Fresh, healthy foods are better for you and your children than processed foods. Healthy snacks at home and at school help reduce hunger and cravings while providing your children with the nutrients and energy they need throughout the day. Children grow rapidly, and some do better with many small meals than with the three larger meals adults are accustomed to. In addition to main meals, young children need snacks mid-morning, mid-afternoon and maybe even before bed.
Serve Organic Fruits and Vegetables
Organic food is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Organic fruits and vegetables, and proteins from organically raised animals, may be healthier, safer and more nutritious than their non-organic equivalents. Children's bodies are developing and still immature, so babies and young children are more susceptible to the negative effects of pesticides and unnatural ingredients. Another reason for serving organic and natural food to children is that, when compared to adult food consumption, children eat more food per pound of body weight. It is not unusual for kids to become fixated on certain foods and want to eat only those items day after day. Choosing the healthiest, most natural and organic foods will help protect your family from consuming toxins.
The Less Processing the Better
Growing children need an ongoing supply of nutrients. Eating healthy snacks throughout the day can help them develop properly and maintain their energy. You can help by keeping an ample supply of fresh, unprocessed food within your child's reach. Place a bowl of apples, bananas and other fruit on the kitchen counter and a container of sliced carrots, celery and bell peppers in the refrigerator.
Fewer Ingredients Are Best
Select foods with the least ingredients, as this will cut down on the possibility of your child ingesting toxins, preservatives, additives, artificial flavors and colorings. Michael Pollan, author of "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto," recommends, "Don't buy products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can't easily pronounce." Let your children know they can choose from a selection of low-salt or unsalted whole-grain snacks with no trans fats, such as crackers, pretzels, rice cakes and baked chips.
Combine Items from Different Food Groups
Serve baby carrots or other raw vegetables with dips, such as natural, fat-free ranch dressing or hummus. Whole-grain graham crackers or slices of fresh fruit can be dipped into a blend of plain yogurt and pureed fresh fruit. Expand on old standards such as celery and unsweetened organic peanut butter by trying apples and almond butter or bananas with cashew butter.
Keep Junk Food Out of the House
If you don't keep candy, desserts made with white flour, high-calorie, fatty ice creams, greasy chips and high-fat, high-calorie foods around the house, your child is less likely to want or miss them. That doesn't mean you have to be rigid about occasional sugary treats, but parents can set a good example by not eating junk foods and by choosing healthy foods for snacks. When young children see how much their parents enjoy these snacks, they are more likely to learn how to make healthy snack choices.
Make or Buy Healthy Sweet Snacks
Blend skim milk, fat-free yogurt, ice and fresh or frozen fruit to create homemade smoothies. Keep some frozen yogurt, frozen fruit bars or natural sorbet in the freezer for a cold, sweet, afternoon snack. Freeze grapes or dip a banana in yogurt and sprinkle with cereal or chopped nuts and then freeze it. Make a colorful parfait dessert by layering plain or vanilla yogurt and different kind of berries.
Pack Healthy Snacks for Car Rides
If you prepare snacks for kids to eat during car rides or outings, you can be sure the food they eat on the go is healthy. Bring reusable individual containers of vegetable sticks and whole-grain granola with raisins or dried fruit mixed with sunflower seeds or nuts. Non-fat or part-skim cheese sticks and whole-grain rice cakes are nutritious snacks that are easy to manage in a car.
Have Your Child Help Make Healthy Snacks
Cookie cutters are great tools for making fun, healthy snacks. You can make sandwiches with natural peanut butter on whole-grain bread and have your child use a big cookie cutter to shape her sandwich. Use smaller cookie cutters to make shapes out of low-fat cheese slices or quesadillas made with whole-grain tortillas and low-fat cheese. Slice, dice and chunk different types of fruit and help your child make fruit kebabs with chopsticks or create silly fruit faces on plates.
Avoid Genetically Modified Foods
As of 2011, the United States had no laws requiring food manufacturers' labels to identify genetically modified foods. Before you offer grain products, dairy food or animal proteins to your child, do research to find out if that food has been genetically modified or if the animal sources of the meat, poultry or dairy were raised on genetically modified feed. When in doubt, buy organic produce, dairy and meat.
Be Creative When Introducing New Foods
Make a variation on French fries from sweet potatoes. Cut the sweet potato into wedges or into the shape of traditional fries. Roll the pieces in a small amount of extra-virgin olive oil coat and sprinkle on a little bit of salt and pepper before baking the fries in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Lightly steam or blanch broccoli and let your child shake on some fresh Parmesan cheese. Add tomatoes to foods your child already likes, such as whole wheat macaroni and cheese, or a grilled, part-skim mozzarella cheese sandwich on whole-grain bread.
References
- The Daily Green; 10 Healthy, Green Snack Tips for School Kids; Alexandra Zissu; March 3, 2009
- NPR; Michael Pollan: If You Can't Say It, Don't Eat It; Alex Cohen; April 24, 2008
- Mayo Clinic: Children's Snacks: 10 Tips for Healthier Snacking
- Massachusetts Department of Health; Give Your Child 10 Tasteful Gifts That Will Last a Lifetime; WIC Nutrition Program; December 2006
- The Huffington Post; Eco Etiquette: How Can I Avoid Genetically Modified Foods?; Jennifer Grayson; January 13, 2010
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