Encourage children to give healthy snacks a try

Two simple words -- "snack time" -- can strike terror into the hearts of parents who now often provide food for classrooms and after-school practices and games.

The homemade cupcakes that once were as standard as stay-at-home moms are no longer an option in many school districts. Concerns about food safety have banned most home-cooked food since family kitchens rarely meet the Food and Drug Administration's standards for food preparation.

Food allergies add more complications. An estimated 2.2 million U.S. schoolchildren are allergic to foods, ranging from peanuts to milk and soy, according to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. For this reason, a growing number of schools require the ingredients of all food served in classrooms or in after-school programs to be labeled.

And in this era of childhood obesity, there is the added challenge of serving healthy snacks that are low in calories -- but still tempting enough that kids will eat them.

Daunting? You bet. To see whether it's possible to find healthful store-bought snacks on supermarket shelves that kids will eat, I recruited 29 third- and fourth-graders from H.D. Cooke Elementary School in Washington, D.C., as snack taste-testers.

It was easy to find plenty of snacks. In 2006, Americans spent $25.6 billion on potato chips, pretzels, peanuts, beef jerky and other snacks, according to the Snack Food Association, an industry trade group.

Trouble is that many of the most popular snacks can be high in fat, added sugar and sodium, and low in nutritional value.

With an eye toward controlling calories, the taste test included 16 snacks that had about 100 calories per serving -- an amount that nutrition experts say is appropriate for a child. Each snack also was low in added sugar, had little or no unhealthy trans fat or saturated fat, and contained at least one nutritional attribute: fruit, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, calcium or protein.

Convenience also factored into the equation, as did cost. So most products came in single-serving sizes and cost anywhere from a few cents to $1.29 per serving.

All the children were eager to taste the snacks despite how unfamiliar some seemed. This didn't surprise Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group in the District of Columbia.

"Adults underestimate kids and their willingness to eat healthy foods," says Wootan, who recalls how her daughter's kindergarten teacher asked her to refrain from bringing fruit or vegetables as snacks. "Some kids just won't eat them," the teacher told Wootan.

The teacher's request was ignored by Wootan. The kids not only liked the pineapple and other healthful treats, but some parents thanked her for introducing their children to foods they had been reluctant to try at home.

"It you take an extra step to make it seem special or fun, kids are very receptive to new foods," says Marlene Schwartz, director of research and school programs at Yale University's Rudd Center and co-author of several recent food studies in Connecticut middle schools.

Here are some of the key results of the Lean Plate Club snack taste test, where children rated snacks as 1 (great) to 5 (yuck). Between snacks, tasters sipped water to cleanse their palates. (See the full results in an interactive chart at www.leanplateclub.com, along with some video clips of testers.)

Winners: Snyder's 100 Calorie Pretzel Snaps and Nature Valley Oats 'N Honey Crunchy Granola Bars tied for first place as the best of the snacks tested. The granola bars clock in at 90 calories each, but come two to a packet, so be sure to split them.

Second place: Quaker Mini Delights 90 Calorie Pack. These multigrain snacks had a chocolate drizzle that proved popular with testers, but also packed 3.5 grams of saturated fat per serving. So it would be best to alternate them with healthier options.

Also earning high marks: Del Monte Mandarin Oranges and Trader Joe's Low Sodium Gourmet White Popcorn.

Other favorites included Chips Ahoy 100 Calorie Chewy Granola Bars, Sun Chips 100 Calorie Cinnamon Flavored Mini Bites, Jell-O Fat-Free Chocolate Vanilla Pudding, Yoplait Banana and Strawberry Yogurt Drink, Wheat Thins 100 Calorie Toasted Chips Minis, Mott's Organics Apple Sauce, Del Monte Tropical Fruit Cups and Earthbound Farm Organic Carrot Dippers With Ranch Dip.

Least favorites: Sargento Chipotle Cheddar Sticks (too spicy), Trader Joe's Granny Smith Dried Apple Rings (unfamiliar texture) and Tribe Hummus and Crackers With Sweet Roasted Red Peppers (kids didn't like the red pepper). While the majority of testers didn't like these offerings, a few said they'd eat them at home.

So the take-away message is: Encourage kids to try things. You never know what they'll like.

Join Sally Squires online from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays at www.leanplateclub.com, where you also can subscribe to the free, weekly Lean Plate Club e-mail newsletter.