Does that surprise you? It confuses the heck out of my kids. They love taking fruit leather to school because it’s tasty and they can eat it fast in the short amount of time they have for lunch. When they see “fruit snacks” on our way to check out at Costco, they don’t understand why it’s not good for them. It says “fruit” right on the front!
Once or twice I’ve pulled down a box and let my son read the ingredients. Each time, we’ve found things like artificial food dyes and high fructose corn syrup, and a high sugar content.
My five year old doesn’t get it. A fruit snack around our house is a banana, raisins with almonds, or maybe an apple with almond butter. These gummies look like candy (and have the sugar content of a treat), not a “fruit snack”.
As a parent, it’s challenging to explain marketing efforts to kids – and I’m a marketer! When candy is called cereal or fruit snacks, or when juice is full of sugar, when wheat bread includes high fructose corn syrup, or popcorn is colored with food dyes. These are all foods that can be healthy, but sometimes aren’t.
What can we do? Eat real food, and read labels. Here’s a few tips to help out:
- Check on the ingredients – look for added preservatives, artificial flavors and coloring
- Watch the amount of sodium and sugars – and keep in mind that the Recommended Daily Value is for adults. Children’s requirements are much lower.
- Be on the lookout for health claims – they often distract you from health risks! In fact, Michael Pollan suggests we stay away from any food with a health claim.
- Fat free is misleading – licorice is fat free but it’s not part of a healthy breakfast. Fat free foods can often have a high sugar content. Remember: something has to make it taste good.
- Go natural! Look for Annie’s Organic Bunny Gummies, or Fruitabu for gummy treats without the artifical ingredients.
If you’re going to buy the fruit snacks, let’s just make sure our kids know what it really is: a treat. Certainly not a serving of fruit.
Let's call a treat, a treat.
17 Comments
Great post! I have recently changed the presence of fruit snacks in our pantry an only buy the Annie’s Organic Bunnies, and only for a treat. I have been trying to find fruit leather for them but am not having too much luck. What does it look like? I tried giving my oldest some dried fruit in her lunch but other than the raisins she won’t eat it.
Thx for this post. My family doesn’t usually shop at a large chain grocery, but a local store. The other week I took my 3.5 year old into a regular old albertsons to pick up a missing ingredient for dinner. My picky eater started by picking up coco puffs, asked for the nesquick advertised by a bunny on the cart at checkout and found Buzz Lightyear mac and cheese (also something he’s never had due to a dairy allergy) and wanted it – it was across the aisle from the coconut milk. I was aghast at how well the marketing worked and how everything was placed at his level. We will be sticking to Trader Joe’s or our local store in order to avoid this. But it was a real eye opener!
Rebecca – My kids like the Fruitabu brand leathers and the ones at Trader Joe’s. I still don’t count them as a serving of fruit, but they don’t have artificial ingredients like many others.
Christine – The marketing efforts are amazing aren’t they? It’s what happens when the industry voluntarily monitors themselves. And they say it’s an improvement over the last decade.
I’ve been sticking to the Annie’s treats also, but I only buy it about once a month or so. With 4 kids, a box only lasts one day! I usually stick a piece of fruit in my kids’ lunchboxes, but sometimes they crave a fruit roll up or other “junk”…. although I haven’t bought any yet… I have been considering the Simply Fruit version of the fruit roll up or the Target brand organic fruit strip… just as a treat, certainly not to replace fruit in the lunch box. I don’t know though..
Great post, Gina. Yes, those foods are definitely a treat. And with all of that packaging, we should avoid them most of the time, if possible…
Great post Gina! I often have to explain this kind of thing to my kids while we are grocery shopping. It is so important to educate them by reading labels together instead of just saying “they’re not good for you.” Education sets them up to make healthier choices as they get older.
Very true! I’m a big fan of Stretch Island fruit leather for kids, but they also make a healthier equivalent of Fruit by the Foot for those kids who want what they’ve seen on TV or in other kids lunch boxes. Here are a few fruit snack brands I love:
http://eating-made-easy.com/2010/10/21/the-healthiest-fruit-snacks-for-kids/
Oh, but they’re fat free! HA.
