* This is a sponsored post for Organix *
You only have to walk down the supermarket kid's snack aisle to see just how much choice there is. All bright and colourful packaging with various health and taste claims. But what should you be looking for when choosing children’s snacks and what brands can you trust?
We have teamed up with Organix to show you the kind of things you should be looking out for when choosing toddler snacks, along with some scary facts you might not know about the snacks you are already buying.
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Everyone is a perfect parent until they have children. You know those things you say when you don’t have children and then when you do have kids, you laugh at the ideal world that your pre-child self lived in?
Well, I was one of those people. I said that I would never give my kids packaged snacks, or use snacks to handle a tantrum. Well, I quickly changed my mind on that and I am sure that anyone that has been on a flight with a toddler, or done a 5 hour car journey has done the same.
The thing is, snacks for kids now are so much different than they were 30 years ago when I was a toddler (*ahem* showing my age there). There are some fantastic options out there, with very few ingredients, like Organix, and it means that there doesn’t have to be any mum-guilt when opening a second bag of snacks 15 minutes into an 11 hour flight. But that isn’t always the case. There are a lot of snacks out there that are aimed at kids, so you would think they are healthy, but they are far from it.
Over the past 5 years or so, the range of baby finger foods and toddler snacks has expanded massively. That has come at a nutritional cost though, as standards have slipped. The quantity and quality of unnecessary ingredients is pretty shocking when you take a close look at the packages of some of these snacks aimed at little ones. That’s where I think things have gone wrong in the toddler snack department. Many brands have put their profits ahead of children’s health. They are giving people so much choice, to make more sales, but most of it is far from nutritious and not what we want to be fuelling our little ones with.
We have teamed up with Organix this year as one of their No Junk Journey ambassadors to talk to you all about healthy snacking for kids. We all know to read labels on the food we buy, but how do we know what to look for? Here are our top tips on what to look for when choosing children’s snacks.
- Watch out for a long ingredients list. As a general rule, go for snacks that have as few ingredients as possible. A long ingredients list is usually a sign that there are unnecessary ingredients and additives.
- Added ingredients. Look out for anything unnecessary like added salt, sugar or flavourings. Kids snacks don’t need all of that to be delicious.
- Do you recognise the ingredients? If you don’t know what it is, then do you really want your kid eating it? If it’s an ingredient that you have never heard of before, or can’t pronounce, then it’s probably an unnecessary additive and you want to stay well away. Go with simple ingredients that you recognise.
- Go organic where possible. If you see the organic logo on the packaging, like with Organix products, then you can be sure that what you are buying has been made to the highest standards.
In a survey that Organix carried out, 76% of parents were shocked to discover that some baby and toddler snacks contain up to 30 separate ingredients. Thirty!!! There really isn’t any need for that many. They found that 85% of parents were shocked to find some baby finger foods and toddler snacks contain almost the same level of salt as a regular bag of adult crisps. 82% were shocked that extra salt is added to some baby and toddler snacks to boost the flavour. So, when we think we are doing the healthy thing by giving our kids specific toddler food, rather than a bag of Wotsits, sometimes it doesn’t even make a difference.
Take a look at this video from Cherry Healey, who investigates what is hiding in some baby and toddler snacks.
It’s not just the ingredients in kids snacks, it’s the labelling that is confusing parents too. ‘All natural’, ‘nutritious’ - what do they really mean and can anyone just slap that label on their products? In future posts, as part of my role on the Organix Junk Buster Panel, I will be looking at what these labels really mean. 63% of parents want brands to be more transparent about food labelling and 31% of parents say it’s not always clear from labels what ingredients are included in the food. That’s one of the many things we love about Organix products - everything is so clear.
If you are confused about what baby and toddler snacks to choose, not sure what brands to trust, then check out the Organix range next time you are at the supermarket. We love Organix and their No Junk Promise – it’s reassurance that they never add anything unnecessary and are always organic. Every product is Avery approved too - especially the Sweet Cinnamon Puffcorn and the Raisin Mini Boxes.
Do you want to see what all the other Junk Busters are saying and have your say too? Follow the hashtag #FoodYouCanTrust and get involved.
Have you seen our post on Cooking With Kids? There are loads of tips, recipes and age related tasks to get your little ones active in the kitchen.
Let’s stay in touch!
You can find me on Facebook at Hungry Healthy Happy. On Instagram at @hungryhealthyhappy. On Twitter at @HHH_Dannii. Or on Pinterest at hhhdannii. You can also subscribe via email.
~ This post on What to Look for when Choosing Children’s Snacks has been commissioned by Organix ~
~ Thank you for supporting the brands that make it possible for us to run this site. We love creating delicious recipes that show healthy eating doesn't have to be boring ~
~ All opinions are our own ~
Laura Dove
I love this! Food can be so deceptive, especially those deemed healthy snacks! We love Organix, you get exactly what it says on the packet!
Catherine
Organix are what we go for too. They have a big choice and I like that they don’t have long ingredient lists. If only I could get my kids to stop asking for McDonald’s now too.
Tori
It’s anazing how much junk there is in food that are aimed at kids. I do try to be careful and avoid it, but it’s so hard when labels are misleading.
Lots of great tips here and looking forward to more posts about this.
Harriet Simmons
My daughter loves the Organix cheese crackers. I end up finding them everywhere haha.
Tania Artemova
I usually do some research about the products and brands before buying it for my kid. Since my son loves snacks a lot your tips are very helpful for me!
Andrea Vaughan
There is sooo much junk in kid's snacks, it can be challenging finding anything healthy. I am always on the lookout for new organic, healthy brands, so thanks for sharing this!
Tiffany
These are all great snack ideas. Labels can be so misleading. It is great to find a brand that you can trust.
Yeah Lifestyle
I personally love Organix and I used to get these snacks for my kids when they were little as they are much healthier compared to the others brands around.
Rebecca | AAUBlog
There is such a huge choice isn't there? But anything with natural sugar, rather than refined is good with me. My two really liked the Organic oat bars and carrot puffs when they were younger
Garf
Thanks for these tips. I am not a parent yet but these tips are helpful for my nieces and nephews.
Dana
They are some scary statistics. You would think with them being kids snacks that you could trust them all, but it looks like I am going to have to read all the labels of them too. Thanks for highlighting this issue.
Amanda
I am just about to enter the world of weaning and it’s so confused. Thanks for the tips on what to look for. Would love some toddler friendly recipes too!
Francesca Quansah
What a helpful post, although great for kids you could apply the same rules to adult snacks too! organic, short ingredients lists etc we might as well all make the right choices!
Alexander Ward
Great post and really helpful for parents trying to find what’s right. Love the shots of the little one!
Erica
My daughter is obsessed with raisin boxes too. They get everywhere though!
They are some scary stats of what are in toddler snacks. It’s anazing that those companies can get away with it.
Lauren
We buy organix when they are on offer. The Aldi snacks are pretty good too though.
Daisy
These are all great snack ideas for mamas of littles to consider :)
Kate Andrews
I never knew there was so much to choosing a snack! I don't have kids but I will remember this when I do.
Fran
My kids love all the organix snacks, but especially the little oat bars they do. We neve travel without them.
Polly
My kids are all grown up now, but there was never this kind of choice back then. But the options we did have I am pretty sure weren’t at all healthy.
I am sure I will discover all of this when I *hopefully* have grandchildren.