SNACKS THE SNACK ATTACK During recess after a long day at school before or after playing sports waiting for dinner just before bed who doesn’t enjoy a good snack Monks in the Middle Ages gave their students pretzels as snacks Today it sometimes seems like snacking is taking over our lives Not so long ago we used to eat three regular meals a day and we snacked only between meals Today we are more likely to snack around our schedules instead of scheduling our activities around meals So if we’re going to snack how can we make sure that our snacks The word snack was first used in the 1800s to mean a bite or morsel of food Food for Thought are healthy It's fun to cook with friends but be sure to wear an apron if you are wearing clothes that shouldn't get messy 4
Junk Food SnackS Walk into any supermarket and you will see aisles upon aisles of snacks But a lot of these foods are unhealthy It is called junk food because it is full of junk from an overload of calories fat sugar and salt When you eat junk food your blood sugar levels quickly spike and then crash which makes you want to eat even more This cycle can lead to weight gain and other health problems The solution Stay away from prepackaged foods and processed foods as much as possible Food that is prepackaged has been packaged before being sold which is the case for most junk food Food that is processed has gone through many complicated steps before it is ready to be sold If you look in the fruit and veggie aisle of the supermarket almost none of the food is in any kind of packaging That usually means the food is healthy and a good choice for snacks You can use the snack ideas in this book in two ways You can try all the recipes as they are written or invent new snacks based on them You may want to do both Food for Thought Over 300 chemicals are used in processed foods Read the ingredients list on your snacks to make sure they are healthy chemically engineered SnackS Companies use food additives in their products to make them last longer look better and even taste better However many additives are artificial chemicals that are very unhealthy Try to avoid snacks that have lots of chemicals listed in the ingredients list Here are some common food additives that you should try to avoid Artificial sweeteners such as aspartame High-fructose corn syrup Monosodium glutamate Trans fat Food dyes A simple burger can be a healthy choice especially if you have an apple instead of fries with it 5
SNACK SMARTER You have probably heard that you need to eat a balanced diet to stay healthy and grow big and strong But what does a balanced diet really mean Food is your body’s fuel The type of fuel you take in will affect how much energy you have your health and your mood To keep your body well-fueled you need to eat a wide variety of foods so you get enough protein essential fats vitamins and minerals You can do this by eating fruit and vegetables grain products milk and alternatives and meat and alternatives every day Snacks are one way to help you do this Eating a balanced diet is the key to staying healthy both mentally and physically Food for Thought Most people should eat two to three snacks a day along with three healthy meals Sugar It’s almost impossible to avoid eating sugar It’s in everything we eat from bread to peanut butter to pasta sauce But most people eat much more sugar than they should In fact by the time the average child in a developed country turns 8 years old they’ve had more sugar in their lives than the average person did in their entire lifetime just 100 years ago A little bit of sugar is okay especially if it comes from fruit But many processed snacks contain a lot of sugar Make sure to read the labels on your snacks and watch out for all kinds of sugar such as glucose dextrose fructose and galactose No matter what it’s called it’s still sugar and it’s affecting everyone’s health Soft drinks can have 8 teaspoons 40 g of added sugar per can more than kids should have for an entire day 6
TypeS oF SnackS You can choose from many different types of snacks Savory snacks are usually described as foods that aren’t sweet such as meat vegetables and cheese Sweet snacks have the flavor or taste of sugar such as fruit and peanut butter or other nut butters You can also choose portable snacks which means you can easily pack them up and take them with you on the go such as an apple or a small container of carrots or grapes The type of snack you choose sometimes depends on the time of day For example if you feel a bit hungry in the afternoon you might want to choose a snack that will help you stay full until dinnertime such as celery and peanut butter yogurt and granola or hummus and veggies If you want a small snack a handful of grapes or a rice cake might do the trick If you just played a game of soccer and dinner isn’t for ages you might want something more substantial and filling such as a sandwich a scrambled egg and toast or leftovers from dinner the night before nuT allergieS Many people are allergic to tree nuts and peanuts You probably know someone who’s allergic to one or more tree nuts or peanuts or even both Allergic reactions to nuts include swelling of the face lips and eyes breaking out in hives or welts tingling in the mouth stomach pain vomiting and difficulty breathing People with an allergy to nuts shouldn’t eat them or touch them or eat anything made with them If you have a nut allergy you can use sunflower or pumpkin seeds instead of nuts You can use sunflower or soy nut butter instead of peanut butter If you have allergies ask an adult to help you modify a recipe to make sure it is safe for you The imporTance oF hydraTion You cannot survive if you don’t stay hydrated Your body uses water to keep a steady temperature get rid of waste and grease your joints so you can move easily Water is the best way to keep you hydrated so make sure to drink water instead of fruit juices soda pop or other drinks Many foods contain water too Whole fruits and vegetables make up 80 to 95 percent of the water we ingest The other 5 to 20 percent is carbohydrates fiber and nutrients Food for Thought Kids need 6 to 8 glasses of water a day Do you get enough 7
