Nutrition and Supplementation

Nutritional Advice and Snack Ideas With Low Sugar

From Laura Southern, nutritionist: Laura Southern DipION mBANT CNHC, London Food Therapy.

The main thing to remember is that it's best NOT to snack! (easier said than done, I know!) - Weight control/ loss is achieved by eating just 3 meals a day, with large gaps between the meals. The time we're NOT eating is more important than what we're eating (within reason).

We understand this is difficult, especially with pester power, etc. Before they hand out a snack, parents need (to try) to get in the habit of asking a few questions:

• Is my child genuinely hungry? (Perhaps been a long time since the last meal/long time till next meal).
• Will this snack provide some extra nutrients to my child's diet (increase their vitamins, protein, good fat quota, etc)?
• Has my child already had a lot of sugar/ processed food in their diet today?
• Is my child just bored?
• Am I using this snack to keep them quiet (we've all been there!!)?

The idea really is to try and ensure that snacks provide extra nutrition that might be missing from the child's diet, rather than just as a way of giving the child 'nice' food as a treat or reward (there is time for this, but it shouldn't be the habit).

There is good information out there now, more and more, for everyone to access. Things I get asked about include: how to read a label to find the hidden sugars, how to reduce and replace the sugar, and what children need for optimum nutrition, snack and meal ideas, specific nutrition for children in all their life stages, specific nutrients for children's growing brains and how certain foods can have a positive and negative effect on mood, concentration and focus.

Reducing Sugar in Your Child's Diet

Top 20 snack ideas

• Corn thins/corn cakes/rice cakes with 100% peanut butter.
• Apple slices with 100% almond butter.
• Cucumber/carrot/red pepper sticks with hummus.
• Homemade popcorn with cinnamon.
• Mix of raw unsalted nuts (cashew nuts and pistachio nuts are popular with children).
• Strawberries/raspberries/satsuma pieces dipped in melted high cocoa solids (e.g. 70%) chocolate.
• Pot of natural yoghurt with fresh fruit and/or nuts.
• 1-2 falafels with hummus.
• Packet of Itsu seaweed thins (or other seaweed crisps).
• Bowl/pot/bag of olives.
• Slice of rye, wholemeal, pitta bread with cheese/nut butter/hummus.
• Steamed edamame beans.
• Snack box with nuts, seeds and chocolate chips.
• Babybel/cheese portion with a piece of fruit.
• Mug/flask of soup (vegetable, miso, chicken).
• Bag of lentil or tortilla chips (with hummus or mashed avocado).
• Homemade smoothie ice cream (see recipe).
• Homemade almond biscuits (see recipe).
• Slice of banana and pear bread (see recipe).
• Roasted chickpeas (see recipe).

Top 10 breakfast ideas

• Cereal mix - Use a base of Rude Health puffed oats and Kallo puffed rice, add toppings - eg nuts, pumpkin seeds, pomegranate seeds, coconut chips, a few raisins, berries, etc.
• Porridge, use almond butter, berries or a tiny bit of blackstrap molasses.
• Wholemeal toast with nut butter/cream cheese.
• Mini wholemeal pitta bread filled with hard-boiled egg/ or hummus/tomato/ cheese, etc.
• Cereal mix with Low Sugar Cheerios or Whole Earth Cornflakes.
• Natural yoghurt with mashed-up berries.
• Scrambled eggs with rye bread.
• Homemade granola (see recipe).
• Bircher Muesli (see recipe).
• Blueberry and almond pancakes (see recipe).
• Slice of banana and pear loaf (see recipe) with butter.

Top 10 packed lunches (cold)

Ensure ice packs/kept out of the sun/fridge if possible.

• 2 Chicken drumsticks, a pot of sweetcorn, cucumber sticks, 2 oat cakes, 2 unsulphured dried apricots, pear.
• Hard-boiled egg, brown pitta bread, pot with hummus, baby corn and carrot sticks, frozen yoghurt tube.
• 1-2 salmon rissoles, 3 cold boiled new potatoes (or potato salad), a pot of sweetcorn, small box of raisins.
• Large pot rice salad (brown rice, onions, red peppers, chickpeas, sultanas, garlic, tomato or soy sauce), plum, frozen yoghurt tube.
• Tinned tuna and cucumber sandwich (wholemeal bread/pitta), small pot/bag of kale crisps, a piece of cheese, satsuma.
• Mini lamb koftes, pot of hummus, spelt wrap, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, pot of mixed berries.
• Large pot quinoa/ lentil salad (quinoa/ lentils, onions, celery, carrots, peas, ginger, honey, soy), 2 dates, pot of mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, pinenuts) and dried coconut.
• Pot of tinned salmon, cream cheese and sweetcorn mix, 2 corncakes, pot of roasted chickpeas (see recipe), frozen yoghurt tube, apple.
• 1-2 cold baked sausages, brown pitta bread, sugar snap peas, baby corn, small bag of homemade popcorn.
• Slice of Spanish omelette (tortilla), carrot and cucumber sticks, a piece of cheese, pot of coconut pieces.

Resources

• The Eatwell guide.

Obesity

Healthy Weight Nursing Team: Email them for a form: solltd.hwnadmin@nhs.net.

GroHealth: If you're a young person aged 13-19 (or up to 25 with SEND) living in Barnet, you could be eligible for free access to Gro Health, the healthy lifestyle programme designed just for young people living in Barnet! You can refer directly to Gro Health using their referral form.

Resources

• Obesity Guidelines.

Complications of Excess Weight Clinic (CEW)

We are sorry to announce that our GOSH Complications of Excess Weight (CEW) clinic has closed on 30 June 2025.

Our CEW clinic was part of a national pilot project funded by NHS England. There is currently a national evaluation of CEW services, and we await their findings and future recommendations.

There is currently no CEW provision for families living in North Central London ICS (London boroughs Camden, Islington, Haringey, Barnet and Enfield). Commissioners are currently considering future options for future CEW services.

There is currently no NHS funding for weight loss medications or bariatric surgery in young people under 18 years, and doctors cannot offer these at present. We hope that this will change soon.

Please consider other support for your patient:

• Community Weight management services in Camden, Islington, Haringey, Barnet and Enfield.
• Early help pathways include youth work, family support workers.
• Social care for disability, child in need or safeguarding concerns.
• Mental health pathways where mental health difficulties are driving eating behaviours and suspected eating disorders.
• Neuro-developmental pathways where suspected autism is driving eating behaviours.

Referrals for medical assessment should be based on medical needs:

• GP for screening of causes and complications where diabetes or thyroid disease is suspected (both are rare).
• Referral to local DGH general paediatrics:
  • Early onset severe obesity (zBMI more than three by five years) for genetic testing (R149 gene panel).
  • Concerns of a genetic condition (early onset obesity, dysmorphic features, growth abnormalities, developmental abnormalities).
  • Features of an underlying endocrine condition, such as Cushing disease.