Parents - your kids are bringing garbage snacks to school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. You see the parent reaction to the suggestion that snack should be healthy. Now imagine the uproar if I tried to tell parents no snack at all! Someone would definitely complain to admin and I’d be told I have to allow snack.

Why do you say “snack” in the singular? I don’t know any native English speaker who refers to “snack” like it is a mealtime.

wtf, I grew up in Maryland as a native speaker and it is absolutely commonly referred to as “snack”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I send my child to school everyday with a healthy and balanced lunch that is cooked 80% of the time. She does not need a snack as she gets one afterschool. I do send her with a little dessert for lunch every now and then ( Those flower cookies or mini- sponge cakes from Trader Joe’s or cinnamon twists that I made for her. I am a teacher too so I know what you mean. I have 4 kids in my 2nd grade class who come to school every morning with chips, candy and a Coke. I am dead serious. I do not say anything to them because it is not my place to shame them but when they asked if my kids drink Coke the answer is no as I don’t allow soda in my house along with cereal.

Yes, soda and breakfast cereal -- notoriously the same nutritional content.

Cereal is one of the biggest scams in the history of nutrition. It's nothing but sugar and simple carbs. Even if you buy one without added sugar, it's over-processed simple carbs that turn into glucose in your children's bloodstream super fast. Convenient? Yes. Good for them, especially if that's the entire breakfast? No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. You see the parent reaction to the suggestion that snack should be healthy. Now imagine the uproar if I tried to tell parents no snack at all! Someone would definitely complain to admin and I’d be told I have to allow snack.

Actually, I think all the parents would be relieved. They probably don’t want to send anything in anyway, but feel they have to bc at snack time their kid will be the only one without something and will complain. For the good of everyone- just say no snacks. I don’t recall ever having snacks in elementary school, or water bottles.

+1 I hate having to send a snack. I’d rather my kid eats more of his lunch. He takes great notice of what other kids have for snack and complains that he wants what they get like soda. But for some reason he doesn’t complain about lunch that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I send my child to school everyday with a healthy and balanced lunch that is cooked 80% of the time. She does not need a snack as she gets one afterschool. I do send her with a little dessert for lunch every now and then ( Those flower cookies or mini- sponge cakes from Trader Joe’s or cinnamon twists that I made for her. I am a teacher too so I know what you mean. I have 4 kids in my 2nd grade class who come to school every morning with chips, candy and a Coke. I am dead serious. I do not say anything to them because it is not my place to shame them but when they asked if my kids drink Coke the answer is no as I don’t allow soda in my house along with cereal.

Yes, soda and breakfast cereal -- notoriously the same nutritional content.

Cereal is one of the biggest scams in the history of nutrition. It's nothing but sugar and simple carbs. Even if you buy one without added sugar, it's over-processed simple carbs that turn into glucose in your children's bloodstream super fast. Convenient? Yes. Good for them, especially if that's the entire breakfast? No.

I admit to buying boring cereal usually “bran flakes” or “wheat flakes” organic kind. He has a small bowl of that with milk and fruit, and a scrambled egg or two. The cereal is for fiber and calories since he is so thin. I figure it’s about the same as a slice of toast anyway. Same with sausage as bacon - I know it’s not nutritionally great, but I buy the healthiest kind I can and serve it for calories and protein.

[Anonymous]

My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I send my child to school everyday with a healthy and balanced lunch that is cooked 80% of the time. She does not need a snack as she gets one afterschool. I do send her with a little dessert for lunch every now and then ( Those flower cookies or mini- sponge cakes from Trader Joe’s or cinnamon twists that I made for her. I am a teacher too so I know what you mean. I have 4 kids in my 2nd grade class who come to school every morning with chips, candy and a Coke. I am dead serious. I do not say anything to them because it is not my place to shame them but when they asked if my kids drink Coke the answer is no as I don’t allow soda in my house along with cereal.

Yes, soda and breakfast cereal -- notoriously the same nutritional content.

Cereal is one of the biggest scams in the history of nutrition. It's nothing but sugar and simple carbs. Even if you buy one without added sugar, it's over-processed simple carbs that turn into glucose in your children's bloodstream super fast. Convenient? Yes. Good for them, especially if that's the entire breakfast? No.

Yes, cereal (of which our ultra processed “cereals” are a subset), a staple food in many human diets since the advent of agriculture, is nothing but a SCAM.

Put down the Taubes and back away, dear. You’re in over your head.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. You see the parent reaction to the suggestion that snack should be healthy. Now imagine the uproar if I tried to tell parents no snack at all! Someone would definitely complain to admin and I’d be told I have to allow snack.

Actually, I think all the parents would be relieved. They probably don’t want to send anything in anyway, but feel they have to bc at snack time their kid will be the only one without something and will complain. For the good of everyone- just say no snacks. I don’t recall ever having snacks in elementary school, or water bottles.

