As summer winds down and the school session begins, it is important for kids to develop their healthy eating habits again. With a new school year approaching, it is time for a fresh start to healthier eating! The challenge is for parents to make healthy choices appealing! Even adding healthy spins to old classics can be a great start to nutritious snacking.

Healthy School Snack Ideas

Have plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain snacks, and healthy beverages including water, milk, and 100% juice easily accessible. Doing so allows kids to get in the habit of choosing healthy snacks instead of unhealthy choices, like soda, chips, or cookies.

Keep a container full of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. Eggs are packed with protein, provide energy, and can be a great on-the-go snack. Hard-boiled eggs even last for a week!

Mix a healthy combination of nuts, pretzels, dried fruit, whole grain cereal, banana chips, and popcorn for a handy, portable snack. Nuts are vital to a child’s diet. They contain nutrients such as iron, magnesium, and zinc. Dried fruits, such as dried cranberries are packed with antioxidants.

Fruit smoothie anyone? Kids go crazy over delicious, cold, sippable snacks! Secretly smoothies can be packed with nutrients and even two or three servings of fruit and fiber. To create the most ideal fruit smoothie, combine 100 percent juices, nonfat yogurt, and fresh or frozen fruit.

Have your kids dip their veggies in hummus instead of ranch dressing. Dip graham cracker or organic waffle sticks and fresh fruit in fat-free yogurt or reduced-fat cream cheese and fruit jelly.

Spread organic peanut butter on celery, apples, or bananas. Organic peanut butter has plenty of protein and fiber! Top the peanut butter and fruit with raisins to make it a classic commonly known as “Ants on a Log.” Raisins have a lot of great nutrients, like fiber, potassium, and vitamins. You can also spread organic peanut butter on a toasted whole-wheat waffle. Slice bananas on top and drizzle honey over the creation to make it extra tasty!

What kid can resist pizza? Pizza can be made into a nutritious after school snack. You can use half an English muffin, a pita, or a tortilla as a pizza crust. All of these bread substitutes are healthy and have high fiber. Cover the “crust” with tomato sauce, add low-fat mozzarella cheese, and top with vegetables or lean meat. Heat the pizzas in the toaster oven or microwave and you’ve successfully created a healthy pizza!

Providing healthy snacks for kids is absolutely essential to their well-being.  The key is to maximize nutrition in everything offered!

Posted in: Natural Foods | Comments (0) | Join Discussion