Sometimes Foods

These are foods that children should only eat occasionally - as they contain lots of sugar or fat but little or no vitamins, minerals or fibre. Highly processed, sugary, fatty and salty foods should only make up a very small part of your child's diet. Sometimes foods include:

• Potato chips
• Soft drinks or cordial
• Savoury snacks - such as biscuits, pretzels and rice crackers
• Ice cream or ice-blocks
• Sweet biscuits
• Cakes, sweet buns, doughnuts or pastries
• Deep-fried foods
• Confectionary
• Chocolate coated muesli bars
• Fast foods - such as hot chips, pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs, pies or kebabs.

Fresh Food Tips

While there's nothing wrong with the occasional treat, here are a few handy tips on giving your child healthier and more nutritious treats as alternatives.

• Rather than confectionery, give your child dried fruit treats. You can buy dried apricots, apple, mango and banana in most Woolworths/Safeway stores. Dried fruit can be deliciously sweet and may help keep your child's sugar cravings at bay!
• Instead of deep-fried potato chips, get the kids to help you make homemade potato chips! Peel and slice potatoes, drizzle them with a little olive oil, and bake them in the oven.
• For birthdays, bake your own cake at home with raw ingredients rather than buying one from the bakery. Use reduced fat milk and butter, and top the cake with sprinkled icing sugar and sliced strawberries rather than buttery icing.
• When entertaining your child's friends, rather than serving salty crackers or biscuits, make a homemade guacamole (combine avocado, lemon juice, and diced tomato) and serve with toasted squares of wholemeal toast