We love to provide kids snacks that are healthy. Even the best of parents can mistakenly buy snacks that are harmful instead of healthy. Children tend to set their minds on what they like and don’t like to change. Sometimes we fall into a routine of habit foods that are quick and easy. Kids are picky eaters and parents tend to give in to their food preferences.
You can provide healthy kids snacks with a little preparation ahead of time. You can even enlist the help of the child to pack the bags or boxes with healthy foods in order to avoid these rather unhealthy snack options

1. Energy bars
They seem perfectly healthy for a natural snack, but beware of the labels that could tell another story. Some ingredients show excess sugar alcohols, palm oils, and more. If you can’t pronounce the ingredient, it’s probably not good for you. Some bars have more sugar than a candy bar. Do a little homework and find bars that have all types of seeds, honey, dark chocolate, raisins and different types of nuts. Choosing energy bars with the least amount of ingredients is a wise choice. Energy bars can give you energy, but it could be the sugar alcohols which are sugar in disguise

2. Veggie chips
They are made from real veggies but after being processed they lose vitamins and minerals. The tasty ounce of chips can have over 100 milligrams of sodium. Sometimes we eat more because we think they are healthier. Nothing can replace the fresh vegetables and they have less calories than chips. Salt can become a dangerous habit we get used to as a child

3. Yogurt tubes
Yogurt tubes are a favorite with children and parents, but are processed with added sugar, carrageenan (used for a thickener made from edible red seaweed), carob bean gum and emulsifiers like tapioca starch. Not all yogurts are created equal and reading the label and list of ingredients will help you make the right choice

4. Juice boxes
Juice boxes are popular and great tasting but looking a bit closer you’ll find 13 to 22 grams of sugar in 7 ounces or less. Some companies list sugar as the second ingredient after water. There are some boxes that say 100 calories but list 20 grams of sugar. These boxes may look like a perfect addition to the lunch box, but maybe not so perfect for our children

5. Lunch combo Packs
They are a combination of foods that should be healthy. The hidden danger is the extra sugar or fat that is in the snack. Some lunch snacks include a candy bar for that burst of sugar that hypes them up for a short time. One glance at the package and it looks healthy but the label gives you the true information