Cheap healthy playground snacks

Toothsmith

Dora_the_Explorer wrote:

What an interesting discussion, it made me think about what I had for snacks when I was at school a couple of centuries ago. The answer was nowt and my friends didn't have snacks either.
Clearly breakfast, lunch, tea and supper were enough, which made me wonder if the fashion for giving kids snacks to take to school may contribute in a small way to the childhood obesity explosion we're now seeing, and faddy eating habits.

dentally speaking as well, this is far and away the healthiest option.

Spendless

Actually this thread has surprised me cos at my sons school they aren't allowed anything, just the free fruit provided by school at break-time. Until recently I worked at another local school and they weren't allowed to take anything in either.

Very money saving for me;)

Toothsmith

hum_lovely wrote:

Personally I find that if I have breakfast, I start to feel 'dizzy' mid morning, probably the sugar dip, but strangely if I don't have breakfast, which is extremely rare and only when I have been studying since dawn, I can easily go through to lunchtime without needing anything.

This could well be down to what you have for breakfast.

Cereals these days are far more sugary than they've ever been. Bread is very refined as well, and breaks down to release it's energy very quickly. If you get a big sugar hit, the body produces lots of insulin to deal with it and store the sugar.

A couple of hours when all the sugar is gone there is still a high level of insulin in the blood, so the body is still trying to get sugar out of the blood and into stoarage. Hence a big dip in blood sugar, and the dizzyness.

What you need are more complex carbohydrates which break down more slowly and release sugar into the blood at a slower but more sustained rate. Porridge (Real porridge, not Ready Brek type), multigrain cereals (With low salt & sugar content) Weetabix (Have you ever tried the organic version - it's a whole different taste!)bagels with honey (Fast and slow release) are all excellent breakfasts. Both for you and kids. Add some dried fruit, particularly apricot and/or banana which can make it more tempting for the littleys. Should get them through the morning without the need for the snack.

Toothsmith

Spendless wrote:

Actually this thread has surprised me cos at my sons school they aren't allowed anything, just the free fruit provided by school at break-time. Until recently I worked at another local school and they weren't allowed to take anything in either.

Very money saving for me;)

Very forward thinking. They're trying. One piece of fruit at breaktime is not going to cause significant dental problems in itself.

(Get your kid to go for the banana though!!)

hum_lovely

Toothsmith wrote:

I wouldn't recommend flossing to any kid that didn't have the dexterity to do it themselves - and that would really be 14+

We're veering off topic here though, so no more oral hygine related questions or answers!

Thanks for all your advice - we are lucky to have you and your professonal knowledge on the subject! :T I agree we have lost the thread (no pun on floss intended!) so, back to money saving and any more suggestions for cheap - and of course healthy -playtime snacks?

Spendless

Toothsmith wrote:

Very forward thinking. They're trying. One piece of fruit at breaktime is not going to cause significant dental problems in itself.

(Get your kid to go for the banana though!!)

Why the banana over the other fruit?

Mrsbojangles_2

Spendless wrote:

Why the banana over the other fruit?

I'm not a dentist so could be wrong, but I think its because bananas are less acidic than other fruits, I think acid is as harmful to teeth as sugar is.

HTH x

Toothsmith

Exactly right.

Sugar is more harmful than acid, but both should be avoided between meals.

thriftlady_2

What about home popped popcorn? my kids like it plain,but I sometimes sprinkle a little parmesan on or some pizza seasoning.

I was apalled to find that when my boys took up judo recently it was customary for the kids to buy 'tuck' mid-session.This consisted of-you guessed-sweets and sugary drinks.This provides much needed revenue for a very money-strapped club,but I am not happy about it.My kids have never had much access to sweets and now the younger one is taking his pocket money to buy them because all his friends do.The older one takes water and a HM muffin(bless him) .I might try and persuade them to take popcorn.

Toothsmith

Plain, or savory popcorn is fine - HM better because you know exactly what's in it!

Personally, I'd be happier paying £1.50 a week extra for my kid at the judo club if a bottle of water and a banana were thrown in at the 'interval'. I think an energy boost and liquid intake are important during physical activity. Fizzy sugary drinks just suck water OUT of the body though, and are no help in rehydration terms.

Have a word with other parents, they might feel the same, and it would probably generate the same 'profit' for the club funds.