5 kids’ snacks to keep out of the lunchbox

It can get tricky trying to prep a school day’s worth of snacks for kids.

You want healthy foods that they’re still going to eat, and some creative marketing makes it harder to tell if you’re making good choices.

Registered dietitian Cara Rosenbloom tells Global News many foods enjoy a “health halo,” where consumers will overestimate the product’s overall nutritional value based on the labeling or advertising. However, “they don’t provide the right fuel to get through a busy school day.”

We asked Rosenbloom to name some of the standout examples. Here’s what she had to say:

 Bear Paws

These popular Canadian snacks come in more than dozen different varieties and flavours including banana bread, Home Style Oatmeal and Morning Cereal.

However, Rosenbloom says those wholesome-sounding names tend to fool parents.

“I think the issue is the way they’re marketed: a lot of parents think they’re healthier alternative to cookies when in fact they are cookies. They’re no different.

READ MORE: 5 ‘healthy’ foods that aren’t as healthy as you thought

“A little package of Bear Paws… that’s the exact same amount of calories and sugar as three Oreo cookies. They’re essentially cookies with a little bit of a health halo around them. Some of the brands might have oats, or whole grains or no artificial flavours, but that doesn’t make them lower in sugar or lower in calories, or any better than other cookies.”

 Nutri-Grain bars

Rosenbloom says these are a “perfect example of a health halo” since the brand-name itself conjures up notions of nutrition that aren’t really there.

“It’s a lot of smoke and mirrors around making it appear healthier with using words like ‘Nutri’ and ‘Grain,’ so it sounds really home-style and healthy, when in fact it has double the sugar of the average granola bar.”

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“They talk about the whole grains and the fruit, but if you look closely, it’s jam. It’s a lot of sugar and there’s also refined grains with the whole grain, so again it’s the health halo.”

Juice boxes

 Parents think because juice comes from fruit, it sounds healthy. But when you compare the sugar content of juice and soda, they are the same,” Rosenbloom says.

“It provides sugar, but little else.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean you should avoid juice altogether though. Rosenbloom says serving size control is the key when it comes to juice boxes.

“If you are going to give juice, it’s all about the portion size. I would use 125 ml, the small, small juice boxes or use your own container to pour juice, in, and no more than half a cup of juice is a good serving size.”

Veggie Straws

Sold in bags covered with pictures of real vegetables, these snacks certainly look like a healthy bet.

However, they actually contain sodium and fat levels similar to standard potato chips.

Rosenbloom says these are essentially chips with a bit of vegetable powder on top.

“Some parents will actually use them as a serving of vegetables. Do not count that,” she warns.

WATCH ABOVE: Cara Rosenbloom on how to spice up school lunches

Yogurt-covered anything

This covers a wide range of snacks, including granola bars, fruits and even Bear Paws, but Rosenbloom warns that covering junk foods in yogurt doesn’t magically make them healthy.

The problem is that the “yogurt” is often yogurt powder mixed with sugar and other ingredients that dilute any nutritional value.

“There’s yogurt-covered everything, because people think of yogurt as healthy, but if that yogurt has a ton of sugar in it, or if that yogurt is yogurt powder mixed with sugar and palm kernel oil and used to coat something that’s also not healthy, that yogurt doesn’t suddenly make it a health food,” she explains.

So what are some safe bets?

As you might expect, home-made foods are generally the healthiest option. Rosenbloom suggests whole-grain muffins or trail mix with seeds, dried fruit, toasted-oat cereals and even some chocolate chips if you want a treat.

READ MORE: Why not all diet foods are diet friendly

The added benefit of home-made snacks is that they won’t just languish forever in a lunchbox.

“Kids are more likely to eat a snack that they had a hand in preparing because they’ve chose exactly the ingredients that they like, and it also helps you keep it nut-free.”

If you’re pushed for time, there are still good store-bought options. Rosenbloom suggests cups of yogurt or cottage cheese, portion packs of hummous and even cheesestrings, since they’re also fun to eat.

And of course, this shouldn’t mean your kids lead a bland and sugar-free existence.

“It’s totally fine to give children treats,” Rosenbloom says. “But when you’re trying to fuel them through a busy school day they need the right kind of energy from food for both physical activity and mental activity. Giving them treats and snacks that are sugar with no other nutritional value won’t fuel their bodies and it won’t fuel their brains in a way that’ll help them excel.”