Studies show that kids are receiving 40% of their calories a day through snacks and beverages! This is not necessarily a bad thing, if the snacks and beverages are of high quality. With children, there is a small window of opportunity to steer them in the right direction and create good habits that will hopefully last a lifetime. Unfortunately you are competing against many powerful forces that are leading them down a totally different path.

Our children are consuming record amounts of super sweet, calorie-dense liquids - with little or no health benefits. Sodas and soft drinks have taken the place of milk and water. Experts agree that this trend is one of the really important factors in the childhood obesity epidemic.

The extra "naked calories" add up quickly, and add inches to their waistline, and negative risk factors to their health profile, at younger and younger ages. As an orthopaedic surgeon, I also worry about the future bone health of these someday adults. Bones are built and fortified early in life, especially in the teenage and tween years.

We reach peak bone mass and density in our 20s! Then it is a game of gradual losses. If you've banked your bone early, and sufficiently, you can better withstand those losses later in life. If you are drinking sodas, you not only miss the calcium that is readily provided in milk, but the phosphorus in many carbonated soft drinks also blocks absorption of calcium that you might have gotten from other sources, a double whammy. The result: weaker, more vulnerable skeletons.

Things can be very confusing even for the most savvy shopper/consumer. Even many of the so-called seemingly healthy fruit juices can be problematic. Many are sugar packed and/or contain high fructose corn syrup, all of which send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. It's no wonder we are seeing certain types of pre-diabetes and even diabetes at younger and younger ages.

Which is why I get excited, when a new product arrives that is not only very tasty (adults and athletes will love it, too) but is a high quality beverage with exceptional nutritional value.

The beverage is called Froose and its spokesperson is Milton the Moose.

Froose was developed by Denise Devine, a hardworking mom (a former executive with a major food company) who was frustrated and dissatisfied with the beverage choices available for her own children. She did tremendous amounts of research and worked endlessly, and for years, to develop a terrific drink which is now available for your kids (and yourself).

It is an interesting beverage which is actually more like a meal (don't tell the kids). It is innovative in that combines organic whole grains and fruit that is naturally low in sugar and a good source of fiber...as much as eating a whole piece of fruit.

This "drinkable snack" is sweetened with organic brown rice (a complex carbohydrate) and has plenty of actual fiber, vitamins and minerals. So say goodbye to sugar highs and empty calories. This is in contrast to many of the kids' fruit juices on the market that are basically some juice and lots of sugar or simple (not complex) carbohydrates. For those who have learned to become skilled at reading, and carefully dissecting, information on food labels (something I recommend highly), the difference is night and day.

Froose comes in 3 great flavors - Cheerful Cherry, Playful Peach and Perfect Pear (my favorite). I even use it to make smoothies.