It is your turn to bring in the snacks for the your child’s sport team. You want to be the fun mom and bring treats that the kids will love. But that doesn’t mean it has to be high sugar drinks and sweet treats for the little athletes to love it.

Talk with the other parents. Chances are they are looking for better options as well. Healthy moms and dads have got to band together.

Here are some tasty and healthy snacks.

• fruit: frozen kebobs are a tasty treat
• frozen fruit juice bars made from real fruit
• popcorn, non buttered served in individual happy face bags (you remember, paper bag with the face drawn on it!)
• beef jerky
• low fat muffins
• granola bars (look for the ones higher in fiber)
• nuts
• trail mix with unsweetened fruits (no candy)
• pretzels
• corn nuts

As for drinks. Water is the best drink you can give those little athletes. Keep em active and healthy with treats that pack the punch in nutrition!

Halloween is sugartime. Is there any hopes in controlling the amount of sugar that our kids eat during this time. It’s hard but here is some suggestions I found in this article.

I hope some of these help:

• Decide with children, before Halloween, on what is a reasonable amount of candy to eat that night, and beyond. Will the candy be packaged in small bags to make the holiday last longer, rationed to a piece or two a day, donated or thrown away?

• Feed children dinner before trick or treating so they will not be ravenous and want to fill up on candy while going from house to house.
• Go out early, when candy-givers are less likely to encourage children to grab a handful of candy so they don’t end up stuck with it.
• Do not ban candy or ditch it when the kids aren’t looking; it may just make them want it more.
• Parents should be good role models by not eating all the candy themselves.
• Let children enjoy some sweets on the holiday while focusing on good nutrition the rest of the year.
• Offer candy alternatives alone, or alongside candy, to give trick or treaters a choice.
• Take some emphasis off candy by focusing on the fun of the holiday, like checking out the costumes and decorated houses.
• Walk, don’t drive, if possible, to get some physical activity in while candy collecting.
• Suggest kids wait to eat candy until they get home, where parents can inspect the wrappers to ensure they’re tightly sealed. Parents should consider throwing out everything else.

One survey done over the internet found that some teachers are using chocolate as a reward for good behavior.
This article ties in with our monthly newsletter topic discussing Schools Wellness Policy. Children spend almost one third of their day in school. They eat one or two (if you include breakfast) of their main meals and usually a snack during this time period. What are they learning in school about nutrition and food.

Well according to this article, kids are learning that if they do good, they get chocolate! Yup, that’s what I said! Teachers are rewarding the kids with chocolate. I am not saying that chocolate is bad, it is a good once in a while treat. But associating it with good grades or following directions in school seems like a pretty strong message about the importance of chocolate.

What is so surprising is that with all the bans on junk food in school and the global concern about childhood obesity, you would think a teacher would know better. What do you think, is it okay to reward kids with chocolate or other high sugar foods?