February 22, 2012 | 9:32 pm

Raising Healthy Kids: Pre-packaged Snacks

Posted by Sima Cohen

A wide variety of snacks, mostly candy, on display at a bodega in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Photo by Wikipedia/Jeffrey O. Gustafson

As you probably know, I am a proud mom myself. Working with other busy moms, I get asked all the time: What if I don’t want to cook, but I still want to give my kids healthy choices?

No problem! The following quick snacks are excellent choices that support an active and a healthy lifestyle.

• KIND bars
• Lara bars
• Kashi TLC bars
• Luna bars
• Low fat string cheese
• Grapes
• Carrots and Celery
• Pretzels
• Pop chips
• Packaged dry green beans
• Edamame
• Snap Pea Crisps
• Apple Crushers
• Veggie chips
• Organic fruit wrap
• Individual trail mix (Avoid the ones with chocolate chips or M&M’s. Or make your own with unsweetened dried cranberries, sunflower seed kernels, honey, and nut flavor checked cereal.)
• Individually packaged organic Apple sauce (They come in a variety of flavors including plain, berry and cinnamon, and pear. Make sure they say “No Sugar Added”!)
• Mini packages of hummus

And if you are looking for other healthy and satisfying pre-packaged snacks for your kids to enjoy between meals, here are a few guidelines to follow:

1. If you can’t pronounce it, do not allow them to eat it! READ the ingredients on the package before giving it to your kids. Some ingredients to stay away from: High Fructose Corn Syrup, Sugar, Corn Sugar, Natural Flavor, Partially Hydrogenated Oils, and Corn Starch.


2. The best and most healthful snack bars have at least 6 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and less than 15 grams of sugar. I always recommend Kind, Lara and . They’re perfect on-the-go snacks for adults AND kids!


3. Any packaged snack that is over 150 calories is too much. Stick to around 150 calories or less.


4. Don’t be fooled by the cute little 100 calorie packs such as Oreo’s, packaged peanut butter crackers,Teddy grams, or cheese nips. They are loaded with enriched flour, salt, sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other artificial ingredients. Don’t compromise their health… your kids deserve better than that!


5. Stay away from prepackaged fruit cups that feature “flavored fruit chunks in 100% juice”. That is just tricky terminology for MORE SUGAR! Fresh cut fruits and vegetables are always your best option, and they only require a few minutes to prepare.


6. Give them Bananas! This sweet, yummy, and versatile fruit has so many benefits. Bananas are super inexpensive (about 35-40 cents a pound) and are loaded with Potassium, which is a mineral that helps maintain normal blood pressure and heart function. 1 medium banana contains a whopping 467 mg of Potassium!


7. Serve water in place of sugary juices. Juicy juice has 26 grams of sugar in an 8oz glass, which equals about 6 1/2 teaspoons in one serving! Water will help your kids avoid a sugar rush, unnecessary weight gain, and most importantly: drinking water will help them POOP!


8. Apples are an excellent quick snack and are full of fiber. Try to buy organic though, since non-organic apples contain about 111 pesticides.


9. Always add the most important ingredient to any food you provide your children: L-O-V-E. When I prepare my daughter’s food, I do it with smile on my face. And at the end, right before I wrap it, I say: now I’m adding love and more love and more love. I’ve been doing this with her since she was 3 years old. One day, I was rushing and forgot to do it. Well, she looked at me with her arms crossed and her big blue eyes and said, “Mommy, did you forget to add something?” It really makes my whole day to know that SHE KNOWS how much I LOVE her and your kids will know it too!

Peace and Snack Time!
Sima

February 14, 2012 | 2:27 pm

Healthy Kids: The Basics

Posted by Sima Cohen

After being approached by dozens of parents with questions about raising healthy children, I’m excited to share my some of my secrets and tricks of the trade, and provide some insight and answers.

Over the past 20 years childhood obesity has doubled and as of 2011 is at epidemic rates! Overweight children and teens are more likely to develop serious health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

As a parent myself, I know that making small changes every day can drastically effect the health of your growing child for the rest of his or her life. There are a lot of convenient, cheap products out there, but 99% of them are loaded with added sugar, salt, sodium, saturated fat and empty calories that will do more harm than good. Giving our kids healthy foods can stabilize their energy, sharpen their minds and even help to even out their moods. It will also help them develop healthier habits as they get older.

From my experience with my picky eater daughter, foods like wraps, dips, smoothies, and popsicles, plus fruit and vegetables for color, are always fun to eat. All of my kid-friendly recipes and snack ideas, like the ones below, take no more than 15 minutes to prepare and they’re all totally healthy and delicious.

Do the right thing for their health (and your peace of mind) by taking a few minutes in the morning to prepare their food. I promise, it’s an investment you won’t regret. Just follow my nutrition principles by combining lean proteins, high fiber complex carbohydrates and healthy fats with every meal when preparing their lunches and snacks for school. This will give them the energy they need to make it through the day with a delicious, healthy lunch that they’ll look forward to… and they won’t trade away!

That’s it! fruit bars
Low fat string cheese
Grapes
Carrots and Celery
Pretzels
Pop chips
Packaged dry green beans
Edamame
Snap Pea Crisps
Apple Crushers
Veggie chips
Individually packaged organic Apple sauce (They come in a variety of flavors including plain, berry and cinnamon, and pear. Make sure they say “No Sugar Added”!)
Mini packages of hummus

Stay tuned next week when I discuss guidelines for pre-packaged snacks and how to read labels.

Peace and Healthy Kids!
Sima

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