Did you know that Campbell spends around $16 million per year to promote Pepperidge Farm Goldfish? Maybe that’s why there was such a big response to my recent post on snacking (Think Snack TIME not Snack FOOD).

  • We LOVE Goldfish!!!
  • We’re all disappointed that Cheddar Goldfish only get a NuVal score of 24.

Remember, NuVal scores out of 100 for top nutrition.

Some people, of course, wondered how Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies compare. Sadly…

  • Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies get a NuVal score of 6.

I’m not sure why they score so low, and to be fair …

  • Annie’s Homegrown Whole Wheat Bunnies do receive a score of 27.

But let’s be honest, most of us don’t buy the whole wheat kind.

So what’s the point to take away from this? There’s nothing wrong with giving your kids Goldfish or Bunnies — from time-to-time. They shouldn’t be a staple.

But no cracker should be a snack time staple.  Click to see all the NuVal cracker scores.

  • Crackers as a category score from 2 – 87, but the median score (i.e. the halfway point) is 14. That means that even though there are a few powerhouse crackers in the supermarket, when you go shopping, unless you zero in on those few, you’re most likely to purchase a nutritional nothing.

And that’s from a nutrition perspective. When you consider what regularly snacking on crackers does to your kids’ habits, there’s even more reason to dole them out sparingly.  Think proportion.

One last thing to think about:  In comparison to Annie’s Organic Cheddar Bunnies which scores a 6…

It’s not about what you feed your kids, but how much and how often.  Changing the conversation from nutrition to habits.

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Source: Nestle, Marion. 2006. What to Eat. New York: North Point Press, p. 359; www.NuVal.com