Healthy Snacks for Kids in School
School-age children are exposed to many unhealthy snacks. Candy and cookies are OK once in a while, but for daily snacks at school or afterward, make sure that your child is eating healthy foods. This is not difficult or even expensive.
-
Dipping and Topping Foods
-
Provide your child with celery sticks and peanut butter or veggie slices with low-fat ranch dressing. Many different vegetables and fruits are good with a dip or topping. Be sure to look at the fat content as well as the additives to any dip or topping you are purchasing for your children. Fat-free ranch dressing, real cheese dip, and homemade salsa are healthy choices.
Cool Snacks
-
Pudding, yogurt and Jell-O are healthy snacks that kids enjoy. If it is really hot outside, you can stick a Popsicle stick in the pudding and yogurt container then place them in the freezer to make frozen treats. Many people assume that pudding is fattening, but it is a dairy product and comes in fat-free and even sugar-free options. Jell-O also offers fat-free and sugar-free products.
On-the-Go Snacks
-
Snacks that kids can carry with them are always a great choice, and there are many healthy options for this as well. Rice cakes, muffins, veggie chips, dehydrated fruits and dry cereal are all great choices for healthy on-the-go snacks. When choosing muffins you can either make your own or look for the healthier varieties. For a healthy snack you don't want to give your child a double chocolate chunk muffin; instead opt for those made with real fruit and whole wheat flour. Even cookies can be a healthy snack if you make them with applesauce instead of sugar and use a nutritional flavor choice such as oatmeal and raisin.
-
