How to Prepare Healthy Snack Options for Kids

LIBERTY, April 27, 2010 - Children need healthy snack options so that they can learn lifelong healthy eating habits. Since snacking is such a mainstay for most people (especially kids), it is important that they learn how to make the healthiest, most nutritious choices at an early age.

Adopting lifelong healthy eating habits can help kids prevent a variety of chronic illnesses from developing later in life, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, obesity and heart disease.

Because children, particularly young ones, are dependent on parents or other caregivers to provide them with food, it is essential that the adults in children's lives take responsibility for teaching them how to make healthy food and beverage choices.

How to Keep Snacks Healthy

Snacking is normally part of most people's daily food intake. And just because it isn't classified as a meal doesn't mean that the food and beverage choices don't matter. The best way for parents to handle snack time is to try to provide their children with a variety of nutritious food options to keep their kids interested and enthusiastic about eating foods that are good for them.

A great way to do this is by following the guidelines set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In keeping with these guidelines, whole grains, vegetables, fruits and beans should be incorporated into snack time eating plans. To be sure that you always have some quick, easy foods on hand that are good for your kids, stock up on cereals (not the sugar-coated kind), peanut butter, cheese, fruits, vegetables, and wheat crackers and bread.

The following guidelines provide a more detailed example of how to provide your kids with healthy snacks:

Fruits: Your kids need to eat fruits on a regular basis so that they can obtain some much needed nutrients, including beta carotene, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamin C and folate. Some great snacking options include bananas, pineapples, apple rings topped with a bit of peanut butter, oranges, tangerines and juice boxes that are 100 percent fruit. To make snacking on fruits a bit easier, you can stock your kitchen with fruit cups or canned fruit.

Vegetables: Veggies provide kids with beta carotene, fiber, vitamin C, folate and water for hydration. Some great snacking options include grape tomatoes, cucumber, squash, celery stuffed with peanut butter, carrot sticks or green beans served with a low-fat yogurt dip.

Grains: Eating grains provides kids with iron, fiber, carbohydrates and some essential B-vitamins. Foods that fall into this category include graham crackers, wheat crackers, cereals, rice cakes, fig bars and popcorn.

Meat and beans: These foods provide kids with protein for energy. Some excellent food choices in this category include peanut butter or bean dip served with whole grain crackers, tuna salad made with reduced-calorie mayo, and hard-boiled eggs.

Dairy: This is an important food group for children because it provides them with the calcium that their growing bodies need. Smart snacking choices include milkshakes made with low-fat milk, fruit, cheese (slices or strings) and yogurt (preferably organic). You might also want to provide organic yogurt smoothies for your kids, as these are tasty and healthy options.

Portion Control

Portion control must be used when preparing snacks in much the same way that it should be used during meal times. Just because you are feeding your kids healthy, nutritious snacks doesn't mean that they can't consume too much food.

This is especially true when they are eating things like peanut butter, cheese and yogurt dips. While very healthy and packed with essential nutrients, these foods still carry some fat and calories, so they need to be consumed in moderation.

It is usually a good idea to try to have snacks already prepared and on hand when you know your kids are going to want them. This means that having after-school snacks that are ready for them to eat is an absolute must, so make sure that you keep your kitchen stocked with foods that they can readily grab without having to go through a lot of preparation. This is particularly important if you know that your kids won't take the time to make a healthy snack when they could more easily grab the nearest bag of chips to snack on.

For further information about adding more fruit and vegetables or just food and nutrition information call 936-336-4558, Ext. 221 or 281-593-0405, Ext. 221 or come by the Extension Office at 2103 Cos Street, Liberty, e-mail liberty@ag.tamu.edu.