Every Friday in our house we have 'eat what you like day'. My three kids are allowed to choose what they have for breakfast, what goes in their lunchboxes for school, and then it's always pizza for tea from our local take away. This is me working to the 80/20 rule!
For breakfast they always choose cereal, usually the ones sold in attractive (to kids!) colourful,little boxes and with all the goodness of cardboard (and that's doing cardboard a disservice) in them.
But, they love them because they're full of ...............you guessed it,sugar! Children just love sugar and seem to be able to sniff it our from a very long way away.
So I thought I'd have a little look at the packets of these delicious morsels my children go to school full of (one day a week I hasten to add!) and lo and behold NON NUTRIENT foods they most definitely are, and if I had my way they'd all be banned!(me = bah humbug, my husband thinks).
According to the government guidelines any cereal which has a sugar content of over 10% is classed as 'high in sugar' (check out www.foodcomm.org.uk) and guess what? Every single one of the boxes I looked at has well more than 10% sugar content.
Example :
Cocoa Pops = 39% sugar
Sugar Puffs = 49% sugar
Nestle Monsters = 35% sugar
Frosties = 40% sugar
Cheerios = 35% sugar
Golden Nuggets = 34% sugar
Yet these cereals are being advertised as the best way for our children to start the day, full of wholegrain goodness, no artificial additives etc. etc. What the manufacturers (and yes they are totally manufactured - nothing natural about these babies) are forgetting to tell us and our kids is that these products are simply simple carbohydrates = sugar.
CRAP foods - the P standing for processed and that's what these cereals are. By the time they are hitting the stomachs of our prescious little ones there is very, very, very, very little, if any, goodness in them whatsoever.Yet how many million kids start their school day full of them and are expected to concentrate and participate until lunchtime at school on this 'energy food'??
They're having a laugh, Kellogs,Nestle etc.(all the way to the bank) and so are we, as parents, if we think our children will learn to their maximum capability (don't get me wrong I am not a pushy parent but school is there for a reason) and get the most out of school on a bowl of sugary cereal with a bit of milk on top.
What these NON NUTRIENT foods will do is spike their blood sugar, for instant 'hyper' energy, and then drop it from a great height a short while later leaving them craving more/lacking decent energy and brain power to learn.
The cereal I found to be the least sugary is Whole Earths Honey Oaty Pillows with (just) 21% sugar, but you've guessed it - my kids don't like it. It's not sweet enough!!
Good God, what the hell (excuse my language but I'm in a rage about this stuff) is wrong with wholemeal toast, eggs, porridge -sweetened with sugar, if you must but just a little, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms, home made muesli etc. etc.
Think about it for your kids sake. Limit them to one day a week. And if it's you that's eating this rubbish, shame on you.
TODAY'S TIP : Stay conscious over food choices. You are what you eat. You are what you digest.
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3 comments:
OK I'll give you this one, not sure that sausages per se are that good for you though...but we all like some sausage. I prefer honey with my porridge.
Organic sausages with very high meat content and no added wheat in the form of 'rusk' are the best.Check out your local farm shops. Honey fine in small quantities especially Manuka for its antibacterial properties etc. Glad you agree on the cereal thing - really, really annoys me this one! (in case you didn't notice)
I accept the situation with the sausages but I still prefer to be able to identify positively the things I eat. Sausages make me very suspicious, even ones that are described as "outdoor reared" (which makes me laugh at the thought of a field of grazing sausages) or high meat content. I'm still not convinced, may as well have bacon, it cooks quicker too.
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