The holiday season brings with it a series of parties, dinner with guests and big family gatherings. This festive time of year can be fun, but with so much delicious food at your fingertips, it can be difficult to refrain from eating foods with added fat and sweets with added sugars. To keep your kids from overdosing on sugar during the Christmas season, fill their lunchboxes with healthy Christmas snacks that will not only satisfy their taste buds, but also provide them with the nutrients they need to make it through their day.
Holiday Trail Mix
Holiday trail mix provides a variety of nutrients and looks festive enough for even Rudolph to enjoy. Trail mix includes a variety of items from the nut, seed and fruit groups. Nuts serve as a good source of protein and fiber to keep the kids feeling full while also providing vitamins and minerals. Although nuts contain fat, they contain unsaturated fats that can actually help to lower total blood cholesterol levels, especially when eaten in place of other foods containing saturated fats. Trail mix commonly contains peanuts or cashews, but pistachios will add a nice green color for the holidays. Seeds also provide essential nutrients while adding a distinctive flavor to your mix. Pumpkin seeds are popular for the Christmas season and contain B vitamins and potassium with the more healthy unsaturated fats. Although raisins hold center stage when it comes to trail mix, substitute dried cranberries to add color and nutrients like antioxidants, vitamins A, C and E and minerals including manganese, zinc and selenium.
Muffins
When deciding on what sweet treat to make for the holidays, consider the muffin. Usually thought of as a breakfast food, muffins can satisfy at anytime. Replacing the traditional cookies and cakes with muffins provides an opportunity to cut the fat and add nutrients without compromising flavor. Muffins made with whole grain flour or cereals serve as good sources of dietary fiber, which help your child feel full for a longer period of time and result in better concentration throughout the day. When preparing muffins, you can also substitute applesauce for the oil to cut down on the fat content. Additionally, you can add in dried fruits, like raisins or cranberries, or nuts. These not only enhance the vitamins and mineral content of the muffin, but also make your child the talk of the lunch table at school. Add a few seeds, like sunflower or pumpkin, on top for a healthy crunch.
Don't Forget the Veggies
To offset all the sweets and high-fat foods, include vegetable snacks for your child to take to school. Vegetables contain very few calories, while offering many essential vitamins and minerals. Include a variety of Christmas colors with red bell pepper strips and cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cucumber slices and celery stalks. Add a bit of white with cauliflower, which contains 40 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin C in only 15 calories per serving, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fruit and Veggies More Matters Campaign.
Christmas Hummus
Hummus, a smooth and creamy dip native to the Middle Eastern countries, is made using garbanzo beans, also known as chick peas. When preparing hummus at home, it serves as a nutritious snack item that you can "dress up" for the holiday season. Garbanzo beans, a member of the legume family, serve as a good source of protein, carbohydrates and fat. The majority of the fat belongs in the unsaturated classification, making it a healthy source of fat. Garbanzo beans also provide vitamins and minerals including calcium, phosphorus, potassium, vitamin A and vitamin K. To prepare hummus, cook and drain the garbanzo beans and mash into a paste. Add garlic, lemon juice and tahini, an oil prepared from crushing sunflower seeds, for flavor. At Christmas time, add some roasted red peppers to bring in not only flavor, but to also a red festive hue. Use as a dip for fresh vegetables, whole wheat crackers or hollow out a portion from thick cucumber slices and fill with the hummus, adding green to the red for a festive Christmas flair your child will enjoy.
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