Healthy snacking

Kid-Sized Healthy Snacking

It’s no secret that kids love to snack, and snacking can be a healthy way to eat and get all of the nutrients you need.  But if snacking always means grabbing a chocolate bar or a bag of chips, then some snack time changes might be in order.

Here’s a few things to keep in mind or try in order to bring a little more health to snack time while still keeping the food fun.

• Make snacking a purposeful experience and limit where your kids can snack to certain parts of the house.  Designate a snack spot at the kitchen counter or table, or in the summer time, on the patio or deck.
• Let kids help choose the foods for their snacks.  Keep all of the snack foods on one shelf or cupboard. When they are hungry, they will know the one place to go and you can feel comfortable knowing that everything on that shelf has been snack approved.
• Keep a supply of nutritious, instant snacks on hand, such as:
  • Fresh fruits
  • Canned fruits, especially in kid sized servings
  • Peanut butter and crackers
  • Chips and salsa
  • Dry cereal and milk
  • Chocolate milk (it has as much sugar as orange juice!)
  • Granola bars
  • Homemade muffins with fruit or nuts thrown in
  • Graham crackers
  • Pretzels
  • Yogurt
  • Bagels
  • Pita chips
• If you don’t want your kids munching on candy or sweets, don’t keep them in the house.

After School Apple Snack

4                                  apples, sliced
1 package (8 oz.)     cream cheese
1/2 cup (250 g)         brown sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL)          vanilla extract
1 tsp   10 mL             cinnamon

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well until all of the brown sugar and cinnamon has been blended into the cream cheese and vanilla. If the mixture is too runny for your taste, add a small amount of brown sugar to the mixture. If the mixture is too thick for your taste, add a small amount of vanilla extract.

Serve with apple slices for dipping. Enjoy as an afternoon school or anytime of the day snack!