'Crunchy mum' says her 4yo's soccer team provides 'toxic' snacks

She's shared the email she sent the team to request they all only provide "whole foods."

When I was growing up and playing team sport, we were religiously served orange slices at half-time and, if we were lucky, lollies to share after. 

Glory days. 

While I thought this would be an everlasting tradition for future generations of sports players, a recent Instagram post has indicated that's not the case.   

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"The least toxicity possible"

Becki Yoo, a mum and dietitian, publicly shared an email she sent to her four-year-old son Noah's soccer team, asking for “whole food” items. 

“Snacks at the end of practice are definitely a thing and can be fun and nourishing,” she wrote.

“Noah is gluten free and I am very whole food focused (no food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, ingredients we can’t pronounce or determine where in nature they came from)... Would love to see us focus on foods that support our kids’ growing bodies with the least toxicity possible.” 

In the email, Becki describes herself as a “crunchy” mum, which means she opts for natural options over processed ones.

She goes on to list “real food snack ideas” that she encourages fellow parents to use.

The suggestions included any fruit, string cheese, beef sticks, coconut water, and specific popcorn and juice brands.  

If parents weren’t able to bring along a snack on this list, Becki said she would BYO something for her son, just in case. 

Becki says that she was prompted to send the email after witnessing parents bringing Gatorade and Doritos for their kids. 

“We should be teaching kids to properly fuel their bodies with protein and natural carbohydrates, rather than programming them to think, ‘I worked hard, so I need to recover with a Slurpee,’” she later told TODAY. 

Image: BeckiYooRD/Insta

"Don't make people feel bad about their snacks"

As you can imagine, the post attracted a variety of responses. 

“This is one area I let go," one mum said. "My child is so happy to get a (junky) snack every once in a while, and if he was allergic or sensitive to something I would just bring our own. No need to make everyone feel bad about the snack they provide."

Another shared their experience of also being a 'crunchy parent': “It’s like once a week. We were a crunchy family but also didn’t want our kids to be weird and let them participate as long as there wasn’t an allergy or anything.”

This parent also commented, "My approach is you do you. If you want to restrict the foods you allow your child to eat, go for it! Expecting an entire team of parents to adopt your take on appropriate is a little far-fetched and entitled."

Comments have since been disabled on the post, but Becki said it was met with a positive reception, stating “I had two parents reach out to tell me they really appreciated my list.”

Ultimately, she’s decided that it’s best to ditch bringing everyone a snack, and simply cater for your own child.

“What mother of a four-year-old doesn’t have snacks in her purse? I think it’s just easier if we all just bring our own stuff.”

Honestly, it seems like orange slices were the top tier sports snack for a reason?

Snacks to fuel the kids

Our Kidspot Kitchen editor, Elizabeth Macri, suggests parents look at our Kidspot Kitchen page for snacks that can help fuel physical activity.

Originally published as 'Crunchy mum' says her 4yo's soccer team provides 'toxic' snacks