This weekend is Easter weekend. We are having a big Easter party with all of Ted and Isla’s friends and family. As always Jen loves to put on an enormous spread for everyone to enjoy. But also as always, she also likes to provide healthy, nutritional food and to know exactly what is in the food that she is providing for the people she loves.
We are catering for children of ages from birth to teenage and so we will be buying a variety of baby and toddler finger foods as well as snacks for the older children.
As a vegan Jen has always had to check labels very carefully to inspect the ingredients lists. She scans food labels incessantly as part of her everyday life. It’s amazing what you can find hidden in some foods and snacks and I’m always surprised by some of the foods that contain ingredients that you would never expect to be used.
When it comes to Teddy’s diet we are always super aware of what foods we are giving him as a healthy, nutritional, balanced diet is very important to us.
We always choose our children’s food very carefully and when we are providing food for other people’s children we like to take the same care. That is why we have teamed up with Organix and joined them on their nationwide junk busting campaign to investigate what’s hiding in some baby and toddler snack foods.
We went to 3 local supermarkets and well-known high street stores to take a closer look at what is really in the baby and toddler snacks on offer. The amount of choice out there can be overwhelming and packing is covered with no end of brand claims trying to persuade you that their product is a great choice for your child.
But is it really?
With words such as ‘natural,’ ‘gluten-free,’ ‘added vitamins’ and ‘nutritionist-approved’ we can be led to believe that these products must be healthy choices for our children. But closer investigation can show that this may not always be the full story.
When we looked past the claims and front packaging and looked closely at the back of the packets and the ingredient lists, we found baby and toddler snacks that had sugar listed as their second ingredient.
Second!
We also found baby and toddler snacks that had lists of ingredients containing products that we had never heard of, and ingredient lists so long that it was almost impossible to decipher the nutritional value of the product.
Some products that appeared to be great nutritional choices on their first appearance quickly became products that we would never choose for our children due to the ingredients that are hidden inside. We were initially shocked by the levels of sugar in some of the products but quickly realised we also needed to be checking for salt content.
From our experience, it is clear that food brands need to be more transparent and honest about what is in their foods. We would like to see reduced levels of salt, fat and sugar in foods that are specifically targeted at toddlers and babies. Checking the labels carefully is one way that we as parents can be sure that we are making informed choices for our children. If you would like to take a closer look at the baby and toddler finger foods and snacks available then Organix has developed some helpful tips on misleading claims.
When looking at the labels of the products, Organix suggest looking out for these 4 things:
- Really long ingredient lists: go for fewer ingredients.
- Added ingredients: there’s no need for anything unnecessary, so avoid foods with added salt, sugar or flavourings.
- Unrecognisable ingredients: go for simple ingredients – look at the back of the packet and choose something with simple ingredients – things that you recognise.
- The organic logo: If you see an organic logo on the pack you can feel sure what you buy has been made to the highest standards.
We are proud to be working with Organix and their No Junk Promise. Our party table will be filled with tasty and delicious Organix treats that we know are organic and made to the highest of standards, without adding anything unnecessary.
We will be sharing photos of our day using the hashtag #FoodYouCanTrust and we would love you to share investigations of your own using the hashtag.
*This is a sponsored post but as always, opinions & thoughts are entirely autentic.
