Nov 17 2008
9 Foods You Shouldn’t Serve Your Kids and Why
I’ve seen articles like this one a hundred times. The first few times I saw it, I just ignored it. But then when the same foods were making the list each time from different sources with different information, I sat up and paid attention. These are nine foods you will never see in my home and a simple reason for why.
Kid Cuisine Meals - Too much sodium. Like 200mg more than an average meal should contain. And watch your kids try to pour salt on their fries or some other aspect, and the numbers continue to rise. Even without allowing them the use of salt at the table, the meal is far to high in sodium.
Pepperidge Farm Gold Fish Crackers - This one was harder to cut out of our diet, because the kids love these little fishies. Another sodium outcast with more than 250mg of sodium per serving which is really just a handful. There are much healthier snacks out there, including things like pretzels and baked chips. Look into other options or look into making your own crackers at home. You can control the sodium.
Kudo’s Chocolate Chip Granola Bars - Sounds healthy doesn’t it? But they are loaded with sugar. Give one to your kids and watch as they become more alert, sometimes hyper and then crash about a half hour to hour later. Seriously stick to regular granola bars.
Betty Crocker Fruit By The Foot - Another sugar maxed item. One serving (one little roll up) is pretty high in sugar and there is really no nutritional benefit from the item. Sliced up apples or real fruit juice would be better. Oh, and those gushers and fruit roll ups are not any better at all. Go to Trader Joes and get some of their fruit leather - it tastes amazing and it’s REAL fruit. Yummy!
Campbell’s Soup - The article actually called out the Cars Souper Shapes Condensed Soup - but I am here to tell you that most Campbell’s soup is LOADED with sodium. I’ve known that for years, long before the movie cars ever came out. 580mg of Sodium PER SERVING. Can you handle that? Do you really want your kids to ingest that much sodium in one sitting? Yikes!
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese - This was nearly impossible to cut out of our diets. My other half is seriously addicted to the .99 boxes of powdered cardboard … er I mean cheese. The article specifically calls out the Scooby Doo kind but let me tell you, it’s ALL bad. The sodium content in the pasta is over 100% of that recommended for such a meal. Again, I know it’s an easy fix, but wouldn’t it just be better to choose something else for dinner? Also, have you ever tried Rice and Cheese? It’s the same concept as Mac and Cheese, but made from scratch and actually tastes really good!
Oscar Mayer Lunchables - Again the original article pointed out the Mini Tacos meal in particular, but I have read the labels on every one of those. A lunchable has not entered by home since 2004 and I plan to keep it that way. You can provide your kids with a home-made lunchable and control what goes into the food. Oh, and the reason for the mini taco’s pick? 790mgs of sodium. Yeah. They are all high in sodium - avoid! Oh, and don’t you love how in the photograph, they show grapes, like those are included or something - yeah most parents do not send grapes with their child’s lunchable. I will assure you of that after countless hours spent in an elementary school cafeteria with the children.
Sunny Delight - It pains me to add this onto the list, because my kids will actually drink this, even though they don’t like orange juice. The problem is, it’s like serving them orange flavored sugar. 27g <–GRAMS of sugar per glass. Can you imagine starting your day off with that much sugar? You’ll be tired before noon!
Earth’s Best Organic Mini Waffles -They sound good, right? Organic - earth’s best - all sounds so nice and wonderful and they are in the whole grain department - the problem is the calories from fat. Each serving is four of those little mini waffles, and they are packed with the bad fat and calories. Eat oatmeal. My kids do.
There are certainly many more I can add to this list, and will do some others in a few weeks, but for now - this is a great place to start. Check and be sure you are not purchasing any of these foods for your kids. Read labels and pay attention to sugar and sodium contents. Those are the first two things to look at - then start watching fat, calories and nutritional value. Why buy something if there is no value to it?
Here is the original article if you would like to see it.
This has to be about the strangest article I’ve read in a long time about fast food restaurants and their food preparation techniques in America. It seems strange to me that they process corn into our meat, which of course they feed the corn to the cows to fatten them up. And we say there is no link to America’s obesity problem and fast food?
Enjoy!! (and hurry because there is no telling how long they will last)
10:04am - This just in, apparently certain Chick-Fil-A stores are offering a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich with the “I Voted” sticker. Check your area locations or call them to see if they are participating. I absolutely LOVE Chick-Fil-A!
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