7 Deceptive Foods NOT to Put in your Child's Lunchbox (plus 7 better alternatives)

ExerciseTV

by Laurel House

Help you children's health by packing nutritious lunches.
Help you children's health by packing nutritious lunches.


No one wants their child to be "the fat kid" at school. But what if you're unknowingly setting your son or daughter up to be just that? When it comes to weight loss, gain, and maintenance, exercise is undoubtedly important. But so is diet- the food you choose to fill your child's lunch box with, send them off to school, and hope it's what they need to fuel their day. Problem is: many of the "nutritious" choices that you're patting yourself on the back for filling those lunchboxes with, actually aren't. If you want your child to truly eat healthy, and like it, at school. Substitute this deceiving food/drink with that... (this list might surprise you):

Learn more about Taking Responsibility with Jillian Michaels on ExerciseTV:

Pack their lunches with beverages that are low in sugar.
Pack their lunches with beverages that are low in sugar.


Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad: Fruit Drinks
Better: Juicy Juice Sparkling Fruit Juices
Why: Fruit "drinks" and even many "juices" are actually sugar water flavored with a small percentage of fruit juice (some as low as 3%). Juicy Juice is juice and water.

Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad: Sports Drinks
Better: Nesquik Low-Fat Chocolate Milk
Why: Sports drinks can be just as bad, nutrient-less, and caloric as sodas. Low-fat chocolate milk is filled with calcium & protein- the perfect after exercise combo for energy and muscle recovery.

Try Health Valley fruit tarts instead of PopTarts.
Try Health Valley fruit tarts instead of PopTarts.




Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad:

Pop Tarts
Better: Health Valley Organic Strawberry Toaster Tarts
Why: With less than 6% fruit, Pop Tarts are hardly healthy. Toaster Tarts actually has fruit in it- lots of it.

Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad: Jif Natural Peanut Butter Spread
Better: Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter
Why: Ingredients in Jif- Peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt molasses- that's the ingredient list for Jif Natural Peanut Butter Spread. Peanuts and Salt- that's what's in Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter. You do the math.

Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad: Fruit Roll Up
Better: Pure Organic Apple Cinnamon Bar
Why: The 1st ingredient in Pure is fruit, so is 2nd… Sure, a Fruit Roll Up has some fruit. Along with corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, coloring, flavoring, and lots of things I can't pronounce.

Make you child's turkey sandwich instead of giving them Lunchables.
Make you child's turkey sandwich instead of giving them Lunchables.


Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad:Turkey & Cheddar Cracker Combo Lunchables
Better: 2 slices whole wheat bread, deli sliced turkey, sliced cucumbers (lettuce doesn't hold up all day), a small SMALL amount of reduced fat mayo in a baggie. It's not that hard.
Why: With, according to Men's Health "more calories than a Whopper and more sugar than two Snickers bars," this lunchable is, um… yeah.

Seemingly Good, but REALLY Bad: Ritz Handi-Snax
Better: Kraft to-go Triscuit crackers, colby-jack cheese whole-wheat Triscuits
Why: Kraft to-go are made with whole wheat crackers and real cheese (not processed cheese product). Handi-Snax aren't.

The point? You can still pack your kid's lunch with ease, as long as you're smart about it. Be an informed consumer, not a clueless one (which sadly many of us unknowingly are).

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