The one thing everyone has in their kitchen is snacks, especially for kids. They get a snack for lunch, one when they come home and maybe one before going to bed. The problem is that most of these snacks are not healthy.
They eat chips, cookies, ice cream, cake, etc. This is not a good thing, especially since in the United States percentage of obesity in children is higher. Snacking is actually healthy, as long as they are eating healthy small portions snacks between meals, it gives the body energy to keep going.
Kids are very active and still growing; they need to eat to keep up with their activities. However, if we are not cautious, next thing we know they start putting on weight and that is not healthy. Obesity has become a big concern for this country, not just in adult but in children. They are trying to find a way to get them more active and ask parents and schools to help. One way to help our kids stay healthy is by giving them healthy snacks.
These snacks will provide energy, fiber, curb their appetite by helping them feel full. It’s best to start this as soon as you begin to give them snacks as toddlers. As they grow up they will never miss junk food. Another good thing to do is join them by eating the snacks with them.
If you do by some of the little goodies that aren’t so healthy, keep them out of sight and never buy too much of them, give them as treats and only once in a while.
YOGURT
Make sure the yogurt is low-fat and if possible buy plain yogurt. You can add a fruit, a few sprinkles or a little granola to dress it up and make it tastier for them.
SNACK MIX
Mix together some pretzels, nuts, whole-grain cereal, and popcorn in a little snack bag. The nuts contain minerals like iron which they need.
CHEESE
This is a good source of protein and keeps them full until dinnertime. Give them cheese with crackers, or melted on an English muffin. If you want to make it fun, take a slice of American cheese and cut a little face in it.
LOW FAT HAM
Roll up slices of low fat ham with cheese or make them a ham and cheese sandwich without the crust. Make sure it is low fat and low sodium.
PEANUT BUTTER
Kids love peanut butter. Make them their favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Use whole wheat bread without the crust.
CHEERIOS
Another favorite, cheerios, even the adults enjoy this cereal. You can give them a bowl of cheerios with milk or just put the cereal in a little snack bag. They will eat them as though they were candy.
SMOOTHIES
A homemade smoothie is a good snack for them, packed with vitamin C. Use nonfat vanilla yogurt, add bananas, orange juice, strawberries, apples, mangos, or frozen fruits. They will love these and the best part of it; they are getting the vitamins, minerals and fiber they need.
RICE CAKES
There are different flavored rice cakes that kids will love. You can replace Cheetos with the cheddar flavor rice cakes. There are rice cakes with caramel, chocolate, ranch, etc. These can be given to them in place of chips and cookies.
FRUITS
When they ask for a snack, give them a banana, an apple, a pear, an orange, watermelon, any of these will do just fine.
DRIED FRUITS
Make them a little snack bags with different type of dried fruits. There is a large variety of dried fruits they can eat and if you want you can mix them up with the dried fruits.
VEGETABLES
Get them use to eating carrots, celery sticks or broccoli. This can be served with low fat dips. You can add peanut butter to the celery, still very healthy for them.
DRINK
Don’t give them soft drinks or fruit drinks. Get them to drink more water, low fat milk and of course 100% fruit juice. They really don’t need the extra sugar or caffeine. Whenever you give them a snack, make sure it’s not close to dinner time or bed time. The snack is just to hold them over until they have dinner or go to bed. Let’s make sure our kids grow up healthy and strong by doing our part. Giving them the right foods to eat and joining them in eating healthier snacks.