Kids and Snacking
Kids need more calories than the average adult. They have larger appetites and get hungry more often than adults.
Every parent knows the after school snack is a near necessity for healthy kids. The key to these snacks is making sure
they have the energy and nutrients to keep you child healthy and happy. Following are some tips for improving
snacking at your house.
Try to limit junk food by keeping it at a minimum in your house.
Keep healthy drink options such as orange juice and avoid having soda and other unhealthy drinks around.
Have health foods readily available, vegetables, fruit, peanut butter,
Graham crackers and yogurt.
Designate a snacking area in your home and feel it with creative items like fruit kabobs, creative cheese slice designs,
and fruits displayed in creative ways.
Keep health foods accessible. Fresh fruit on the counter, whole grain cereals in easy access containers, and ready to
eat vegetables in the refrigerator.
Labels, Labels, Labels. Do not be fooled by marketing gimmicks. Low-fat and fat free items may be high in calories.
Cholesterol-free foods can be high in fat, saturated fat and sugar.
Keep healthy sweets on hand. Fat free pudding, frozen yogurt, or smoothies out of skim milk and fat free yogurt.
The key to healthy snacking for your kids really amounts to having healthy food alternatives available, limiting the
amount of junk food that is available to them, and setting up an area for snacking that does not allow for countless
hours of time before the computer or television where they may eat an unlimited amount of calories. The more you are
able to establish healthy habits now, the easier it will be for your children to develop long term eating habits.
For further Information:
Family Service Inc.
800-589-1974
fsisd.org
Sept 2010