After a long and active day at school, our children tend to come home hungry, hence the popularity of the afternoon snack. Most store bought or commercial snacks are rich in carbohydrates, sugar, sodium, and fats. Things like packaged cookies, pastries, and other quick fix snacks are low in nutrition, and are generally unhealthy.While most of us don't have to the time to make elaborate snacks for our children, there are many easy healthy snacks that we can prepare the minute they ask for it or make in the morning and leave in the fridge for when our kids come home. These snacks should focus on fruit and dairy, the two food groups that seldom go into the other meals of the day. If you can supply your children with either a serving of fruit or dairy or both, then you are sure that they are getting the kind of nutrition they need.
Here are some snack ideas:
Fruit Juice Popsicles:
This is the easiest snack to prepare! Just get store bought Popsicle makers or containers and fill them with 100% fruit juice. Freeze these containers, and don't forget to stick a Popsicle stick in it if it doesn't have one already. They're really healthy, and you can make many at a time and in varying flavors. You can even make one flavor for every day of the school week, and then you'll be done with all the snacks for that week!
Low-Fat Yogurt or Pudding:
This is a great and healthy snack!! A cup of yogurt or pudding will fulfill one dairy serving for your child. You can buy these at almost any grocery store. Yogurt would be the healthier option. They even have yogurt cups that come with fruit mixed in it. For a child with a sweet tooth, pudding is good too. Be sure to look at the nutritional facts posted on the package of pudding. Things to look for are: low-fat and no trans-fat, these would be your best picks.
Home Made Oatmeal Cookies:
Make these during the weekend and your kids can have them anytime during the week for as long as supplies last! Oatmeal cookies are high in grains and fiber, and if you make them at home, you can control how much sugar you put in. Try using no sugar with your cookies, and putting a few bittersweet chocolate bits on top of each one before popping them into the oven. These will provide sweetness, and it's a good twist to an old recipe.
Fruit and Cheese:
One of the simplest and easiest healthy snacks. Your kids can even prepare these themselves. Just a few slices of cheese and some apples and grapes are already enough to fill one serving of dairy and one serving of fruit. You can also choose to serve some whole wheat crackers with the cheese in order to throw in a grain serving.
Fruit Men:
These are fun to make snacks. They can be as simple as a banana with raisin eyes and a cut out mouth. You can prepare fruit men ahead of time and place them in a Tupperware container then in the fridge. These snacks require a bit more time than most, but they're fun to eat, and can actually be a fun activity for you and your kids.
Easy healthy snacks are usually just hiding right under our noses. If you can't think of anything, poke around your fridge and kitchen. You will see thousands of healthy possibilities!
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