Snack time!

You know how sometimes you read figures and they just seem like they were made to impress you, but couldn’t possibly be real? How about these… in the US alone, $68.1 billion dollars was spent on snack food in 2008, attributing to the fact that over 40% of the calories children consume come from foods with poor nutritional value. I know that we live in an age where many meals are consumed in the car, and when you consider MacDonald’s as a proud Olympic food sponsor, I guess it all makes sense… but really, has it all come down to 100 calorie Oreo packs and fruit by the foot?

I am nostalgic by nature, and I can’t help but think of my childhood, when the sandwich bag had barely been invented (forget the Ziploc, that came much later!) Juice boxes didn’t exist either, and fruit leather was something you only got if your parents were true hippies and they made it themselves, serving it in your lunch bag with your hummus sandwich. Snacks were something we ate on weekends instead of lunch, or at the movies. Once in a while you might have grabbed a cookie or an apple after school with Mom’s permission, but it was always accompanied by the caveat: “Don’t let it spoil your dinner!” How times have changed!

Now there are a plethora of snacks available – even fast food chains have snack items, like the MacDonald’s snack wrap. Adults eat them too, but for kids, snacks are something that help get them from one busy activity to another. Snacks have become part of many activities, an expectation as one more thing to do. Often parents are asked to bring snacks for events. Not just any snack will do, though, as today we must consider food allergies. For example, the facility where our Guide unit operates is one of many that is nut-free. So much for making banana nut bread!

Don’t get me wrong – I don’t think all snacks are bad. But if 42% of the American population is eating more than 3 snacks per day (and I imagine we are not too far behind) doesn’t that seem like too many little bites? In one of the articles I read they called it “extracurricular eating”. It sounded ominous.

We have to be careful the snacks don’t become the meals. When I was a kid my Dad made me eat breakfast, and I thank him for it now, almost every morning. But when Martin spoke at a school on the Westside this week, he asked the kids what they had for breakfast and the responses ranged from “I never eat breakfast” to “Fruit Loops” to “waffles” (the toaster kind). Why do I feel like we are not making progress in having our young people eat well and prepare their brains and bodies for success?

Be strong against the snack machines! Remind your kids that gas stations are there to sell gas, not chips. If they are going to need snacks after soccer or swimming, maybe you can engage their help to prepare things they like and they know are healthy. And, hey, why not go for broke? It’s still January – we could make one more resolution… how about we sit down for dinner as a family one night this week, instead of eating in the car?

Bon Appetit!

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.