Healthy snacks in a foreign counrty!

[ScotsMinnie]

You know how it is when you go abroad - its so hard to know what food is what. The brands are all different some basic foods are called something different etc etc.

We are coming over from the UK and every time we have been previously and gone to the supermarket I get a bit lost and am never sure what I am buying!!!!!

So this time I thought I would pick your brains as to what i should be looking for!

What healthy snacks would you recommend for children of 7 and 3? Obviously I will be buying lots of fresh fruit - thats easy!!! Does not have to be super healthy just don't want them to be eating sweets (candy) all the time!

Are Goldfish crackers OK? They looked like they had a lot of salt in them? What do you all think? They loved them last time but the original ones I thought tasted quite salty. They had coloured ones but I was concerned they would be full of artificial colourings which my DD7 sometimes reacts to.

Over here we have squash which is sugar free and you dilute it with water to make a fruity drink. Do you have something similar? Is that what Kool Aid is? Is there a better alternative?

My girls like dried fruits like raisins and the fruit flakes which are strawberry and blackcurrant and love to have cereal bars aswell.

Any good brands you would recommend? Anything else that your kids love that we could try? Also where roughly in the supermarket would i find them - its like a maze and everything seems to be mixed up!!!!!! No wonder Publix takes me hours!!!!

Could always go to the UK part of the supermarket and buy the things we have at home but that is a bit boring (and expensive!!). When in Rome.......... Also the girls love to have things they don't get at home.

 

[NU2WDW]

Most larger supermarkets will have a section for "organic" or "natural" foods; if you can't find it, anyone who works there should be able to help you. There will be several different snack crackers and things like that. One brand my kids like is Annie's.

Another good option is to look at the breakfast cereal aisle. Cheerios is an oat based ring-shaped cereal that kids here literally "cut their teeth on" and it makes a good snack food dry out of the box. Others to try: Life (another oat-based cereal, comes in plain, cinammon or maple flavored) and Chex (corn, rice, and mixed grain versions).

Most dairy foods come in low-fat and/or convenience packaging: mozerrella or cheddar cheese sticks, yogurt, cottage cheese.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Most larger supermarkets will have a section for "organic" or "natural" foods; if you can't find it, anyone who works there should be able to help you. There will be several different snack crackers and things like that. One brand my kids like is Annie's.

Another good option is to look at the breakfast cereal aisle. Cheerios is an oat based ring-shaped cereal that kids here literally "cut their teeth on" and it makes a good snack food dry out of the box. Others to try: Life (another oat-based cereal, comes in plain, cinammon or maple flavored) and Chex (corn, rice, and mixed grain versions).

Most dairy foods come in low-fat and/or convenience packaging: mozerrella or cheddar cheese sticks, yogurt, cottage cheese.

Ah Cheerios - we do love them!!! Same name! Bonus!!!

Thanks for your help. The supermarkets are huge and the choice is even bigger and I think I just get flustered with kids in tow trying to decide on things which I have no idea about!!!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I was pointed towards your post! My son can't have corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, or even corn syrup solids. He might have issues with food dyes as well, but since most things with food dyes also have one of our Big Bad 3, and no one is willing to experiment (here, kid, have some dye!), we don't really know.

My answer will probably be an over-answer for you, but I don't know how to shush myself when it comes to this, so take what's important to your family and ignore the rest.

American food is so difficult, and since you're coming from a place where you probably have access to more FOOD in your food, it'll be odd. Your sodas, I hear, have proper sugar in them, not lab-created HFCS. So I would stay away from the sodas here.

KoolAid can surprisingly OK, depending on what you get. We don't let DS have them still, b/c some packets are better than others and I just don't want him to get too relaxed before he can read, but I have some hidden away in a high cabinet for myself, LOL.

With crackers and such, even if they are natural, our issue is that they can still have corn syrup...they even make organic corn syrup. No organic HFCS yet that i've seen, LOL, thank goodness.

I don't know what stores are out in Orlando, but I hear there's a Whole Foods, and you're going to have good luck there. Stores out here in the west have their own organic lines...Albertsons and Safeway...I don't know if Publix has their own line yet, but they might have organic foods, and those tend to be the safest, for us at least.

Now at the parks it's hard! At DLR, and probably at WDW, the innocent-sounding (as long as no one is allergic to peanuts of course) peanut butter and jelly sandwich is actually a Smuckers Uncrustable. Those are full of corn syrup and HFCS, and send my son into a violent tizzy. I realized it when he was halfway through one at Disney California Adventure, he could see from my expression that it had "hi frookorn syup" in it (he was 3.5), and chose to stop eating it. In discovering that (by the simple act of reading the ingredients, don't know why I hadn't done that yet) I found the answer to ALL those very difficult, awful, exhausting trips to our local zoo, as it was a treat he could have.