THANK YOU for saying this! I have always cringed when parents hand their kids those little baggies as their ‘fruit’ for the day…
I like making homemade fruit leather in my dehydrator to satisfy those cravings. Taste better, and actually ARE real fruit!
Great post!
You’re very welcome, Jill! Thank you for sharing here! I’ve not tried to make fruit leather at home but have been wanting too. We get them at such a good price at Trader Joe’s & they’re not full of junk so I’m happy with what we have. And the kids know that it’s not a serving of fruit.
Although I am not a mom, I am committed to healthier eating and weight loss. Since joining Weight Watchers over a month ago, I’ve become a tad nuts with reading labels. I am often astounded by how much garbage really is in our food. As such, I limit my junk intake as much as possible (I’m human, I need a cookie or processed goodie once in awhile).
Fruit (the real stuff) is a mandatory staple in my household along with reduced fat cheeses, low-fat cottage cheese, whole grains, brown rice, and other items. In the 10 weeks I’ve been on my weight loss journey I feel so much better even though I still have a long way to go.
Thanks for sharing this post!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and approach to healthy snacks, Kim! And good for you on making some positive changes. Real fruit is the very best way to enjoy fruit. It sounds like you’re realized that!
I have been eating “fruit snacks” my entire life. I am perfectly healthy. I also feed them to my perfectly healthy children. They are called fruit snack’s because they are fruit flavored and are snack’s. You act like they are called “fruit”, which they are not. Maybe let your kid’s try them and you will find out that they are not so bad. Not to mention they put like 5 of them in each package. The problem isn’t the snack at all, and it urk’s me that you try to paint them in such a negative light while advertising for I’m guessing one of your blog’s sponser’s. The problem with any food is moderation. Maybe you should tackle that topic. Dad of 3 Jeff La Mora
Hi Jeff. My kids have fruit snacks too! As I mentioned earlier, we buy Annie’s Fruit Snacks because they use real fruit to flavor their fruit snacks and don’t use any artificial ingredients or food dyes.
I never claim that they are called “fruit”, but rather my concern is that parents use them as a serving of fruit for young children and they are not. They are a snack, just like you stated. In my home, they’re a treat because real fruit like an apple dipped in peanut butter in a snack.
I also want to clarify that my blog has no sponsors and I’ve never worked with any provider or manufacturer of fruit snacks. Everything on my blog is my own opinion. Perhaps our perspectives and opinions aren’t aligned, and if so, there’s probably a better community for you.
You never once stated your concern about them being used as a serving of fruit, you talk mainly about how bad all their ingredients are. My children love all different types of snacks fruit, carrots, celery, and also fruit snacks. My 3 girls love eating their vegetables for example tonight we had brussel sprouts and corn on the cob with dinner. They also love fruit snacks like fruit rollups and similar other products. Again I think instead of making them out to be so bad, maybe you should teach portion control. I was brought to your sight by a person’s recomondation on facebook, but your right it is probably not for me seeing how upset a post disagreeing with your views makes you. I think you should tread more carefully before you condemn something when so many people will follow what you say. So many children are going to miss out on something that I think is a fun part about being a kid. Enjoying real fruit snacks, all because you condemned them. There not so bad as long as in moderation. Jeff La Mora
With all due respect, Jeff, speaking as a newbie to this blog I feel Gina handled this matter respectfully and with professionalism. It appears you are becoming far more defensive and upset than she is. I say agree to disagree.
Could she have been more specific as to what “fruit snacks” really are? Perhaps. But I strongly believe a smart reader can discern precisely what she meant from the statement. I did. I believe Gina’s description of fruit snacks was meant to point out the fact we call them as such when in fact it is nothing more than artificially flavored gummies meant to resemble fruit.
Gina: My apologies if I am overstepping my bounds here. I just felt compelled to step in and give my two cents. Feel free to delete this if you don’t wish to have it on your blog. I’d completely understand.
Thanks Kim. Your message is fine, and I truly hope that this topic doesn’t cause tension in this great community that I love so much.