The appetite of a preschooler can vary widely, from seeming to live off of air one day to devouring everything in sight the next. According to Kids Health, a preschooler needs between 1,200 and 1,600 calories a day, and snacks are one way to ensure that caloric and nutritional needs are being met. Setting a healthy example by sharing these nutritious snacks with your child is a good way to teach preschoolers about healthy eating and healthy snacking.
Food Art
Play to your child's artistic streak by making art out of healthy foods. Create a face on a plate using half of a banana as the mouth, berries as the eyes and nose and strips of cheese as hair. To encourage your child's own creativity, provide a small cup of nuts, berries and shredded cheese that your preschooler can use to add earrings, freckles, multiple alien eyes or whatever else she comes up with to the face on her plate. Not only will your child be getting a snack full of calcium, protein, vitamins and antioxidants, she'll also have fun creating her own art while she eats.
Healthy Handfuls
A preschooler on the go enjoys snacks that suit his active lifestyle. Place a bowl of healthy dry cereal mixed with a sprinkling of nuts and a handful of raisins or dried fruit and allow your preschooler to take handfuls to carry with him while he plays. Choose a cereal that is low in sugar, preferably 5 g or less per serving, and high in fiber. Nuts add monounsaturated fat to the mix and the fruit can give your child some of the vitamins and minerals he may have missed at mealtime.
Snack Rainbow
Create a rainbow on your preschooler's plate using a few different foods in three different colors. Strawberries, watermelon or tomatoes can make a red band. Orange slices, chunks of sweet potato or cantaloupe provide an orange stripe. A green stripe might contain grapes, celery or broccoli florets. Let your preschooler decide which color of the rainbow she wants to eat first and see if she can finish one band before moving on to another.
Apple Wrap
Warm a whole wheat tortilla in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds. Spread peanut butter on the surface of the tortilla. Add three or four slices of apple and roll the edges over to make a fruity, nutty burrito. If you want, you can experiment with other fruits, such as pear or nectarine, and different nut butters such as almond butter or sunflower seed butter.
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