Snacks Can Provide a Nutrition Boost

Allrecipes.com, a recipe-sharing site launched in 1997, says snacks can be a part of a child’s balanced diet. Healthy snacks can serve as a between-meal pick-me-up for active kids with fast metabolisms and small-capacity tummies, providing them with more energy and ability to concentrate on homework. Here are some healthy snack ideas gleaned from allrecipes.com’s 5 million contributors:

Let Them be Choosy - Provide kids with choices when it comes to snacking. If all the choices you give them are reasonably nutritious ones, then everybody's happy: your kids get to choose their snacks, and you get to ensure that they're eating healthfully.

Take a Dip - Fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy products become instantly appealing when you provide something to dip them in. A cup of ranch dressing made with low-fat ingredients goes with carrot and celery sticks, pepper and cucumber slices, sugar snap peas, and cherry tomatoes. Hummus, bean dip or salsa are perfect for baked tortilla chips, whole wheat crackers or pita triangles. Good fruit dips include flavored yogurt, applesauce, low-fat sour cream sweetened with honey or brown sugar, and caramel ice cream topping.

Be Constructive - Let kids construct their snacks and they will be more likely to sample nutritious foods. Use toothpicks to spear melon balls, berries, pineapple chunks, and cubed peaches, pears or apples to make fruit kabobs. Mini sandwiches made from crackers or cut-up bread and slices of lunch meat and cheese will be a big hit. Pizza can be a healthy snack—use English muffins for the crust, add tomato sauce, and top with low-fat mozzarella cheese.

Freeze! - Kids equate frozen snacks with special treats, like ice cream and snow cones. Take advantage of that association and freeze some healthy treats. For starters, try grapes. Frozen bananas rolled in chocolate syrup and chopped nuts are a real treat (don’t forget to peel before freezing). Other favorites include peach and nectarine slices, and berries of all kinds.

Substitute - Even foods that are traditionally considered dessert items can become part of a healthy and well-balanced diet. Cookies and muffins made with applesauce in place of some of the fat (along with some additions like oats, dried fruit, nuts and whole wheat flour) will be a snack you'll be glad to give them. Any kid's eyes will light up when presented with a big, fluffy slice of angel food cake. Top it with fresh fruit to add some vitamins and fiber, or cut it into cubes for dipping in fruit-flavored yogurt for an extra dose of calcium.

Establish a Snacking Zone - Prepare snacks in advance for when hungry kids burst through the front door after school. They're going to want to grab whatever is easy and available. Designate one shelf of the refrigerator or pantry as the "snack shelf" with the understanding that anything that's on that shelf is okay to eat without having to ask permission first. Then, stock the shelf with several choices so the children won't complain about the snacks being "boring" and you won't need to worry about them overloading on junk. Make sure to include variety on the snack shelf--at least one thing from each food group.

Reprinted from PTA Parent e-newsletter, March 11, 2008.