Snacks You Thought Were Healthy For Your Kids

When you're feeding a family, there's usually a juggling act between trying to find what's nutritious and also needing convenience, especially when you're in a hurry. But some of the things you think are decent snacks are actually terrible for your kids.

Here are some of the worst things you can feed your kids on a regular basis:

-- Microwave popcorn. Lots of fat. Lots of salt.

-- Fat Free Yogurt. It's almost pure sugar.

-- Muffins. Loaded with fat and sugar.

-- Ritz Bits Cracker Sandwiches. A single serving of these has more sodium and more than twice the saturated fat as a small order of Chicken McNuggets, and more sugar than two Hershey's Kisses!

-- Apple Sauce. Most apple sauces are loaded with high fructose corn syrup. (YahooShine.com)

I have deluded myself many times into thinking it's at least better for my child to have a "kids yogurt" or "kids cereal" than nothing at all for breakfast, but if sugar is listed in the top five ingredients, you are doing nothing good for your child (and in many of the kid's stuff, sugar is the number one or number two ingredient, even if it's called high fructose corn syrup, cane juice or even honey. It's still sugar.) 

Same goes for lunch sandwiches on white bread (I know some kids that have nutella on white bread and try to pass it off as a healthy lunch.)  White bread is a filler. It has no nutritional value. And nutella? All sugar. Certainly not a fruit, veggie, or protein.

And then there are the moms that feel like they are depriving their kids if they don't give them a sweet dessert or keep a candy jar on the counter. Try fruit. It really works, especially if there are no other options, lol!

Unfortunately, when you're sending your child off to school, there is no accounting for what happens in the cafeteria. My kids have come home with numerous stories of their friends swapping entire lunches!

Sigh. Some things seem impossible to keep on top of. All we can do is keep trying, and not beat ourselves up as moms when we aren't perfect. Good luck with that.