Healthy after-school snack ideas just in time for back-to-school
Categories: Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Teens & tweens, Eating & nutrition, Mealtime
School's a busy place these days. It's a long stretch between lunch and the day's last bell. School kids are hungry when they get home, and they need a snack to give them energy for extra-curricular activities, homework, and chores. If chips and cookies are what's in the cupboard, chances are that's what they'll reach for. But a healthy snack will not only satisfy their hunger, but give them the energy and nutrition they need.
Nutrition experts recommend that we all get at least 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That's nearly impossible unless you incorporate these kinds of foods into every meal and snack. Sure, you may offer kids a cookie, but serve it up next to a heaping pile of blueberries or a sliced apple. That's just one tip I discovered in AOL Health's gallery about making the most of after-school snacks. Another tip: Skip the snack food altogether and serve a mini-meal instead.
My own kids love to help in the kitchen and are far more likely to eat something they've helped create. Since they were tiny, we've been baking sweet potato muffins, and they are now a favorite snack. But it's also easy to keep washed, fresh fruit or chopped veggies in a bowl on the bottom shelf of the fridge... perfect for self-serve.
What are your favorite healthy snack ideas?
Nutrition experts recommend that we all get at least 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That's nearly impossible unless you incorporate these kinds of foods into every meal and snack. Sure, you may offer kids a cookie, but serve it up next to a heaping pile of blueberries or a sliced apple. That's just one tip I discovered in AOL Health's gallery about making the most of after-school snacks. Another tip: Skip the snack food altogether and serve a mini-meal instead.
My own kids love to help in the kitchen and are far more likely to eat something they've helped create. Since they were tiny, we've been baking sweet potato muffins, and they are now a favorite snack. But it's also easy to keep washed, fresh fruit or chopped veggies in a bowl on the bottom shelf of the fridge... perfect for self-serve.
What are your favorite healthy snack ideas?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Paul Cyopick 8-28-2008 @ 10:44AM
I'm very lucky. All three of my kids LOVE fruit and raw veggies. They would choose fruit instead of cookies and treats most of the time.
I think it's a matter of not having all the bad stuff in the house. As the article suggests, the bottom of the fridge is full of washed (and cut if necessary) fruits, whereas the "treats" are at "the treat store", where we go once in a while.
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Stephanie 8-29-2008 @ 10:14AM
Hi, my name is Stephanie and I am the Marketing Assistant at World Gourmet Marketing, Sensible Portions brand. I would like to suggest our Multi Grain Crisps as a healthy afterschool snack for both you and your kids. They are all natural, baked crisps that provide a good source of whole grains. Also a healthier snack alternative, with 65% less fat than the leading potato chip, our Veggie Crisps are baked with real garden vegetables. Check out our website at www.sensibleportions.com for our complete product line or feel free to email me at sgalliano@wgourmet.com with any further questions!
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Chere 9-03-2008 @ 1:01PM
I have a very picky 2 1/2 year old who attends daycare, when I pick her up she sometimes wants a snack, so I will carry whole wheat crackers with peanut butter on them, or grapes, I try not give her anything too sweet after school so it doesn't ruin her appetite for dinner. Occassionally we will stop at the coffee shop after as a treat (she loves the coffee shop) and we get something sweet.
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LisaCosta 9-04-2008 @ 1:35PM
The fruit smoothie works every time! I make them every afternoon during homework-plain organic yogurt, OJ, a banana, and unsweetened strawberries and blueberries. Kids love them and it's 3 servings of fruit plus dairy at once! It also holds them until dinner.
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