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You are here: Home / FOOD / Snacks = Life and other things we learned at Organix HQ #FoodYouCanTrust

Snacks = Life and other things we learned at Organix HQ #FoodYouCanTrust

April 30, 2018 by Molly 5 Comments

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

There is no greater joy in life than a good snack, in my opinion. Life is better with snacks, whether you are three or thirty three. Fact. But I’ll be honest, in the past I’ve always seen snacks as a bit of an indulgent “naughty” thing. We’re not meant to eat between mealtimes are we? Snacks are for greedy people with zero will power. Well it turns out I was completely wrong on that point.

I took Freya and Effie along to work with me during the Easter holidays, on a girls-only trip to Bournemouth to visit the Organix HQ. We had a blast, mainly because the girls were ridiculously excited to be on a mini adventure involving a hotel (The Green House Hotel is lovely if you’re after an eco-friendly boutique hotel near the beach in Bournemouth that serves amazing food, by the way). But we also came back armed with new knowledge about snacking, the importance of snacking and the dangers of choosing the wrong snacks. And this stuff applies to grown-ups too, not just the kids.

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

While the kids played in the dedicated garden play hut with a couple of childminders (“Way more fun than you Mummy! We didn’t miss you at all!”) the mums heard from Emily Day, the Food Development Manager at Organix as well as the brand’s nutrition adviser, Dr Frankie Phillips. We learned how rather than just being an opportunity to keep hunger at bay, snacking is a great chance to give your kids (and yourself) something nutritious. In little ones this is even more important, because their tummies are too small to take in all the nutrition their bodies need in just three meals a day. Snacks = life, quite literally.

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

The thing is, it’s not always easy to decide which snacks to give your kids (and, actually, this applies to me too). I have enough trouble planning our evening meals let alone planning exciting snacks throughout the day too. This is where I need quick and easy ideas, that don’t cost a fortune, to fall back on. Dr Phillips explained that snacks shouldn’t be limited to just one food group (for example, not just fruit) but should include a range of types of food if possible. Just typing this is making me hungry, by the way.

This is where “convenience snacks” come in particularly handy. I don’t have time to chop up a selection of fruit and artfully arrange it with some cubes of cheese and crackers, carrying it all up on a platter for the school run (side note: do anyone else’s kids come out of school and pre-school absolutely starving?!). Instead, I’d much rather opt for something in a packet that I can pop in my pocket or handbag. That’s not to say I do this for every snack, but for some snack situations it’s the only way.

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

But what if what was in that packet was actually harming my kids? What if I’d picked up a selection of kids’ crisps, for example, thinking they were the “healthy option” because they had words like “nutritionist approved” and “gluten free” but they were actually packed with just as much salt in an adults’ bag of crisps? As I’ve said before, I have no problem with “honest” bad food (i.e. food not marketing itself as the healthy option) but when I’ve paid over the odds for a supposedly healthy snack that is, actually, not healthy at all, well, that makes me mad.

This is, unfortunately, what’s happened many times in the past, simply because of the way that food is regulated in the UK. This is why Organix has put together a Junk Buster panel of mums, encouraging us to really look at the ingredients in some of the foods we buy marketed towards our kids. From just a few trips to the supermarket I’ve come to see that there’s a huge level of transparency lacking in much of the packaging around these foods.

Back to snacking then, and this is where Organix comes in. None of the snacks in the Organix range have any added “nasties” in them. In fact, the ingredients lists are amazingly short (which, by the way, is what you want from any food – the fewer unrecognisable ingredients the better). All Organix foods carry a No Junk promise, which means that not only are they not full of anything that could be BAD for your kids, they’re full of stuff that is actually GOOD for them. It’s back to that idea that snacking is an opportunity to boost the nutrition and good stuff that kids get into their bodies in a day.

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

(From left to right, this is Kate from Veggie Desserts, Grace from Eats Amazing, Me (!), Mel from Le Coin de Mel and Filippa from Gourmet Mum)

The snacks pictured above are the new offerings from Organix, along with the ingredients in them. For example, the Cheesy Pea Snaps (big favourite in our house) contain 65% dried split peas, along with 17% corn, 10% sunflower oil, while the last 7% is made up of cheese powder. This is all listed clearly on the website and on the packet, showing there is absolutely nothing to hide in each cheesy pea snap!

