Teacher says Pop Tarts are not a healthy snack

Pop Tarts are garbage; why anyone buys them is beyond me.

What really shocks me is that we're discussing the healthiness of a Pop Tart on a MFP forum. I would assume that people who are concerned for their own health enough to be an active member would already know how unhealthy these are and if not, be more open minded and accepting to admit they could make better choices.

I am of the firm belief that no one food is unhealthy unless consumed in excess and that societies focus on demonizing food has lead to horrible relationships with food

I haven't had a PopTart in years. I used to buy them for a treat when my daughter was little.

Thanks to this thread, I went grocery shopping yesterday and a box of the Raspberry Frosted jumped into my cart.

I took it home like a homeless kitten in a blizzard.

Thanks, MFP!

This irritates me too. My son for 5 years every day took only 3 plain bread rolls for his lunch. No butter no filling no fruit. Nothing else. That's what he wanted and that's what he had. I made sure it was all balanced with a big healthy sustaining breakfast and after school tea / dinner etc . This teacher has no idea of what else your kid eats in a day. I bet some of those tucking into An apple and hummus dip are eating KFC for dinner!

snickerscharlie wrote: »

rosnz wrote: »

This irritates me too. My son for 5 years every day took only 3 plain bread rolls for his lunch. No butter no filling no fruit. Nothing else. That's what he wanted and that's what he had. I made sure it was all balanced with a big healthy sustaining breakfast and after school tea / dinner etc . This teacher has no idea of what else your kid eats in a day. I bet some of those tucking into An apple and hummus dip are eating KFC for dinner!

What's wrong with KFC? Chicken is an excellent source of lean protein.

It's the F of KFC.

My last post on this absurdity. Why with all the choices in the world, would you want to argue about the validity of feeding your child a food like product loaded with xenoestrogens, Yellow #5, Red 40 and TBHQ????? If you don't know what these are, then I suggest you google it. If these even a hint of a problem with a food why would you risk a loved one's health? Then there's the bigger picture of teaching our children bad choices from good. It's our responsibility to be the adult and learn to say no to some things and offer a choice from better options. The end, I'm done, ultimately it's your family's well being you're impacting.

dfc4 wrote: »

cathydubepenner wrote: »

I guess I side with the minority.Some of the ingredients in PopTarts are derived from petroleum and have proven to be carcinogenic in nature. The teacher's not specifically saying bring fruit - she's saying bring something healthy. I'm old school, I believe the teacher has every right to stipulate what is and isn't allowed in their classroom - especially if it's in the best interest of the student, which this clearly is. It's this type of attitude that has landed our country's children in the midst of a huge health crisis. Stop being a right fighter and do the right thing for your child.

Here Here.. i couldn't have said it better.

I my eyes it is a teachers job to educate......not just to get good grades but for life...and that means nutrition too.
I thnik parents & Teachers should communicate better with each other so that the kids benifit from a good and healthy lifestyle

I think the real issue is that everyone has different definitions of healthy. I could see a serving of granola on top of yogurt having just as much sugar as a pop tart. Unless you read labels very closely you would just assume that granola and yogurt is better than the other when really they both contain a grain, some fat(which may or may not be a good fat choice), some fake fruit flavouring, and a whole heap of sweetener. Probably a small amount of protein in the yogurt would be a bonus.

I had a row with our school last spring. Typically my kids pack a whole fruit, a veggie and ranch dip, crackers or a bread product, cheese, maybe a yogurt or pudding or a cookie if I have baked recently, possibly leftover meat, and or leftover supper in a thermos. Plus a water bottle. My youngest asked me if he could fill his water bottle with iced tea since most kids bring Gatorade, juices, and sometimes pop. I told him once a week I would be ok with that. His TA took it away from him. She told him that there was too much sugar in iced tea to bring to school. When he told me this(the fountain water at our school is so hard it is pretty much undrinkable) while chugging 3 glasses of water after getting off the bus I was angry! I called the principle and we had agood discussion. Then I put together An email for all the teachers about sugar content in all the drinks listed and included a breakdown of chocolate milk as well. Iced tea(the way it is listed on the powdered container) was in the bottom two for levels of sugar included. It was an education issue and that particular assistant makin assumptions.

So really, all the judgment on parenting choices here sucks! Kids learn to moderate because the parents teach them to. It sounds like the op is doing a great job teaching her kids what is a good choice for every day and what is a treat. Nobody should be stressing over treats because the Internet has deemed them "bad". And really in real life, what parent has not had a problem the night before or the morning of school because they realized that their shopping trip was planned for one day too late and the lunch box looks a bit sub par for a day??

Poptart Ingredients:

Enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, vitamin b1 [thiamin mononitrate], vitamin b2 [riboflavin], folic acid), corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, soybean and palm oil (with tbhq for freshness), sugar, cracker meal, contains two percent or less of wheat starch, salt, dried strawberries, dried pears, dried apples, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), citric acid, milled corn, gelatin, soybean oil, modified corn starch, caramel color, soy lecithin, xanthan gum, modified wheat starch, vitamin a palmitate, red 40, niacinamide, reduced iron, color added, turmeric extract, vitamin b6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), yellow 6, vitamin b2 (riboflavin), vitamin b1 (thiamin hydrochloride), blue 1.


TBHQ - tert-Butylhydroquinone (TBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone) - Both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)[3] and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have evaluated TBHQ and determined that it is safe to consume at the concentration allowed in foods.[4] The FDA sets an upper limit of 0.02% of the oil or fat content in foods

Yellow 5 - may cause issues if you are an asthmatic or if you have an asprin intolerance - yet if you look at the ingredient list - no yellow 5 is listed...

Red 40 - FDA has reviewed and not banned it; the EU also allows it