he'll be on Weight Watchers. Regardless, I can only control what we have in the house. He'll have to learn to control what he has in the world.

Just today the kids were describing this awesome lunch idea they wanted to try for summer camp that they saw other kids eating. Lunchables! LOL!

[Anonymous]

Pomegranate seeds

[Anonymous]

why dont you focus on eating three good meals a day and limit snacks? who cares about a few crackers here and there? Learning moderation is important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why dont you focus on eating three good meals a day and limit snacks? who cares about a few crackers here and there? Learning moderation is important.

Of course but this only works in a perfect world. We make good meals for our kids but the salty high sugar snacks are everywhere and often we aren't there to try to limit them and even if we are it is a losing battle that would need to take place in front of our kids friends and their parents.

So if we go for a hike I can pack sliced apples and pistacios. But that morning after the soccer game the snack was juice boxes and muffins and at the pool the next day someone will be passing out pretzels and kool-aid and we won't even be there.

I guess it takes a village?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You can't win if someone else is also bringing snacks.
Next time offer to bring snacks for everyone. Your snacks were fine and kids would have eaten them if not for the "better snacks"

You can also get some organic things that are fun like peanut butter crackers. We get these from MOMs (http://shop.latejuly.com/Mini-Peanut-Butter-Sandwich-Crackers/p/LJS-000700&c=LateJuly@Crackers) or you can get the Annie's version of fruit bythe foot. (http://www.annies.com/products/fruit-snacks). Or honest kids juice boxes (less sugar(

And most importantly once in a while just let it go and let the kids eat the goldfish like you did yesterday.

End, just because they are organic, doesn't mean they're not still crap!

[Anonymous]

I feel like if you eat healthy at home and most of the time, then it's fine to give your child snacks that aren't as great.