PrintBy Becky Billingsley
eDiets Contributor
In an ideal world, children would prefer plain skim milk over chocolate milk.
The Food Guide Pyramid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that to keep our kids healthy, children up to ages 2-18 should have two to three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt every day. A serving is one cup of milk, two ounces of cheese or eight ounces of yogurt.
Skim milk, as opposed to whole milk, is the best choice for children ages 2 and older because they get the calcium they need without extra fat. But plenty of children don’t like plain milk. To get them to drink up, plenty of parents (and schools and daycare centers) resort to chocolate milk.
So how much sugar do powdered chocolate mixes add to milk? About 17 grams per serving. To put that in perspective, a cup of apple juice has 26 grams of sugar and a 12-ounce can of Coke has 39 grams.
If it comes down to a choice of giving your child chocolate milk or non-diet soda pop, the far less sugary drink is chocolate milk. My two boys and a 13-year-old friend happily taste-tested kids healthy chocolate milk mixes for you. They’re listed here in order of the boys’ favorites, with the best-tasting first.
Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
Price: $2.85 for a 24-ounce squeeze bottle with 17 servings (1 serving = 2 tablespoons). Price per serving = 16 cents.
Nutrition: 100 calories, zero fat, cholesterol or protein, 15mg sodium and 24g carbohydrates (20 sugars). This one does not add much extra nutrition in the form of vitamins and minerals.
Kid appeal: The boys went wild over the rich chocolate flavor.
Ovaltine Rich Chocolate
Price: $5.39 for a 12-ounce can with 16 servings (1 serving = 4 tablespoons). Price per serving = 33 cents.
Nutrition: 80 calories, zero fat or cholesterol, 140mg sodium, 19g carbohydrates (18 sugars) and less than 1g protein. Bonus: 4 to 40 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowances of 15 vitamins and minerals.
Kid appeal: The boys said this is a close equal to the Hershey’s brand. They love it.
Ovaltine Chocolate Malt
Price: $5.49 for a 12-ounce (340g) jar with 16 servings (1 serving = 4 tablespoons). Price per serving = 34 cents.
Nutrition: 80 calories, zero fat or cholesterol, 115mg sodium, 18g carbohydrates (15 sugars) and 1g protein. Bonus: 8 to 60 percent of the RDAs of 10 vitamins and minerals.
Kid appeal: Both of my boys like the malt flavor, but their friend, Ben, didn’t like it at all and said it tastes “spicy.” The malt adds a hefty dose of several B vitamins.
Nesquik Chocolate, No Sugar Added
Price: $5.39 for an 8-ounce can with 21 servings (1 serving = 2 tablespoons). Price per serving = 25 cents.
Nutrition: 40 calories, 1g fat (0.5 saturated), zero cholesterol, 70mg sodium, 7g carbohydrates (3 sugars, 1 fiber) and 1g protein. Bonus: 2 to 10 percent of the RDAs of 8 vitamins and minerals.
Kid appeal: The boys were as surprised as I to discover that of the three Nesquik mixes we sampled, their favorite is the no sugar version. “It’s really good for no sugar,” 13-year-old Josh said, “and it’s chocolatier than regular Nesquik.”
Nesquik Chocolate
Price: $4.25 for a 10.9-ounce can with 19 servings (1 serving = 2 tablespoons). Price per serving = 22 cents.
Nutrition: 180 calories, 0.5g fat, zero cholesterol, 30mg sodium, 14g carbohydrates, (13 sugars) and less than 1g protein.
Kid appeal: The boys didn’t like the thin scrim of mix that settled on the top of the milk, and said it isn’t chocolaty enough.
Store brand instant chocolate drink mix
Price: $3.25 for a 30-ounce (851g) can with 43 servings (1 serving = 2 tablespoons). Price per2 serving = 7 cents.
Nutrition: 80 calories, zero fat or cholesterol, 45mg sodium, 19g carbohydrates (17 sugars) and less than 1g protein.
Kid appeal: It would be terrific if this, the least expensive brand, was also the tastiest. But sadly it doesn’t have much flavor, chocolate or otherwise.
Continue to these related articles:
– Fat Boys Slim?
– Feeding Your Child: Where Do You Begin?
– Discount Shopping: Back to School
Becky Billingsley is the editor of Coastal Carolina Dining and CEO of The Food Syndicate.
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