Healthy snacks are an important part of your child's diet because they ensure that she gets all of the nutrients and foods she needs each day. Oatmeal is a healthy snack because it supplies fiber for healthy digestion and sustained energy. Peanut butter provides healthy unsaturated fats and protein for plenty of energy. Combining oatmeal and peanut butter in a variety of kid-pleasing ways will help your child look forward to snack time and enable you to help her reach her nutritional goals.
Oatmeal with Peanut Butter and Bananas
Oatmeal combines well with peanut butter and bananas to create a sweet and satisfying snack. Dayle Hayes and Rachel Laudan, authors of "Food and Nutrition," recommend a bowl of oatmeal as a nutritious snack for children. Adding peanut butter and bananas will add flavor to the snack as well as several important nutrients. Make a bowl of oatmeal using low-fat or skim milk and then add 1 tsp. of creamy or crunchy peanut butter. Stir to combine and slice a banana on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon if you like.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies
Cookies do not need to be full of saturated fat and sugar. Choosing more nutritious ingredients can help you create a sweetened snack that also supplies several vitamins and minerals. Use your favorite oatmeal cookie recipe to get started. Follow the directions, substituting unsweetened applesauce for any oil or butter and a sugar alternative for half of the sugar. Add a quarter cup of peanut butter to the cookie batter before spooning it onto a cookie sheet. Bake according to your directions. Serving these cookies with a glass of milk will further increase the nutrition by adding calcium.
Peanut Butter Fruit Dipped in Oatmeal
Many different fruits combine well with peanut butter, and rolling them in oatmeal will increase the fiber and nutrient content of your child's snack. Choose fruits, such as apples or bananas, and spread a thin layer of peanut butter on the outside, Jose Antonio and Jeffrey R. Stout suggest in "Fit Kids for Life." Roll in toasted uncooked oatmeal and serve. Enhance the flavor of the snack by adding spices, such as cinnamon, to the uncooked oatmeal before rolling the fruit in it. Celery is a good complement to peanut butter and oatmeal, as well.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie
A smoothie is an effective way to add a variety of foods, vitamins and minerals to your child's diet that he may not already be getting. A peanut butter and jelly smoothie combines the flavors of the popular kid-friendly sandwich, but with more nutrition and less sugar. Start with cooked oatmeal and add 1 or 2 tbsp. of creamy peanut butter. Fruit will add the sweet flavor of jelly without added sugar. Strawberries or blueberries combine well in a smoothie and add vitamin C and fiber to the snack. Use 100 percent fruit juice to thin the smoothie for drinking.
References
- "Food and Nutrition"; Dayle Hayes and Rachel Laudan; 2008
- "Fit Kids for Life"; Jose Antonio and Jeffrey R. Stout; 2004
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