Community Corner
Five Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids
If your kids like to snack as much as mine, you may be wondering how best to get some good nutrition into all those mini-meals they eat. Here are five suggestions to keep their snack-time easy, healthy and delicious.
Are your kids asking for snacks as often as mine? Do you ever wonder, since so many of their calories are coming from snacking, if there’s a way to make the snacks more nutritious? If so, you’ll want to see the list below of five suggestions to make your children’s snack-life a healthier one.
Remember to choose organic whenever possible because children's bodies are developing and still immature, so babies and young children are more susceptible to the negative effects of pesticides and unnatural ingredients. This is also important because children eat more food per pound of body weight.
In addition, most kids want an easy snack that they can just grab and go. Try keeping fresh cut-up fruits and vegetables in the fridge. The kids can grab what they want without having to deal with washing, peeling and asking mom or dad for help.
Five Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids
1. Whole-grain foods — such as whole-grain pretzels or tortillas and high-fiber, whole-grain cereals — provide energy with some staying power. This will keep them fuller for longer and not asking for snacks nearly as often. Our favorite lately is the high protein version of Newman’s Own Organic Pretzels. With 5 grams of protein courtesy of pea flour and plenty of whole grains, these little guys are simply genius!
2.Pairing dips with fresh fruits and veggies is another way to get a lot of nutrition in one snack. Serve baby carrots or other raw veggies with ranch dressing (fat-free if you have a reason to be concerned about weight control) or protein-rich hummus. Dip fresh fruit in yogurt. Spread peanut butter on celery, apples or bananas.
3.Breakfast foods are favorites in many homes and often have a great deal of protein and good grains. Consider revisiting breakfast later in the day, and serve foods such as scrambled eggs and whole-grain toast or oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon.
4. Although cereal is actually a breakfast food, it deserves a spot all its own because it’s so beloved and so yummy even it its healthiest forms. Look for those with less than 10 grams of sugar, lots of whole grains instead of corn, and consider yogurt instead of milk for added protein and immune-boosting probiotics.
5.For sweeter snacks, try baking at home with your kids. This is a fun way to teach them more about healthy eating as you can substitute molasses or agave nectar for white sugar and add in uber-healthy flax seeds and whole grain flours. You can also sneak in some protein powder to keep blood sugars from spiking when consuming a lot of sugar. We love both the taste and ingredient list of the Jay Robb Vanilla Whey Protein Powder. You can find healthy baking recipes all over the internet at sites like JoyofBaking.com.
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