Healthy Snacks for Kids
Article by | Brazos Weight & Wellness Medicine
If you have children in your life, you know how important snacks are to their daily routine. Coming up with quick, healthy snacks, however, can be hard when you’re already busy trying to get 3 meals for your family.
It’s tempting to gravitate to prepackaged foods like little bags of crackers, pretzels, chips, or cookies. These are fine once in a while as a treat, but foods like this are very processed and high in fat, sugar, additives, refined flour, and salt. They are not nourishing, and when consumed frequently, can lead to chronic health problems.
Instead, look for natural whole foods like fruits and vegetables, protein rich foods and healthy fats like nuts, yogurt, legumes, avocado, and whole grains. These foods are nutritious, filling, and delicious. They give children energy and are full of vitamins and other nutrients to help their bodies grow. Most are also easy to make.
Here’s some great ideas to try:
Make your own trail mix:
Combine your nut(s) of choice like almonds, cashews, or peanuts with raisins, cranberries, dark chocolate chips, dates, unsweetened coconut flakes, and whole grain oats cereal. Let the kids make it their own. (Leave out nuts if there’s any nut allergies.)
Sweet ripe fruit:
Nothing is better on a hot summer day than a piece of cold fruit like watermelon, orange, grapes, or berries. Make a fruit salad and let your kids decide what fruits to include. The more colorful, the better. It’s a chance for kids to experiment with fruits that they may not have tried in the past like kiwi or mango.
Make a parfait:
Find a pretty glass and layer it with some chopped up fruit, plain yogurt, and a small drizzle of honey. For some crunch, add some granola or whole grain oats cereal. The kids can be creative and fill up the glass how they want.
Smoothies:
Want a sneaky way to get your kids to eat fruits and veggies? Add it to a smoothie! There’s so many ways to make smoothies – start with a frozen banana for sweetness then add other fruits like berries, pineapple, or melon.
Add protein like a spoonful of peanut butter or plain yogurt. Make it chocolaty with some cocoa powder. A handful of spinach or kale is also great and they won’t even taste it. Your liquid can be water or low fat milk.
Hummus with veggies or whole grain crackers:
Traditional hummus is made with chickpeas, one of the healthiest legumes. It’s high in protein and fiber. There’s many varieties of hummus or make your own with tahini (sesame paste), chickpeas, garlic, and a bit of olive oil.
Make your own popcorn:
Did you know that popcorn is whole grain and healthy? Just pop your own corn and add your seasonings like a spritz of olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt, or a bit of grated parmesan cheese.
Whole grain toast with nut butter:
Make toast with whole wheat bread or sprouted grain bread and spread with nut butter–top with slices of banana or strawberries or other fruit.
Frozen grapes:
Grapes that have been frozen are sweet and delicious! Cut them up so that they’re not a choking hazard.
Edamame peas:
Edamame peas are fun for kids to eat and so healthy. They come inside little pods and kids will have fun popping the peas out of the pods. They’re crunchy and high in protein and fiber. Find them in the frozen vegetable section.
Sweet potatoes:
Bake a sweet potato in the microwave or make fries by using the air fryer or bake in the oven with a spritz of oil. Eat the skin of the potato. Sweet potatoes are high in antioxidants, vitamin A, and fiber.
Avocados:
This fruit is full of heart healthy monounsaturated fat and fiber. Mash and spread on top of whole grain toast or make guacamole with baked pita chips.
Chia pudding:
For something sweet, try chia pudding. Chia seeds have healthy omega-3 fats, protein, and fiber. Make chocolate chia pudding by mixing the seeds well with some low fat milk or almond milk, cocoa powder, and a bit of sweetener. Let it sit in the fridge for several hours or overnight so the seeds can soak up all the liquid and become a creamy pudding.
You can build healthy eating habits for your kids by offering a variety of naturally colorful foods like fruits and veggies. Get them to be involved by providing options and letting them help with preparations. Healthy foods will have an immense positive effect on their growing minds and bodies.