• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Because dads don’t always think like moms™

  • Dad
    • Celebrities
    • Gay Dads
    • Sex
    • Single Dads
  • Pregnancy
    • Labor or Delivery
    • Pregnant Wife
  • Baby
    • Baby Naming
    • Feeding
    • Sleep
    • Toilet Training
  • Kids
  • Teens
  • Activities
    • Local
    • By Age
    • Movie Reviews
    • Celebrations
  • Toys
    • We Recommend
    • Toys
  • Coaching for Dads
  • Great Dad Talks Podcast

Healthier food choices for kids on the run

January 25, 2010 by Paul Banas Leave a Comment

Ideally, we all want to fill the kids full of carrots and apples, but that’s not always practical, and quite often not what the kids want as a snack right now. I try to avoid feeding them more white flour products like straight bread, though my son and I just went wild on a cookie from the coffee store.

Some manufacturers have sent me some food samples recently and I’ve given them a look, both for “eatabilty” for my little kids, as well as for whether they really are as healthy they suggest on the box. Michael Pollan, in his new book “Food Rules says you should “never” buy a product that proclaims its health benefits on the box.

Cereals:

We try to avoid heavily sugared cereals in the morning, favoring adding fruit if we can do it. That said, sugar is added to most cereals and makes simple whole grains like oats more acceptable. Good choices for breakfast are:

1. Cheerios or other “cheerios-like” brands, including Joe’s O’s . With 3g. of fiber from whole grain oats, these are a good choice. Look for brands that use sugar rather than corn syrup.

2. Kashi Heart to Heart Cinnamon Cereal. My kids love it and want it in the mix for morning cereal. With 5g. of fiber, this is a good start to the day. The American Heart Association suggests that kids get 25-40g of fiber a day depending on age, so you can see, it really is just a start. However, many cereals have no fiber so what’s important here is a higher nu

3. Uncle Sam’s Cereal. The kids give it a pass. A little too nutty and not sweet enough for them, but lots and lots of fiber at 10g. This stuff is the magic elixir if you’re looking for fiber and Omega-3 rich breakfast cereal. While alone, and without sugar, it’s a little bland even for adults, sprinkled liberally along with other cereal it adds a nutty crunch of flax seeds.

Snack bars

Bear Naked: An assortment of the Bear Naked Grain-ola Bars (Tropical Fruit, Fruit and Grain and Chocolaty Cherry)

FruitaBü: An assortment of flavors (see attached release)

Salty snacks

Popchips: An assortment of flavors, including: Cheddar, Sour Cream and Onion

A good site for checking labels is Labelwatch.com. What I love on this site is the quick look at ingredients. They highlight potentially dangerous ingredients in red, so you can click and see what the ingredient is. In this example, for all I know, Malic Acid is a bad thing. Turns out, it’s okay. The only ingredient you need to worry about is the omnipresent corn syrup.

Filed Under: Father

Paul Banas

About Paul Banas

Paul Banas is happy married dad of two great kids living in San Francisco. He writes now about kids, new technology and how the two interact for GreatDad.com and for Pregnancy Magazine (pregnancymagazine.com) where he is also the publisher.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
SIGN-UP TODAY to receive the only baby newsletter written by dads, for dads. Act now and receive a free copy of the popular GreatDad E-Book!
My baby's due date or birthday :
Profile picture
Privacy Policy and Terms
Baby Name Finder!

what's in a name

  • Show names for:
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Either
Finding a name you can both agree on isn't always easy. Use our simple name generator to get started.
First Letter
Last Letter
Number of Letters
Origin
Find a name!

More to See

family under a cardboard

Over 40? The Five Types of Insurance You Should Have

October 22, 2022 By Contributing Authors

A Dad’s Guide to Bonding with Your Kids Through Computer Games

May 5, 2022 By Contributing Authors

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Footer

Hi mom!

Would you like to share this site with your husband or a friend?

Just enter his email address and your name below and we'll let him know all about GreatDad.com.

His email address
Your Name

Recent

  • Special Clarity session – $25
  • Over 40? The Five Types of Insurance You Should Have
  • A Dad’s Guide to Bonding with Your Kids Through Computer Games
  • 5 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Surgical Procedure
  • How to get kids excited about dental hygiene

Search

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Copyright © 2023 . GreatDad