Do you consider......

[sameyeyam]

I consider pudding to be a healthy snack only if it is made with low or non-fat milk and artificial sweetener, not sugar.

 

[Cindy's Mom]

My daughters got the peanut kid in her class this year so she can only bring peanut butter for lunch, up until now she has been in seperate classes from him so she could bring her peanut butter crackers for snack or apples and peanut butter. She can still bring that for lunch though. Hopefully next year they won't be in the same class again.

What a horrible way to describe a child who is different. My daughter is the PEANUT KID in her class. Its plain and simple, she eats a nut, she dies. So maybe a little compassion for the PEANUT KIDS might be appropriate. Do you think they like that none of their classmate can't eat what they want? No they don't. Do you think they like to eat lunch at the "PEANUT FREE TABLE" and not with their friends? No they don't.

Thankfully none of the parents in DD5's class have your attitude - other she would probably be called the peanut kid to her face.

 

[U2_rocks]

If it was pudding vs. anything else my DD would want for snack, the pudding would win out as the 'healthy' snack.

The school sent home a Snack Guide Pyamid and invited us to post it on our refridgerator. The school is really promoting healthy snacks this year.

BEST:
water
applesauce
carrot and celery sticks
vanilla wafers
low fat popcorn
100% fruit juice
animal crackers
non fat milk(flavored or unflavored)
fresh fruit
pretzels
vegetable juices

GOOD:
sports drink
chex mixes
breakfast fruit bar
popcorn
low fat cookies
raisins
baked chips
granola bar

MODERATE:
cheese
puddings
peanuts
snack cakes
milk
trail mix with candy

LIMITED:
carbonated beverages
candy
chips
pastries
chewy candy

This isn't a bad guide, but be careful with applesauce. Too many brands add high fructose corn syrup or some other intense sweetener to it, which then puts it into the "sometimes" or "dessert" category for me. Unsweetened applesauce can be good, but in snack size portions, not huge amounts.

I don't like artificial sweeteners and I won't knowingly eat them or let my kids eat them. I read every label of everything I buy, and avoid items with a high number of grams of sugar per serving, and all things being equal I will choose a brand with the lowest grams of sugar per serving. I stay away from highly processed food - the less ingredients the better! I find that fat content isn't usually a big issue in non-processed foods. I limit juice, even 100% juice - they're better off eating the fruit, that way they get the fibre and a slower absorption, which helps their blood sugar. Water, people!

So now to the pudding. It's a dessert, no two ways about it. Read the ingredient list sometime. I don't care how "pure" it is, it will still have in too much sugar unless you make it yourself from scratch or you buy the artificially sweetened ones (but then check out what else is in there!). I can't conceive of a way to make pudding into a healthy everyday snack. Once a week maybe - all things in moderation and all that.

 

[sunnymommy]

I am coming into this discussion rather late, but when we were in school, not only did we have a "milk break", we had an "ice cream break" ...I still remember collecting those little "Buried Treasure" sticks and trading them with my friends. (Talk about unhealthy...and somehow I am not a 300 lb adult.)
Sunnymommy

 

[Honu]

Does anyone find it ironic that they want healthy options for snacks but serve disgusting high fat highly processed food for lunch?

Yep.

I couldn't put any processed food in the healthy category. Pudding is refined sugar (or artificical sweetener), corn starch and milk. Good to eat, but not good for you.