Today many convenient snacks are marketed as healthy kids’ snacks when in fact they are filled with preservatives, and tons of sugar and empty calories. Busy kids need energizing snacks filled with nutritional ingredients. Yet the following so-called “healthy snacks” that are popular amongst even the most picky kids, aren’t really that nutritious at all:

1. Lunch combo packs
These are not called combo packs because they are packed with nutrients! Most combo packs are not in combination with any fruits or vegetables. These feature a multitude of different preservatives and extremely high sodium content. The amount of sodium used to preserve the meat products outweighs the approximate seven grams of protein they contain. Many varieties also contain half of the recommended daily value of saturated fat.

2. Veggie chips
Veggie chips contain nearly the same amount of calories and fat as regular potato chips. These chips are not equivalent to eating a handful of fresh veggies. Once the vegetables have been processed into chip form, many of the vitamins and nutritional benefits have been lost in the process. This means much higher calories and minimal nutritional value.

3. Yogurt tubes
Yogurt in general is known for being a good source of both protein and calcium. However, not all yogurts are created equal. A trendy way for kids to eat their yogurt is out of a squeeze tube usually featuring some of their favorite cartoon characters on the packaging. Tubed yogurt contains a high amount of sugar and high fructose corn syrup. Once these ingredients have been added to the 1% milk, it essentially becomes equivalent to a tube of candy.

4. Juice boxes
Many juice box options come with artificial colors and flavors and some don’t actually contain any fruit at all. Artificial fruit flavors do not provide any nutritional value. Juice boxes are a major source of hidden calories due to high sugar content. The sugar in many of these options are added with ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup and not natural sugar derived from fruit.

5. Energy bars
Not all energy, protein, or granola bars are created equal. The added protein in many of the energy bars is not something that a child would require. In addition, many bars contained added carbohydrates that are utilized to build endurance in adult athletes. These ingredients and additives lead to an excess of added sugar and unhealthy fat. The nutritional value becomes equivalent to a regular candy bar.

6. Sweetened apple sauce
Apples in general are high in sugar that occurs naturally in the fruit. Sweetened varieties of apple sauce that contain added sugars usually utilize high fructose syrups as well as corn syrup. Once this is added more than half of the sugar found in the product is from artificial sources. This addition can equate to 15 grams of sugar and 60 additional calories. The processing of the apples also decreases the amount of fiber and strips the apple of natural vitamin C.