Healthy snacks...
- Thread starter cjhays
- Start date
</EMOJI>This can be so hard!
What one kid likes another won't eat. My son is a difficult eater. All he wants to eat is garbage food (chips, pop, etc.) and if I don't have it in the house, he refuses to eat. We battle over food a lot.
I've always been a fan of carrot sticks, celery sticks, and ranch dressing.
Nutrigrain bars are processed, but they're reasonably portioned and they're good on the go. I'm a fan of granola bars in general.
Fruit is ALWAYS a good choice, particularly bananas and apples since they transport easily.
Cheese cubes and cheese sticks are good calcium sources.
I'm out of ideas! Actually, I'm watching this thread to see what others say. My son is so difficult when it comes to food.
What one kid likes another won't eat. My son is a difficult eater. All he wants to eat is garbage food (chips, pop, etc.) and if I don't have it in the house, he refuses to eat. We battle over food a lot.
I've always been a fan of carrot sticks, celery sticks, and ranch dressing.
Nutrigrain bars are processed, but they're reasonably portioned and they're good on the go. I'm a fan of granola bars in general.
Fruit is ALWAYS a good choice, particularly bananas and apples since they transport easily.
Cheese cubes and cheese sticks are good calcium sources.
I'm out of ideas! Actually, I'm watching this thread to see what others say. My son is so difficult when it comes to food.
Two words , Red Grapes. They are a great snack. my child loves apples and grapes.
If your on the losing end of the health battle like some parents (your child only wants junk) then i can't give advice from experience as i dont allow my son to have cokes,fried chips,french fries. Burger king sells apple slices that are cut just like french fries. Sprite is OK i suppose at restaurants, if i have a beer he gets a root beer or cream soda, or sprite.
If i ever fall behind on the health i will institute a "no junk food week" and eat only healthy food. serve veggies and everything. after a week of that your child may start liking natural treats like grapes,apples,mango,oranges etc. trail mix is good too. other options include:
string cheese (so fun)
Peanut Butter
Banana bread (or other healthy baked goods)
whole grain cereal
homemade cheese quesadillas ( a favorite at my house)
yogurt -(gogurt is a fun option) u can also mix in fruit in an ice tray and make frozen treats.
sweet potatoes (try slicing thin, placing on a cookie sheet and bake to a crisp
Eggs - hard boiled or just scramble one who cares if its 3pm.
Low fat ham or turkey slices rolled up with an American cheese slice.
Also a trick to get younger kids to try new foods. Buy Redmond Salt, you may have to go to a health-food store. Let the child have a bit in their hand and lick it off. Then have them sprinkle on an apple slice. This makes them taste a bit different and gives your child much needed iodine and minerals that are in the Redmond salt (my father is a family physician and recommended this to me).
If your on the losing end of the health battle like some parents (your child only wants junk) then i can't give advice from experience as i dont allow my son to have cokes,fried chips,french fries. Burger king sells apple slices that are cut just like french fries. Sprite is OK i suppose at restaurants, if i have a beer he gets a root beer or cream soda, or sprite.
If i ever fall behind on the health i will institute a "no junk food week" and eat only healthy food. serve veggies and everything. after a week of that your child may start liking natural treats like grapes,apples,mango,oranges etc. trail mix is good too. other options include:
string cheese (so fun)
Peanut Butter
Banana bread (or other healthy baked goods)
whole grain cereal
homemade cheese quesadillas ( a favorite at my house)
yogurt -(gogurt is a fun option) u can also mix in fruit in an ice tray and make frozen treats.
sweet potatoes (try slicing thin, placing on a cookie sheet and bake to a crisp
Eggs - hard boiled or just scramble one who cares if its 3pm.
Low fat ham or turkey slices rolled up with an American cheese slice.
Also a trick to get younger kids to try new foods. Buy Redmond Salt, you may have to go to a health-food store. Let the child have a bit in their hand and lick it off. Then have them sprinkle on an apple slice. This makes them taste a bit different and gives your child much needed iodine and minerals that are in the Redmond salt (my father is a family physician and recommended this to me).
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kids love dried fruit, you can do it yourself, slice a few apples very thin, throw then in the over at 225 f for an hour let them cool and there you go, no preservatives or junk.
I recently found that Wal-Mart sells these pre-sliced apples in single bags. They must treat them somehow to not go brown but my daughter loves them in her school lunch bag. Sending a whole apple (my preference) in her lunch bag is a non starter - kiddie teeth are falling out.
Great topic in this thread - I'm actually doing a (backburner) project where I want to publish a short book about healthy snack ideas that are easy to make, and school friendly (no nuts, etc). Or at least some of them are school friendly since I believe nuts are a very healthy food choice.
Some overall comments:
- Avoid white processed carbs
- Avoid excess fruit (it's still sugar)
- "Eat the rainbow" (veggies of all colors)
- Lots of healthy ingredients like nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits
- Coconut is an amazing additive to many snacks (flakes).
- Cinnamon has amazing health benefits and tastes wonderful.
Some overall comments:
- Avoid white processed carbs
- Avoid excess fruit (it's still sugar)
- "Eat the rainbow" (veggies of all colors)
- Lots of healthy ingredients like nuts, seeds, veggies, fruits
- Coconut is an amazing additive to many snacks (flakes).
