Do healthy sweets for children exist? Here are suggestions of healthy children’s sweet snacks
Healthy sweets for children are those that do not contain excess sugar, do not contain some artificial sweeteners and other substances that are food additives, but may be harmful to health. The healthiest sweets are those prepared at home from natural ingredients. They are sweet, but at the same time provide many valuable nutrients
Healthy sweets for children is every parent’s dream. Although the shelves in stores are full of sweets, hardly any product can be considered healthy. The second thing is the amount – a small portion of sweets given once in a while to a healthy child will not hurt. On the other hand, often and in large portions, sweets, even those considered healthier, will not contribute to the child’s health.
Healthy sweets for children – how to choose?
Excess sugar in the diet is just one, albeit a serious problem. Consumed in excess, it promotes overweight, can adversely affect the intestinal bacterial flora and contribute to tooth decay. However, sweets, especially those ready-made, available in stores, can contain many other ingredients unfavorable to health. In addition, a product labeled "sugar-free" does not have to be healthier than the one in which sugar is found.
Therefore, when buying something sweet for a child, you need to read product labels and put only those that do not contain:
- hydrogenated fat,
- aspartame,
- saccharins,
- sodium benzoate,
- sulfur dioxide,
- arabic gum,
- phosphoric acid,
- food colors marked from E100 to E199,
- artificial flavors,
- carrageenan.
Healthy sweets for children from the store .Is it possible?
Theoretically yes, but in principle it is better to recognize that all sweets are not healthy, especially when eaten often and/or in excess . Even sweets with reduced sugar content and no harmful substances in the composition, although eaten occasionally will not hurt, if eaten too often, they can have an adverse effect on the health and weight of the child.
What is the healthiest of sweets for children
Healthy sweets are those that, apart from sugar or its healthy substitute, also contain other nutrients . The healthiest among sweets can be considered:
- dark chocolate – contains relatively little sugar, but provides microelements, vitamins and substances beneficial to health, e.g. flavonoids
- ice cream with a short, natural composition – contain calcium, vitamin D, phosphorus, potassium
and protein.
- sponge cake – does not contain a lot of fat, contains eggs, in addition to carbohydrates also provides
protein
- homemade cold cheesecake – contains, m.in. protein and calcium and not too much sugar
- Homemade pudding – preferably from milk, wheat and potato flour with a small amount of sugar, but e.g. with the addition of cocoa
- oatmeal cookies with dried fruit – provide protein, healthy fats, vitamins and valuable microelements, as well as fiber
- jelly with fruit and without artificial colors (in 100 g 60 kcal, not counting fruit).
What instead of sweets for children?
Sweets such as buying bars and candies are best replaced with homemade sweets. When preparing them, you can control the amount of sugar used in their preparation or replace it with a substitute, e.g. xylitol, which is less caloric and does not spoil your teeth.
Fruit or fruit mousses are also a good substitute, but it should be remembered that there should be no excess fruit in the diet , because they are a rich source of carbohydrates. The least healthy are juices and mousses, which are deprived of most of the fiber. And it is fiber that slows down the absorption and increase in blood sugar levels. For this reason, it is healthiest to eat fruit with the peel. You can smuggle it to your child by preparing a homemade fruit and vegetable smoothie for him, mixing e.g. apple pieces with peel and carrot pieces. It should also be remembered that fresh fruit is much less caloric than dried fruit, e.g. dried fruits.
Fruit yoghurts are also a good idea, preferably prepared from natural yogurt with pieces of fruit or fruit mousse (mixed strawberries, raspberries, crushed banana, etc.).
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