How many times
have you heard "Mom, I'm hungry" in the middle of the afternoon?
Billions, right?. The challenge
is to satisfy them and instill in them good eating habits that will last them a
lifetime. So here are the golden rules for smart snacking for kids. Make it
fun, balance your food groups, and keep portions small. So let's start with the
fun part. You want them to eat more vegetables? Well, try serving them with
some light ranch dressing that they can dip into. It's great to use snack time
as an opportunity to fill in your child's food pyramid for the entire day. It's
also a good idea to serve well-balanced snacks. Think at least two food groups
at a time. For instance, if you're serving carbs like bread or crackers, add
some protein. These are Ritz Cracker sandwiches, and they're so easy to make. You put your
bologna, your cheese that the kids have cut out into cute, fun shapes, your
tomato, your cucumber, and some Miracle Whip, and your sandwich is done. And
isn't that cute? Next up is Ants on a Log, an oldie but a goodie. It's good
with either cream cheese or peanut butter and of course, some raisins for the
ants. Smoothies made with low-fat vanilla yogurt, fat-free milk, frozen
berries, and Crystal Light offer some calcium and vitamin C. Looking for
something warm to offer up? Try mozzarella snacks.
All you have to do is melt a
piece of string cheese on a Ritz Cracker in the microwave and serve with some
warm spaghetti sauce for dipping. Kids love cookies, so pair a serving of
cookies with a small glass of milk for a sweet treat you can feel good about
giving them. There are lots of reduced fat products on the market right now
that make it easier for moms to give kids something special without overdoing
the fat. These Strawberry Nilla Nibbles are made with reduced fat Nilla wafers
[Strawberry Nilla Nibbles and Cool Whip Lite with a fresh strawberry on top.
Kids love juice, of course, but not all juice for kids is created equal, so you
want to look around for the ones that say 100% fruit juice.
Notice the amounts
of food I'm showing you here? A good appreciation of portion control can help
your child eat right now and later in life. Lots of snacks come pre-packaged in
right size containers like the Jell-O and the pudding cups. And now, lots of
kid favorite crackers and cookies are in 100-calorie packets. Reinforce the
learning with these by pouring them into a little bowl reserved just for
snacks. You can use a little ramekin or a custard cup or do a fun project of
having the kids decorate their own special plates with their names on them.
Listen, kids get hungry when they get hungry. But a good rule of thumb is to
try to time snacks two or three hours before lunch or dinner. Look for these
and lots of other great snacking ideas and kid-friendly meals.