+1 I hate having to send a snack. I’d rather my kid eats more of his lunch. He takes great notice of what other kids have for snack and complains that he wants what they get like soda. But for some reason he doesn’t complain about lunch that way.

You don’t have to send a snack. Just stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

Agree this was helpful! I also like to make batches of snacky things like mini muffins- Yummy Toddler Food and Little Lou Cooks are a a couple of my go to resources for ideas- that I'll then stash in the freezer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP again. You see the parent reaction to the suggestion that snack should be healthy. Now imagine the uproar if I tried to tell parents no snack at all! Someone would definitely complain to admin and I’d be told I have to allow snack.

Actually, I think all the parents would be relieved. They probably don’t want to send anything in anyway, but feel they have to bc at snack time their kid will be the only one without something and will complain. For the good of everyone- just say no snacks. I don’t recall ever having snacks in elementary school, or water bottles.

+1 I hate having to send a snack. I’d rather my kid eats more of his lunch. He takes great notice of what other kids have for snack and complains that he wants what they get like soda. But for some reason he doesn’t complain about lunch that way.

You don’t have to send a snack. Just stop.

Lol yes you do. Imagine purposely making your kid the only kid in the room without a snack. If there is snack time, you need to send a snack.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

You are welcome.

I think the packaged food industry have profited enormously by cleverly calling junk food as snacks.

Snacking just means eating a smaller quantity of food that best fuels a body. So, we can certainly just make do with smaller portions of regular meals as snacks. Even sending a boiled egg or two is a really healthy and nutrition dense snack.

One of my favorite snacks are burritos cut in smaller sizes. You get meats, beans, vegetables and delicious sauces in a convenient corn tortilla wrapper. For hydration just stick to some plain lemon water or plain milk with it - and your kid is fueled to learn.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I send my child to school everyday with a healthy and balanced lunch that is cooked 80% of the time. She does not need a snack as she gets one afterschool. I do send her with a little dessert for lunch every now and then ( Those flower cookies or mini- sponge cakes from Trader Joe’s or cinnamon twists that I made for her. I am a teacher too so I know what you mean. I have 4 kids in my 2nd grade class who come to school every morning with chips, candy and a Coke. I am dead serious. I do not say anything to them because it is not my place to shame them but when they asked if my kids drink Coke the answer is no as I don’t allow soda in my house along with cereal.

Yes, soda and breakfast cereal -- notoriously the same nutritional content.

Cereal is one of the biggest scams in the history of nutrition. It's nothing but sugar and simple carbs. Even if you buy one without added sugar, it's over-processed simple carbs that turn into glucose in your children's bloodstream super fast. Convenient? Yes. Good for them, especially if that's the entire breakfast? No.

I would love some more alternative but also fast breakfast ideas. I sometimes make oatmeal but not every morning. I serve them an egg and fruit too alsongside cereal but I know the Cherrios are bad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids are grown and flown now but I always packed mini-versions of regular food as school snacks for when they were in ES and MS. My kids bento boxes often had the following snacks.
- blueberry pancakes (sweeten with dates puree in the batter, no need to send syrup)
- cut up cheese cubes
- cut grapes or berries
- tangerines (half peeled)
- yogurt (homemade)
- french toasts
- quesadilla
- spiced vegetable appe, upma, spiced idli
- crepes filled with nutella or just sweetened and cardamom-flavored or vanilla flavored mashed paneer or ricotta.
- tea sandwiches - usually cucumber or egg salad. Cut a full sized sandwich in 4 squares or triangles.
- Use rice wrappers, mandu wrappers, puff pastry sheets, empanada dough, parantha dough, dosa batter, cheela batter etc. - and fill it with any stuffing on hand + cheese - and bake it or steam it. I would go crazy with different fillings - eggs, meat, beans, vegetables, cheese, rice, nuts, leftover pasta, mac and cheese, deli meats, and fruits.

Thank you for this— my son’s school provides lunch, but it isn’t healthy and he doesn’t like it (like, jelly sandwiches and white rice) and he needs so many more calories lately. I’ve been going crazy trying to find things he will eat that are nutritious, or at least include some protein/fiber/fat so he isn’t famished at pick up.

This is only helpful for someone with the time to prepare all of it. I used to prepare lunches like this for my kid when I was a SAHM. I no longer do, sadly. My kid gets a lot more pre-packaged and processed foods now because it's a way to get food in a lunchbox with minimal effort. I feel bad about it and try to buy the healthiest stuff I can.

The average working parent simply cannot prepare food like that. I know because I've done it.

[Anonymous]

Use this gadget to make mess-free sandwiches that are easy to hold and eat. Fill two slices of bread with healthy stuffing (or leftovers) of your choice, and put it inside this gadget. It comes out sealed, toasted and so delicious. So incredibly easy.