Chocolate bars are a favorite across the world, especially with children. However, most of them are made from food dyes, artificial flavors, and loads of sugar. Due to the quality of ingredients used to make them, these chocolate bars are low in nutrition and high in calories.
Eating too many chocolate bars can lead to type 2 diabetes, obesity, and bad oral health. Let’s admit it- children have no control over the sugar they eat.
If you are looking for healthier alternatives to chocolate bars for kids but do not want to cut sweets out of their life completely, there are loads of treats you can introduce your kid to. However, you must start by explaining the negative impact of processed candy bars on their health so that they do not sneak them into their rooms when you are not looking.
Healthier Alternatives to Chocolate Bars for Kids
1. Fresh Fruit
The best thing about fruit is that it is loaded with natural sugar and nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components, making it great for gut health.
Unlike chocolate bars, fruits have a high ratio of fiber and are extremely low in calories. For example, there are only 46 calories in a single cup of strawberries, but it makes up 94 percent of our daily requirement for vitamin C. Moreover, a cup of strawberries contains 3 grams of fiber as well.
2. Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is essentially a fruit that has been dehydrated. It is high in sugar and nutrients and is packed with more calories than fresh fruit. Due to this reason, it has a sweeter taste that your kids will immediately love.
However, it is important to allow kids to have dried food in proportions. Research shows that dried food is a great way to increase your nutrient intake, and if consumed properly, it can ensure a healthy weight.
We recommend that when buying dried fruit, you check the labels for added sugars and make sure that you buy natural dried fruit.
3. Dark Chocolate Coconut Chips
Dark chocolate is a much better alternative to milk and white chocolate. This is because it contains loads of antioxidants that help boost brain function and heart health. Moreover, coconut is great for increasing the metabolic rate and ensuring healthy gut health.
Even though your child may find dark chocolate to be too bitter, the coconut chips are sweet and will manage to mask all bitterness. You can give these chips to your child as a snack on their own or toss them on top of their morning yogurt.
Here is what you need to make dark chocolate coconut chips:
- Coconut ribbons: 2 cups
- Cacao powder: 2 tablespoons
- Lucuma powder: 2 tablespoons
- Maple syrup/ honey: ¼ cup
- Vanilla essence: ¼ teaspoon
- Sea salt: ½ teaspoon
To make these coconut chips, you need to start by soaking the desiccated coconut overnight. The next morning, use a mesh strainer or cheesecloth to strain the coconut and gather it in a bowl.
Take another bowl and mix the salt, vanilla, cacao powder, and lucuma until everything is well mixed together. Add the maple syrup to the mixture and mix it up again. Once your ingredients are ready, add the contents of this mixture to the coconut bowl and mix again.
Dehydrate this mixture for up to 24 hours. You can also bake it for 8 minutes at 300 degrees. Cut the mixture up into chips when ready and feed them to your child for breakfast or during snack time!
4. Natural Popsicles
By making popsicles at home, you can get fussy children to consume fruit. When kids crave chocolate, they are actually craving sugar. However, store-bought items contain preservatives and artificial ingredients that are terrible for you and your kids.
To make popsicles at home, you only need to take some milk, juice, or water and blend it with some fruit. The mixture then needs to be poured into popsicle molds with a popsicle stick and then frozen overnight.
If your kid likes creamy textures, you can use fruit and yogurt for this recipe. Another easy way to make a popsicle is simply inserting a stick into a yogurt cup and popping it in the freezer overnight.
5. Granola Bars
Granola bars make healthy snacks and can also be used for a quick breakfast or as a snack in your child’s lunchbox. The best part about granola is that it uses baked rolled oats. Oats are rich in nutrients, and if consumed regularly, they help boost gut health and stabilize blood sugars.
You can also customize your granola bars based on what your child enjoys. If your kid loves chocolate, you can add some dark chocolate chips with the oats and dried fruits like pistachios and almonds. However, make sure that your dried fruit is unsweetened.
Make sure that the granola bars you buy from the supermarket are not made with sugary syrups.
6. Energy Balls
Energy balls are made with nutritious ingredients that are loaded with protein, fiber, and healthy fats. These include dried fruit, flax seeds, nut butter, oats, and dark chocolate. However, you can mix any ingredient you want to your energy balls to make them more customizable for your kids.
Here is a recipe for coconut energy balls – a favorite amongst most kids:
- Almonds: ½ cup
- Walnuts: ½ cup
- Raisins: 1 cup
- Dates: 3, pitted
- Cinnamon: ½ teaspoon
- Vanilla extract: ½ teaspoon
- Shredded coconut: 1 cup
All you have to do is use a food processor to chop the walnuts and almonds finely. Then, add all the ingredients to the processor, leaving out the coconut. Combine till the mixture is sticky and firm.
Take some mixture between your hands to form balls, and then roll the balls in your shredded coconut. Depending on your child’s preferences, you can also melt some chocolate and dip half the balls in the melted chocolate mixture.
