Healthy Snacks for Kids

healthy snacks for kids

Fruits and Vegetables

Most of the snacks served to children should be fruits and vegetables, since most kids do not eat the recommended five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables each day, healthy snacks for kids is an important way to add these to their diet. Eating fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of heart disease, cancer, and high blood pressure. Fruits and vegetables also contain important nutrients like vitamins A and C and fiber.

Fruit is naturally sweet, so most kids love it. Fruit can be served whole, sliced, cut in half, cubed, or in wedges. Canned, frozen, or dried fruits often need little preparation.

• Apples
  
• Apricots
  
• Bananas
  
• Blackberries
  
• Blueberries
  
• Cantaloupe
  
• Cherries
  
• Grapefruit
  
• Grapes (red, green, or purple)
  
• Honeydew Melon
  
• Kiwis (cut in half and give each child a spoon to eat it)
  
• Mandarin Oranges
  
• Mangoes
  
• Nectarines
  
• Oranges
  
• Peaches
  
• Pears
  
• Pineapple
  
• Plums
  
• Raspberries
  
• Strawberries
  
• Tangerines
  
• Watermelon
  healthy snacks for kids
  

• Applesauce (Unsweetened), Fruit Cups, and Canned Fruit – These have a longshelf life and are low-cost, easy, and healthy if canned in juice or light syrup.
  
  
• Dried Fruit - Try raisins, apricots, apples, cranberries, pineapple, papaya, andothers with little or no added sugars.
  
  
• Frozen Fruit – Try freezing grapes or buy frozen blueberries, strawberries,peaches, mangoes, and melon.
  
  
• Fruit Leathers – Some brands of fruit snacks are more like candy than fruit,and should be avoided due to their high content of added sugars and lack offruit. Try Natural Value FruitLeathers and Stretch Island Fruit Leathers, which come in a variety of flavorsand don’t have added sugars.
  
  
• Fruit Salad – Get kids to help make a fruit salad. Use a variety of colored fruitsto add to the appeal.
  
  
• Popsicles – Most so-called “fruit” popsicles have added sugars and should bereserved for an occasional treat. Look for popsicles made from 100% fruit juicewith no added caloric sweeteners, such as Breyers or Dole “No Sugar Added”fruit bars.
  
  
• Smoothies – Smoothies make great healthy snacks for kids. Blend fruit with juice, yogurt or milk, and ice. Many store-madesmoothies have added sugars and are not healthy choices.

• Broccoli
  
• Carrot sticks or Baby Carrots
  
• Cauliflower
  
• Celery Sticks
  
• Cucumber
  
• Peppers (green, red, or yellow)
  
• Snap Peas
  
• Snow Peas
  
• String Beans
  
• Tomato slices
  
• grape or cherry tomatoes
  
• Zucchini slices
  
  
• Dips: Try salad dressings, bean dips, guacamole, hummus (which comes in dozens of flavors), salsa, or peanut butter.
  
  
• Salad: Make a salad or set out veggies like a salad bar and let the kids buildtheir own salads.
  
  
• Soy: Edamame (pronounced “eh-dah-MAH-may”) are fun to eat and easy toserve. (Heat frozen edamame in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes).
  
  
• Veggie Pockets: Cut whole wheat pitas in half and let kids add veggies withdressing or hummus.
  
• Ants on a Log: Let kids spread peanut butter on celery and add raisins.

Though most kids eat plenty of grain products, too many of those grains arecookies, snack cakes, sugary cereals, and other refinedgrains that are high in sugar and have no real nutrition. Healthy snacks for kids should contain mostly whole grains, which provide more fiber, vitamins, and minerals than refined grains. In addition, try to avoid a lot of sugar and hydrogenated fats.


• Whole Wheat English Muffins, Pita, or Tortillas – Stuff them with veggies ordip them in hummus or bean dip.
  
  
• Breakfast Cereal – Either dry or with milk, whole grain cereals likeCheerios, Grape-Nuts, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Wheaties makegood snacks.
  
  
• Crackers – Whole-grain crackers like Triscuits, which come in different flavorsor thin crisps (or similar woven wheat crackers), Rye crackers, or wholewheat Matzos can be served alone or with toppings, like cheese or peanut butter.
  
  
• Rice Cakes - Look for rice cakes made from brown (whole grain) rice. Theycome in many flavors, and can be served with or without toppings.
  
  
• Popcorn – You can air pop the popcorn and season it, by spraying it with vegetable oil spray and adding Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, or other non-salt spices.
  
  
• Baked Tortilla Chips - Baked tortilla chips are usually low in fat, and tastegreat with salsa and/or bean dip. Look for brands with less salt.
  
  
• Pretzels, Bread sticks, and Flatbreads - These items can be offered assnacks now and then, but most are not whole grain and are high in salt.

Dairy foods are a great source of calcium (which can help to build strong bones), and make healthy snacks for kids.

• Yogurt – Look for brands that are moderate in sugars and high in calcium. Children do not need fat-free or low-fat products since they are growning and their developing brains and bodies require more fat than adults do.
  
  
• Cheese - Cheese provides calcium, but high in sodium. Try to serve it withother lower salt foods like fruit or vegetables.
  healthy snacks for kids
  
• Pudding and Frozen Yogurt - pudding and frozen yogurt should be served only as occasional treats, because they are high in added sugar.

Healthy Beverages

• Water – Water should be the main drink served with healthy snacks for kids. Water satisfies thirst and does not have sugar or empty calories.(Plus, it is low-cost for care-givers!) If kids are used togetting sweetened beverages at snack times, it may takea little time for them to get used to drinking water.
  
  
• Seltzer - Carbonated drinks like seltzer, sparkling water,and club soda are healthy options. They do not contain the sugars, calories,and caffeine of sodas. Serve them alone or try making “healthy sodas” bymixing them with equal amounts of 100% fruit juice.
  
  
• Fruit Juice - Buy 100% fruit juice and avoid the added sugars of juicedrinks, punches, fruit cocktail drinks, or lemonade. Drinks that contain at least50% juice and no additional sweeteners are also healthful options. Tofind 100% juice, look at beverage nutrition labels for the percentage of thebeverage that is juice. Orange, grapefruit, and pineapple juices are morenutrient-dense and are healthier than apple, grape, and pear juices. Many beverages like Capri Sun, V8-Splash,Tropicana Twisters, Sunny Delight, Kool Aid Jammers, Hi-C, or juice drinksfrom Very Fine, Welch’s or Snapple are easily mistaken for juice. However,those beverages are more like soda than juice -- they are merely sugar waterwith a few tablespoons of added juice.Fruit juice can be rich in vitamins, minerals, and cancer-fighting compounds.However, it is high in calories.
  
  
  
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