Healthy & Sweet Snacks for Kids
Children crave sugar and sweets, but there are many healthy and nutritious alternatives to processed, sugary snacks. Parents should always try to avoid giving their kids empty calorie snacks with low nutritional value. Growing kids need protein, fiber, calcium and vitamins. Feeding your kids healthy sweet snacks could instill good eating habits for life.
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Frozen Fruits
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Freeze fruits like seedless grapes, blueberries, or mangoes to create a bite-size frozen treat. For a slushier version, let them sit out for a few minutes to soften. These fruits are high in vitamins and antioxidants. A frozen banana treat starts with a whole or half banana on a stick. Dip them in yogurt, peanut butter or hazelnut spread, and then roll them in nuts, granola or dried fruits. Place them on parchment paper, or wrap them individually in plastic wrap and freeze.
Yogurt Parfait
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Yogurt parfaits are high in calcium, fiber and, vitamins. Fill a parfait glass or stemmed drinking glass with layers of the child's favorite flavor of yogurt, fruits or berries and granola. Put a small dollop of whipped cream on top to make it look like a sundae. Yogurt parfaits are snacks that can also serve as a nutritious breakfast.
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Fruit & Dip
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Slice some fruit or skewer some fruit kabobs and offer the kids a healthy dip to go with it. Some dip options are cream cheese with fruit preserve, vanilla yogurt, peanut butter, honey drizzled Greek yogurt, apple butter, and hazelnut spread. They all add fiber, protein, calcium and vitamins to a child's diet.
Fruit Smoothies
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Fruits, juices, yogurts and even vegetables can be blended to make this cool, refreshing snack. Mix up 1 to 2 cups of liquid, like soy milk or juice, 2 to 3 cups of frozen fruit, and a little ice. Vegetables or other healthy ingredients can be hidden in a smoothie, and your kids won't even know. A little carrot, celery, flax seed oil, or wheat germ will mix right into the otherwise sweet smoothie.
Trail Mix
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Make your own trail mix with a variety of healthy dried fruits and nuts. You can make a simple raisin and peanuts mix, or get more creative with dried cranberries, dried mangoes, pineapple and walnuts. You can also add some yogurt-covered raisins or a few antioxidant rich, dark chocolate chips. Put them in snack size bags and keep them in a place where kids can just grab them and go.
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