Snacking is an important part of your kid's diet. But with the growing obesity rates, it is important that you provide your kid with healthy snack options. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says children should be snacking only on fruits and vegetables. Healthy vegetable snacks can be fun and tasty if you have the right tools on hand.
Veggies and Dip
Kids like to eat with their hands, and veggies and dip make a healthy snack choice. For variety, offer different types of vegetables with different types of dip. You can try celery and cucumbers with a low-fat onion dip, peppers and grape tomatoes with reduced-fat ranch dressing or carrots and red peppers with hummus. Other good dips include salsa and bean dips. You can also make your own cucumber and spinach dip. Blend 1 cup of fat-free plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen spinach, 1/4 of a cucumber and salt and pepper for taste. Serve with any of your kid's favorite veggies.
Stuffed Celery
Celery can be stuffed with a number of healthy foods to make a healthy snack for your children. Stuff celery with peanut butter and place raisins on top to make ants-on-a-log. You can also stuff celery with low-fat cream cheese, low-fat cottage cheese or hummus. Be sure to wash your celery before stuffing and cut the celery pieces into kid-friendly portions.
Vegetable Soup
Soup makes a great snack, especially during the cold winter months. Make a healthy vegetable soup snack using fresh or frozen vegetables. Heat broth on the stove and add your kid's favorite vegetables, such as carrots, celery and peas, and heat until tender. Be sure to cut fresh vegetables into bite-size pieces to make it easier to eat. You can even add cooked rice or pasta and serve with whole-grain crackers. Make a batch of soup and keep it in the refrigerator for a quick snack you can heat up in the microwave. You can freeze individual portions to make it last longer.
Salad
Salad makes a great healthy snack for kids. Make a salad bar for your kids that includes lettuce, cucumbers, shredded carrots, broccoli florets, mushroom slices and pepper strips and have your kids create their own salad snacks. Include dried craisins, sunflower seeds or walnuts for sweetness and crunch.
Vegetable Pizzas
Make vegetable pizzas using slices of tomato. Cut tomatoes into thick slices and place on a baking sheet, top with shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese and basil and bake in the oven at 325 degrees until the cheese has melted. Allow to cool and serve the tomato slices by themselves or on top of a toasted half of an English muffin.
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