(DS can't even have Dole Whips, b/c they have corn syrup solids in them and it made him into a violent dragon after having just half of one)

Obviously our trips to DLR aren't focused on snack foods, and we buy the fruit from the stands routinely. From our pre-planning, it seems that WDW has more "real" food, but it's good to read ingredients (for instance, DS can't have a Mickey Bar, as the ice cream has corn syrup in it) so you know what you're eating.

I recently read the ingredients of several Goldfish packages, and they were actually decent. I didn't even look at the rainbow one b/c of the same reason you stated, but the normal ones seemed alright. I think they used annatto to color them?

Adding...around DLR, and I'm sure WDW too, we like granola bars by Nature's Valley. The crunchy kind, b/c the chewy kind use...I bet you can guess what, to make them chewy. Clif Bar brand Z-Bars are fun for my son, and tasty, too. Ever since the big peanut recall here a few months ago, Clif Bar is making it hard to find Mojo Bars, which were mine and hubby's fave "I need a boost" snack, and it's sad b/c they have 9 grams of protein, and that's better than the granola bars. Not as carb-heavy, which is especially important for hubby. But I can rarely find the Mojo bars; if you can, try one!

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[disney*mom*82]

We took our 17 mo old, 9 yr and 11 yr old this past March and since we drive I try to pack many snacks and some for the parks too. I done always keep in 100% healthy but they are decent and we do not have any food alergies here. Just an idea of the things we got..

Applesauce and peach cups (small prepackaged individual cups of fruit), goldfish, pretzels, granola bars, fruit cereal bars, Welchs fruit snacks (ones made from fruit), water bottles, juice boxes, and for us adults some Lemonade packets to add into water bottles when we wanted a little flavor. For the not so healthy snacks, I did bring small Ritz crackers that had icing in them and poptarts.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Oh, gosh, I have to laugh, b/c since we moved back to the US from the Netherlands, I've been missing good ole' British biscuits and such.

Everything here is full of sugar. My 10 yo complains all the time about how sweet everything is here, and I have a hard time finding things for him to snack on.

Some of the things we buy for the boys now that we're back are:

~ Little Debbie oatmeal creme pies - pretty good as cookies go, and the oatmeal makes them a bit healthy. They come individually wrapped, so they are easy to take places. Little Debbie or Mrs Freshley or Break Cakes (different brands in different parts of the country) all make individual snacks. Most of them aren't particularly healthy, but they are pretty good.

~ Goldfish crackers aren't all that salty as long as you stay away from the flavor blasted type. I think half the flavoring poured onto the crackers is salt. Try the Goldfish pretzels as well.

~ string cheese - always a good snack to have around

~ dry cereal - I like all the Chex cereals, but they still have a lot of sugar in them, even though they look ok. We also like to snack on Quaker Oat Squares cereal. you can add dried fruit (craisins, raisins, dried cherries, whatever) to make your own trail mix.

~ dried fruit - I generally buy the generic (non-name brand), and it's just as good. you can get raisins (golden and regular), cranberries (or "craisins"), and mixes of dried berries like blueberries, cherries, & raspberries, and there's always good old prunes (sometimes called dried plums). Ask where this is in the store you go to. I've found them in the produce aisle, the salad aisle, and the baking aisle, depending on the store.

~ beef jerkey - my kids really like it, but it's kind of an acquired taste. It's dried, chewy beef strips, sometimes flavored.

~ the breakfast aisle always has granola bars. A lot of them are just crispy rice with chocolate on them; appealing to kids but not very healthy. Try the bars that have "fiber" in the name; they usually have good flavors and are a little bit better for you.

~ fruit snacks - they aren't. Most of them have absolutely no fruit or fruit juice in them. Same for fruit rollups. Just avoid them altogether; they are gross.

have a good time and enjoy trying the different delicacies. I'll sit around missing Pims and vanilla creme biscuits.

 

[Aliceacc]

Consider placing an order with www.gardengrocer.com and elminating that supermarket stop.

Here's their list of "healthy" snacks: http://www.gardengrocer.com/category.php?cid=34

 

[3babyws]

I will second welch's fruit snacks and Annie's brand. try Kashi or Cascadian farms for Granola bars or crackers or cereal.

 

[bookgirl]

Look for Name brands

Kashi (cereal, cereal bars, crackers, cookies (biscuits), and various other prepared foods)

Amy's (mostly frozen foods)
Annies (Bunnies (the healtier version of Goldfish), whole wheat, chedder, chocolate, honey grahnm and chocolate chip) Also has a line of canned pasta dishes or dry pasta dishes that can be made like mac and cheese.

Nature Farms (crackers)

Brothers All Natural Fruit Freeze dried fruit

Lays (this is a chip (crisps?) brand and while they are not all healthy they do have a baked version that is much better than the greasy fried ones) They are called Lays Baked Chips.

