Kid's Snacks Minus the Sugar - Part 2

Hey y'all!

If you haven't read my last post on avoiding sugary snacks for your kids (and in general), you can find it here. This post will talk about the alternatives to snacks containing high amounts of processed sugar.

It's not all bad news... I promise! While avoiding sugar as much as possible in any form is the ideal, let's face it, not that many of us are going to give it up entirely unless we have particular reason to, or the strength and willpower of a bull. So what do you do when you want a healthier snack? What do you put in your kids lunch boxes?

One of the most common go-to, healthy snacks is fruit. Fruit is seen as a good snack option as it's natural, and generally nutrient rich. A common misconception however is that because it is natural, it's ok to eat as much as you like. While it's true that fruit contains vital nutrients, it is important to keep in mind that it also contains a whole lot of sugar, and the nutrients found in fruit can also be obtained from other, less sugary foods, such as vegetables. As long as you are not diabetic or pre-diabetic, fruit should be fine, though I certainly wouldn't recommend eating it for every snack.There are also other factors to take into consideration such as activity levels. For example, if you or your family members play a lot of sports or are expecially active, more fruit is probably ok as your body will use the excess sugar (fructose) for energy. And kids are generally pretty active by default. If however, you or your children are primarily sedentary (for example, if you have an office job which doesn't allow you to be active, and you don't go to the gym every day), then you might want to consider keeping your fruit intake to a moderate to low level. If you would like more information on fruit and fructose (the sugar found in fruit), have a look at Dr Mercola's articles on why large amounts of fruit may not be healthy and at the extreme end, the health hazards of an all fruit diet.

If you do decide to give your kids fruit as snacks, there are options that are lower in sugar, such as rasberries, cranberries, strawberries, blackberries, passionfruit, prunes, cantaloupe (rockmelon), blueberries, pineapple, and nectarines. Fruits such as oranges, bananas, grapes, mangoes and cherries are very high in sugar, and honestly (sorry guys), if you are going to give your kids dried fruits, you may just as well give them lollies. A) If a fruit is dried, you are likely to eat more of it than you would it's hydrated equivalent because it doesn't fill the belly with it's water content. B) The sugar in dried fruit is condensed, and it is EXTREMELY sticky. It adheres to teeth like glue (I'm sure you can remember eating dried fruit and picking at your teeth for hours afterwards with your tongue), creating the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive. This bacteria is what causes cavities, as it increases acidity in the mouth. I read a very simplistic explanation of this phenomenon which made me giggle. It said that the bacteria "poops" acid. Haha yeah that's right. Sugar increases bacteria poop in your mouth ;P. If you want your kids to eat less sugar, maybe just tell them that? ;) Seriously though, it is as bad for your kids teeth (and blood sugar levels) as lollies and soft drinks. Just ask your dentist next time you go! If you're going to give them fruit, pleeeease give them real, fresh fruit. It's just as easy, and far better for them.

Anyhoooo! Enough about fruit. In essence, if you are trying to lower your kids sugar intake (which is what prompted this blog series in the first place), don't JUST look at processed sugars, but consider limiting thier fruit if you think you might be giving them a bit too much. You can also try giving them lower sugar fruits instead of higher sugar fruits and dried fruits.

Some other ideas for snacks or lunches you can give your children (or yourself) which are low in sugar are: -

• Hard boiled eggs
• Devilled eggs
• Curried eggs
• Pigs in blankets (prunes wrapped in bacon)
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Cucumber sticks
• Zucchini slice
• Vegetable Frittata
• Quiche
• Chicken and salad rice paper wraps (if you eat grains, rice paper wraps are gluten free and pretty healthy), or nori wraps
• Crispy Chicken Strips
• Salmon Cakes
• Salami Sticks
• Cheese
• Celery (or carrot) sticks with Cashew Nut butter (instead of peanut butter which is highly inflamatory and a common allergen).
• Apples with nut butter such as almond or cashew
• Almonds, cashews, macadamias... (any nuts bar peanuts)
• Pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)
• Salads
• Cream cheese wrapped in thinly sliced cucumber (YUM!)
• Roasted pumpkin or sweet potato wrapped in caramelised zucchini (YUM!)
• Vegetable chips such as kale, zucchini, sweet potato or beetroot, done in a dehydrator or oven on low temp. (you can easily google recipes for vege chips - unfortunately I don't have one of my own)
   

If you or your kidlets are partial to baked goodies, there are some ways you can reduce the total and/or processed sugar content, if you choose to bake at home. Fruit is a good sweetener, and goes a long way. For example, my Banana Apple Muffin recipe has no added sugar, and only 1 banana will sweeten about 10 muffins. Banana is a great sweetener, and even though it is a high sugar fruit, when you use it for sweetening desserts and baked goods, one ripe banana will go a long way! Natural apple sauce would work similarly, though you may need to use more as it is not quite as sweet. Fruits also make for really moist baked goods.

Honey is a good alternative to processed sugar, but must be raw (unprocessed/unpasteurised) for you to really reap it's benefits. It contains vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, and C, along with minerals such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It is also an antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral and has traditionally been used in the treatment of gut and digestive issues like ulcers and diarrhea. In addition to it's health benefits, of which processed sugar has NONE, it is about twice as sweet as white sugar, which means you only need to use about half as much (or less). Like fruit though, beware of over-using it, and keep in mind that the supermarket stuff has been pasteurised (heated to a high temp. and then cooled rapidly), which destroys alot of the beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and nutrients.

Pure organic maple syrup is also a good swap, as it is natural and full of nutrients. More research needs to be done I believe, but it seems to have similar benefits to raw honey. You can find some more information on the health benefits of pure maple syrup here or here, though I can not vouch for the validity of the information on these websites.

The best sweetener by far is stevia, as it is completely natural and approximately 200 times sweeter than sugar. It is derived from the stevia plant (if you ever come across one and take a bite of one of it's leaves, you will understand!), and if you have a green thumb, you can actually grow it yourself and grind up the leaves. If you use the liquid, 2-3 drops equals the sweetness of a teaspoon of sugar. It has virtually no calories, and does basically nothing to affect blood sugar. Beware of the supermarket varieties though as they are generally full of additives or mixed with other sugars. You're best getting stevia from a health food or organic store and checking the ingredients to make sure it is pure. Xylitol is another good one that many mistake for an aritficial sweetener, which it is not quite. It is a sugar alcohol sweetener which has about 33% fewer calories than sucrose (table sugar), and much less of an effect on blood sugar. It does occur naturally but the kind that you can buy is very processed, however it is far less damaging that sucrose (table sugar) and unlike other sweeteners, it is actively beneficial for dental health, and is commonly known to reduce the occurence of cavities. (I actively seek toothpaste, or tooth soap to be precise, with xylitol because it is so good for teeth).

Just a quick comment on Agave Nectar - it is sold in health food stores and touted to be a "natural" and "raw" and therefore "healthy" sweetener, but, well, it's not. It is actually highly processed (raw agave is not sweet AT ALL), and has about the same sugar content and effect on blood sugar as table sugar. I would not recommend it as a sweetener option at all.   So anyway, I hope this helps you figure out some lower sugar snacky options for you and your family. If I have forgotten anything, if you have any questions (or suggestions), or want me to expand on anything, please comment below or on my Facebook Page.

In the coming weeks I'll be posting some recipes for low sugar snack options, like quiche, fritatta, muffins, and slices, and I'll also talk about how you can make the sugar content even lower by reducing the carbohydrates from ingredients like grains and white flours, so keep an eye out!

Jas xo