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

(On a completely unrelated note – Freya got on SO well with Mel’s little girl Beanie, that she has not stopped talking about her since the trip!)

The other big hit in our snack armoury are the Cheese and Onion Lentil Hoops. In fact, I *may* have eaten a few of these packets myself. They’re properly nice – and with far less of the guilt that comes with a regular packet of crisps! They’ve been a great addition to the lunchboxes as well as an easy snack option for the walk home from school and pre-school. And although Freya may be nearly eight, she loves them just as much as her little sister.

©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

 

I feel like this whole food thing is a constant lesson and I’m learning new things every day. I’m determined not to get bogged down in paranoia but at the same time, what we eat is SO important – again, I’m not just talking about the kids here.

Since that trip to Bournemouth I’ve been really aware of what foods we have in our cupboards and what I don’t want to spend money on – and, surprisingly, Simon has too. As Dr Phillips says, there’s a big difference between a “snack” and a “treat”. Snacks are for two to three times a day, but treats shouldn’t really make an appearance more than two to three times a week. Banning foods completely is never a good idea, but just being aware of what we buy and eat can make a huge difference.

See more of our trip in the little vlog I made here:

***

This post is written as part of the Organix #FoodYouCanTrust campaign, in my role on the Junk Buster panel. For more information about how I work with brands check out my Work With Me page. 

 

Filed Under: FOOD Tagged With: eating, family food, healthy eating, healthy snacks, weaning

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Comments

  1. Stephanie says

    April 30, 2018 at 9:06 pm

    Its great to hear of snacks being refereed to a good thing, I don’t mind mine having snacks throughout the day as long as they are varied. great point on the difference between snack and treat as well. The photos are lovely too

    Reply
    • Molly says

      May 2, 2018 at 9:31 am

      Yep – variety is the key, as with everything! x

      Reply
  2. Anna International says

    April 30, 2018 at 1:02 pm

    Love this. I am just starting to buy snacks for Emilia (have come to realise I will not always be able to make them from scratch and got down off my high horse about that one! Honestly – the things we plan to do before we have kids and reality hits! :-)) and I have only bought Organix so far and been very impressed. I was really put off by some of the other “healthy” brands having huge long lists of ingredients I had never heard of, and it goes to show, if you don’t actually check, you could totally get sucked in by a name or clever marketing or even the packaging. Thanks for teaching us! (Also love the snack/treat distinction, very important). x

    Reply
    • Molly says

      May 2, 2018 at 9:31 am

      Organix are definitely the way to go if you’re after easy, healthy snack options when you don’t have the time or energy to make it from scratch!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 10 Top Tips for Buying Healthy Snacks for Kids #FoodYouCanTrust - Eats Amazing says:
    June 14, 2018 at 12:15 pm

    […] interesting day as, alongside several other bloggers (Kate from Veggie Desserts, Molly from Mother’s Always Right, Mel from Le Coin de Mel and Filippa from Gourmet Mum), I listened to Emily Day (Food […]