Paul Newmans Own or Newmans Own (cookies (biscuits) of all kinds)

Juicy Juice is a 100% fruit juice but does have dyes in it. However you can find lots of 100% juice brands you just have to look for the 100% juice in the name.

These are natural (sometimes organic) products without a lot of artifcial sugars, colors, flavorings or preservatives.

Oh just saw someone put Cascadian Farms they make a variety of things.

Also look at but not as good
WeightWatchers brand
Healthy Choice Brand
SouthBeach Brand
They have artificial flavors but tend towards lower calories/carbs and salt.


They are carried by most stores though not a huge selection.

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Thankyou all for the suggestions - thats a great help.

Want to give them lots of healthy things but I am sure they will have their share of treats! (as will I!!!!)

I will look out for some of those things when I shop and see what they like.

 

[brergnat]

Just wanted to add that Goldfish makes a WHOLE GRAIN version. This is what I feed my kids exclusively. (they are 4 and 3). They are made with whole wheat flour, have fiber, and less sodium than the regular Goldfish. They taste exactly the same as regular Goldfish! I don't find them very salty at all.

Goldfish also now has: Pretzels, CHOCOLATE goldfish, and Honey Graham Goldfish (these two are great...they are basically cookies, but NOT TOO SWEET! They are grahams. Excellent. My kids love them)

And, Annie's brand is not any "healthier", it's just all Organic, which makes it more expensive.

Try to look for "Whole Grain" on the label. That's currently what you'll see on packaging now in the U.S.A. to denote a "healthy option". It's denoted many times by a green box/flag on the package with the words "whole grain". Most snack foods/cereals have a regular version and then a version that is "whole grain", so try to buy the whole grain one if it's available.

Some good snacks for WDW are:

Applesauce: Mott's Brand NATURAL (no sugar added) flavored applesauce-these are single serving cups...come in strawberry, blueberry, country berry, granny smith, peach medly, and "natural" apple flavors. My kids love these! Only 50 calories per cup and NO SUGAR! You will find these in the aisle with "canned fruit", they come in a 6 pack of individual serving cups.

Fruit Snacks: WELCH'S BRAND--these are actually made with fruit juice...and yeah, they have sugar and corn syrup in them, but it's not high fructose corn syrup. These are the "healthiest" fruit snacks out there...good for when your child (or you) needs a quick blood sugar fix! You can find these next to the granola bars, usually in the same asile as breakfast cereal.

-Dry Cereal, as mentioned. Cheerios now has a LOT of flavors available. You will see for yourself when you are at the store. They have yogurt coated, banana nut, apple cinnamon, honey nut (a classic), multi grain, etc. This also doubles as breakfast in the room a couple days if you get milk in the hotel or to keep in the room fridge!

Pretzels-look for "tiny twists" or something similar. I like Rold Gold brand. Some brands have a "low sodium" version. Be sure to buy little Ziploc bags to bring the snacks to the parks with you, or buy individual sized bags of pretzels. As mentioned, Goldfish also makes a pretzel.

Try to stay away from packaged cookies. MANY of them contain "trans fats"...a really nasty thing. If you are going to give your child cookies, buy him the freshly baked ones in WDW...don't waste your money on the garbage in the supermarket.

Dried "fruit leather" is a good snack. Don't get "Fruit Roll Ups". Those are mostly sugar. Look for a fruit leather that is ALL fruit. You can find these in the same area as the raisins and other dried fruits, or sometimes it is in the produce section with the fresh fruits.

Mixed nuts (or "trail mix" when the nuts also contain chocolate) can be a good snack if your son is not allergic to nuts.

One of our favorite "treat" snacks is Peanut M&M's. The peanuts keep our kids full (plus have protein) and the chocolate part is a nice treat. We sometimes mix up a bag of Peanut M&M's, pretzels, goldfish, and cheerios. That's our "trail mix".

 

[bumbershoot]

I forgot to mention ketchup. That was one of the last "hidden" things in DS's diet that we found out about. Again, all it took was looking at the label, but we just weren't doing that with some things we thought were obvious. We have to buy organic ketchup now, and DS has gotten very used to just dipping french fries (chips?) in mustard or mayo.

But remember, for us it's not a choice, it's a necessity that we avoid the things we do. You might not have to avoid it like we do...though if you notice behavior changes, look to the food.

 

[Momof4girls]

We are pretty diligent about artificial food colors and additives. Additionally, my children have some food allergies and intolerances.

If you are similar, I would go to the Whole Foods in town or Target, which is a SuperTarget. There are a lot of organic and all-natural snacks and foods there.

Whole Foods is going to be your absolute best bet. I believe it is store policy to not have any artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, or artificial food coloring.

