You can still provide fun snacks that appeal to kindergarteners without feeding their appetite for junk food and sugar. Whether you need something fast or have time to cook something at home, healthy options are plentiful.
Quick Options
Buying snacks does not limit you to chips, snack crackers and sandwich cookies. Fruit cups, raisins, applesauce, clementines and bananas provide kids with a serving of fruit. Low-fat string cheese or pre-cut cubes of cheddar provide calcium and protein. Whole grain cereal with minimal added sugar, such as "O"-shaped oats or lightly-sweetened wheat squares, provide fiber and energizing carbohydrates. Mini whole wheat bagels with light cream cheese are another easy, healthy and pleasing kindergarten snack.
Dips
If you have a little time to prepare, make a healthy dip for your kindergarteners. Stir together 1/2 cup applesauce with 2 tbsp. vanilla low-fat yogurt and a pinch of cinnamon to make a dip for graham crackers and shredded wheat cereal. Alternatively mix together 1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt with 1/2 cup peanut butter and a pinch of cinnamon and offer apples wedges and banana slices for dipping. Peanut butter provides heart-healthy fats, and the yogurt is a source of calcium.
Fun Snacks
Fool your kindergarteners with eggs and waffles for a snack. Buy whole-grain waffles and toast according to package directions. Spread each with about 2 tbsp. of vanilla low-fat yogurt on each waffle and top it with a canned apricot half to look like a yolk. Alternatively, make a red ant variation on the celery snack known as ants on a log. Instead of spreading celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, spread low-fat cream cheese on the celery and dot it with dried cranberries. The celery provides fiber, vitamin A, folate and vitamin K.
Healthy Cookies
Sometimes, you just have to give kindergarteners a cookie. Improve the nutrition of the average chocolate chip cookie by using a recipe inspired by Clean Eating magazine that includes heart-healthy almond butter and antioxidant-rich dark chocolate. Mix together 1 cup unsalted almond butter, 3/4 cup sucanot -- an unrefined cane sugar -- one large egg, 1/2 tsp. baking soda and 1/4 tsp. salt. After ingredients are blended, add 3 oz. dark chocolate broken into small pieces. Drop the batter by rounded tablespoon onto a greased baking sheet and bake for about 11 minutes at 350 degrees F. Cool this on the sheets for five minutes before moving it to a wire rack for further cooling.
References
- MyPyramid: How Much Fruit is Needed Daily or Weekly?
- Clean Eating magazine; Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies; March/April 2010
- "Kids Cookbook;" Pillsbury; 2005
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