    Reply

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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If you feel bad about your body you’re less like If you feel bad about your body you’re less likely to do nice things for it, including moving in a way that feels good and eating in a way that feels good. (FYI health is about more than just exercise and nutrition, but let’s get deeper into the exercise thing for a second...)
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Research shows kids who have low body image are less likely to get involved with sports and more likely to skip PE. 
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Want kids to move more? Stop teaching them that one type of body is better than another - because if their body doesn’t look like your version of a healthy / beautiful / successful body not only will they be more likely to feel shame over their body, they’ll be less likely to engage with the very behaviours you want them to do more of (or be more likely to engage with them in an UNhealthy way - compulsive exercise is dangerous).
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Instead:
💕Try talking about the intrinsic benefits of exercise over the extrinsic ones (ie. how it makes you FEEL instead of how it makes you LOOK).
✨Create opportunities for movement where ALL children feel welcome. 
💕Show children diverse representation so they can see sporting heroes with a range of body types and know that movement is for EVERYbody. 
✨Take a zero tolerance approach to appearance based bullying, body shaming and comments that perpetuate weight stigma (including even the hint that fat = bad). 
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(If you’re a teacher or youth leader interested in knowing more about this topic, a #BodyHappyKids workshop will help - follow the link in my bio 🥰❤️)
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[Image description: A multicoloured slide with an overlaid screenshot of tweet by Molly which reads ‘If your intention is to “get kids healthy” then you need to be aware of how weight bias, weight stigma and poor body image are active barriers to health. The end.]
Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a Sharing this outfit pic with you because it’s a crying shame only the piles of laundry got to see it, quite frankly. Finally, a pair of pre-loved jeans bought online that are true to size, consistent with the rest of the brand’s sizing and actually fit! 🎉 
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PS heads up - I’ll be doing a Q&A about body image and kids in my Stories on Friday. The Q sticker is up in my Stories now if you’d like to submit a Q! 💕 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: Molly is standing in front of the mirror looking very pleased with the fact her new jeans bought from Depop fit her. She is wearing pink patterned jeans with cherubs on them, a pink check jumper and pink trainers. There are piles of laundry on the bed behind her.]
Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been Another photo of us on a walk, because it’s been our main form of entertainment this year. Anyone else? 
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I honestly now get excited about putting my boots on and being outdoors, even in the rain. I’m going to start hugging trees next and going on wild camping weekends that involve doing a poo behind a tree and making my own fire. Joke.... maybe. 
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Just another reminder that all movement is valid, exercise doesn’t need to have to be about burning calories or even tracking steps in order for it to be “worth it”. Hope everyone’s had a great weekend ❤️
#BodyHappyMum #JoyfulMovement
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Image description: Molly and her two daughters stand on a bridge in the countryside. They are all wearing hiking boots and outdoor clothes and smiling.
My body is good and excellent and my body only bel My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me ✨ (Words by Effie May, age 6 💕) #BodyHappyMum
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Image description: A close up of Molly’s bare skin as she hugs herself. It’s dark and part of her body is illuminated by light. She has her eyes closed and is smiling.
“Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. “Mummy I wrote a letter to myself,” she said. And my heart swelled. Maybe I’m doing an OK job after all 🤞❤️💕 #BodyHappyKids 
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I could leave this caption here but I need to make something clear: if you think it’s great that my daughter - a thin, white, nondisabled, cisgender kid - feels good in her body but you’re not here for the self-love of any kid who doesn’t look like her.... then you’ve missed the point.
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ALL bodies are good bodies, and without this important piece of the puzzle ALL children will be at risk of doubting their body. And what happens when they doubt their body? Well... hating our body doesn’t make us treat it with love, and the same is true of kids. 
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Great, now we’ve cleared that up, can we take a moment to appreciate the incredible phonetic spelling on show here?! 
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Image description: Effie, age 6, stands against a white wardrobe holding up a letter she has written to herself. It is spelled phonetically and reads “My body is good and excellent and my body only belongs to me.”
I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I ha I used to struggle to buy stuff for myself if I had any spare cash - not just treats, but basics like pants and tights that fit properly. I’d tell myself I didn’t need it, didn’t deserve it, couldn’t justify the expense. There’s still that little voice (the habit of putting everyone else’s needs first and my own last dies hard it seems) but I’m leaning into exploring why it still sometimes rears its head, instead of always listening to it. 
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I’m trying to buy as much as I can from pre-loved places or small businesses these days, which is why I’m very happy to share with you some of my latest finds: a star dress from Depop (£5), earrings from @kelzojewellery by @ourtransitionallife (£12) and the comfiest tights I’ve ever owned in Raspberry Pie by @snagtights (£6.99) 💕💕💕
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Have you found any great small brands lately? Shout them out in the comments so we can all support in the run up to Christmas. ⬇️⚡️
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Image description: Molly is smiling and sticking out her tongue to the camera. Her hair is freshly dyed a light shade of pink. She’s wearing a pink t’shirt underneath a black and white star patterned slip dress, with bright pink tights and black and pink earrings decorated with a boob design.
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