My kids like:
bot water (it's a fruity tasting water with nothing artificial) and
honest kids drink pouches
http://www.honesttea.com/products/kids/

fruit island fruit leather (dried fruit)

fruitabu (also like a fruit snack, but real fruit - not candy gummies)

the whole foods brand 365 is a line of affordable foods - they have pre-packaged snacks similar to goldfish but nothing gross in them

clif brand makes a product called zbars and twisted fruit - both are favorites around here http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_clif_kid_zbar/

lastly, our kids really like Annie's - they make "bunnies" in graham crackers and snack crackers, fruit snacks, etc. All natural.
http://www.annies.com/



http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...81.453412&sspn=0.292642,0.604248&ie=UTF8&z=12

Otherwise, I'd go to SuperTarget. Target does have a line of their store brand called "Archer Farms" - they have fruit leathers, fruit bars, snack crackers, etc. They're not going to be as diligent about packaging as Whole Foods, but you will find some good options there.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sou...81.541156&sspn=0.292861,0.604248&ie=UTF8&z=12

 

[NotUrsula]

Just an FYI for you concerning things that are Blackcurrant flavoured. Essentially, the only time you will find them in the US is in UK imports. Americans as a rule don't know that flavour at all.

Many of the supermarkets in Orlando that serve the tourist trade carry Robinson's squash, including the blackcurrant. However, they don't carry much else that is blackcurrant flavoured. If your children are big fans of blackcurrant-flavour snack foods, you would do best to bring them with you if you can.

I recently was in the Publix on Sand Mine Rd. in Davenport, FL which is an area that has a LOT of rental homes owned by UK residents. (~5 miles south of WDW). They had a very large array of popular UK brands of snack food, but I couldn't tell you which ones were or were not "healthy", as I wasn't paying close attention. I just noticed the familiar packages in passing.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

Oh, another thing my kids snack on that's relatively healthy and easy to find in the bread aisle - cinnamon or cinnamon raisin bread. They seem to really prefer Pepperidge Farm to most other brands, but there are several on the market.

Mini bagels are also a good park snack, as they have a lot of protein in them as well as carbs. Thomas's makes them in blueberry and cinnamon flavors.

Both of those make great, not-so-sweet treats.

 

[lalagrace]

fruitabu! they are great, my son loves them because he thinks they are like the fruit roll ups his friends eat, and I love them because they are all fruit, no HFCS. Fruit leather is goood as well.
Also vote for Kashi cereal and granola bars. Lots of different types, but with whole grains and less sugar.

My son also likes yougert covered raisens and pretzels, that you can buy in the bulk food section.

My final tip is that I have seen dried fruit and other snacks with Disney characters on them, which might be fun for the kids.

 

[karen624]

My kid's favorites are the 100 calorie snack packs. THey are the perfect size for them when we are on the go, and come in lots of varieties. I like them too. We will be taking lots of them into the park. You will find them with all of the other crackers in boxes of about 6 or 8. THey absolutely love the Quaker granola bites. Packs of raisins are the other thing will be taking in the parks. My kids love dried cherries as well. They will both also eat Fiber One granola bars.

 

[bookgirl]

And, Annie's brand is not any "healthier", it's just all Organic, which makes it more expensive.


Try to stay away from packaged cookies. MANY of them contain "trans fats"...a really nasty thing. If you are going to give your child cookies, buy him the freshly baked ones in WDW...don't waste your money on the garbage in the supermarket.

".

Annies is more expensive, but not all of the products are organic, all are however "natural" basically no artificial anything which is why I buy them (I don't buy organic per say). They tend to have no trans fat, hydrogenated oils or anything else to set off my reflux. They are healthier but not less calories or carbs.

Nemans, Kashi, and Healthy choice cookies are no trans fats for the most part. There are a couple of flavors that are better than others but they are both very safe cookie brands that are sold in regular stores.

 

[Momof4girls]

No trans fats, refined sugar, or artificial colors equals healthier in my book

 

[brergnat]

No trans fats, refined sugar, or artificial colors equals healthier in my book

Okay, you're right. I guess I should have clarified.

When I hear people go on about how certain brands are "healthier" and they mention, say, Annie's Cheddar Bunnies vs. say Whole Grain Goldfish (what I feed my kids), I have to say that I feel the Goldfish are healthier, because:

Goldfish have more Fiber, Protein, Whole Grain, and less calories AND fat per serving size.

Goldfish also do not have artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, trans fats or sugar.

Of course, this is just one example, but I feel that sometimes people get too caught up with certain aspects of "healthy", and ignore other, more important things about a food's nutritional value.

You really have to read and compare labels. You will pay a lot more $$$ for Annie's cheddar bunnies than for Whole Grain Goldfish, and the Goldfish are MUCH better for your child's body (and comparable in terms of "natural goodness") to Annie's...

Of course, Annie's has lots of products, as do all the other "All Natural" and "Organic" brands, and I use SOME of those products! But, I read the labels, and make sure that I know what I'm buying!