- Cinnamon has amazing health benefits and tastes wonderful.
Hey Gavin - you can cut up your own apples and put some lemon juice on them to keep them from going brown. A bit more eco-friendly and a money saver.
you could definitely try celery, however it doesn't have have much nutritional value. Try watching that new show, "Cook Yourself Thin" it provides healthy alternatives for your favorite reciepes.
Hi-
We at the Healthy Development Lab at Rutgers-Camden are conducting a web-based survey about parenting and eating issues. It only takes about 10 minutes to complete and anyone with a child 13 years or younger is eligible. In December, there will be a drawing for a $100 Visa Gift Card. If you are willing/interested in taking the survey or forwarding the below information to people you know who are eligible we’d really appreciate it! The survey is completely anonymous, so we have no way of knowing who answers what.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
ParentingandEating.questionpro.com
We at the Healthy Development Lab at Rutgers-Camden are conducting a web-based survey about parenting and eating issues. It only takes about 10 minutes to complete and anyone with a child 13 years or younger is eligible. In December, there will be a drawing for a $100 Visa Gift Card. If you are willing/interested in taking the survey or forwarding the below information to people you know who are eligible we’d really appreciate it! The survey is completely anonymous, so we have no way of knowing who answers what.
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
ParentingandEating.questionpro.com
A favorite of mine is mini pancakes, I experimented a lot with pancakes because my boyfriend is gluten intolerant and have found a few recipes for fruit types (the coconut one is to die for) that are naturally sweet just a bit, light, filling, but not heavy and when made bite size kids love to just snack on cold or popped in the toaster oven for just a minute.
Great posts - very helpful! The only really healthy thing my 5 year old will eat is sugar snap peas. So we eat lots of them!! LOL. I can't even get my kids to try fruit that is not apples, oranges or bananas!
I have learned over the years to be as creative as necessary. My kids are allowed very little junk food, and we never have potatoe chips in the house. Things that I have found they like are Snapea chips, whcih are made of peas and taste great! Also they have 5 grams of protien a serving. Trader Joe's srlls green bean chips and healthy cheetos as well. Some kids like freeze dried fruits and veggies. They also sell yogurt with candy or granola mix ins. Not as healthy as without, but can encourage a reluctant eater to try it. Drinkable yogurt can also be a good option. The most important thing with my own kids is that they know it is an expectation that they eat fruits or veggies first, so they don't fight about it. That's just the way it is. And having lots of different fresh, canned and frozen options around and easily accessible can help as well.
Today our kids had:
-fruit (watermelon, grapes, cherries, mango, blueberries, rockmelon, kiwifruit, apple) - plus peaches/oranges/bananas in the fruit bowl, which is 'free' to eat 24/7
- chips (fries, at the pool after swimming lessons, our monday treat)
-cherry tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, rice crackers and homemade dip (today was hommus and sundried tomatoes)
Tomorrow we have "play in the park" so the two little ones have fruit and puffed corn (like popcorn) and maybe a soy babycino each
after school I serve up fruit and veg/dip, as well as a pressed meat/tuna sandwich each (I always get some protein into them to keep them going till dinner)
The older ones have a trailmix container with nuts and seeds, which they munch on during the day.
-fruit (watermelon, grapes, cherries, mango, blueberries, rockmelon, kiwifruit, apple) - plus peaches/oranges/bananas in the fruit bowl, which is 'free' to eat 24/7
- chips (fries, at the pool after swimming lessons, our monday treat)
-cherry tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, rice crackers and homemade dip (today was hommus and sundried tomatoes)
Tomorrow we have "play in the park" so the two little ones have fruit and puffed corn (like popcorn) and maybe a soy babycino each
after school I serve up fruit and veg/dip, as well as a pressed meat/tuna sandwich each (I always get some protein into them to keep them going till dinner)
The older ones have a trailmix container with nuts and seeds, which they munch on during the day.
I have the pickiest eater you can imagine, and he really only eats sandwiches, chips, chicken nuggets and pancakes. I'm not kidding. That's it. But there was one thing that he did like that surprised me. He told me they were called Veggie Chips. I have yet to find them myself but he ate them at school. Veggies that taste like chips. Can't be bad.
keadavisi,
Those "veggie chips" are most likely still high in potato content and have added spinach, carrot and other veggies. They taste like chips because they still are very much like them. They're also still cooked in oil, and quite often the oil is something not so good for us.
I don't know exactly what version / brand your son had, so I can't be certain that they are unhealthy. But I just want to remind everyone to do some reading and learning beyond just hearing the marketing message. The food companies will have us believe twinkies and kit kat bars are healthy.
Those "veggie chips" are most likely still high in potato content and have added spinach, carrot and other veggies. They taste like chips because they still are very much like them. They're also still cooked in oil, and quite often the oil is something not so good for us.
I don't know exactly what version / brand your son had, so I can't be certain that they are unhealthy. But I just want to remind everyone to do some reading and learning beyond just hearing the marketing message. The food companies will have us believe twinkies and kit kat bars are healthy.