They are lunch box staples, but it turns out, they are not the best thing for you kids.
Check out this list of the 5 worst lunch foods for kids from Yahoo!
1. Fruit Snacks. Dentists hate them because they're the number one cause of tooth decay. Despite being labeled with the word "fruit," most fruit snacks contain very little, if any, actual fruit. Instead, pack your child grapes, berries or peeled tangerines.
2. Packaged Desserts. Nobody sends a Ho-Ho, Twinkie, or Honey Bun to school with their child because they think it's healthy. We let our kids have them because they love them, and we love treating our kids. Unfortunately, snack cakes are one of the worst sources of trans fats. If you want to give them treats, try this -- make cookies from scratch, and save them in the freezer to serve one at a time.
3. Juice Boxes. Sugar is sugar, even if it is fruit sugar, and when it's in commercially juiced form, it's missing all the fiber that makes the original fruit so filling. While juice is delicious, nobody really needs to drink it. You don't have to ban juice forever, but try to save it for special occasions and encourage kids to get their servings of fruit from whole fruits.
4. Lunch Meats. Research shows that people who eat nitrate-packaged foods including lunch meat, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and jerky drastically increase their risk of heart disease and certain cancers. Try to steer clear of processed meats and when you do buy packaged lunch meat, hot dogs and the like, buy the preservative-free varieties.
5. Crackers. Who doesn't love the crunchy, buttery goodness of a cracker? Unfortunately, most crackers are nutritionally void. Instead, try subbing in 100-percent whole grain pita pockets in place of crackers.