Parents everywhere face the dilemma of attempting to get kids to eat healthier snacks. Sometimes convincing a child to eat healthy snacks really is not as easy as it is made out to be. While parents are wise in their effort to try and get children to consume healthier foods, kids will argue that sweet treats and “bad-for-you” goodies taste better than healthy foods offered. So, how does a parent convince a child to eat healthier snacks throughout the day?
One way to ensure that children eat healthy snacks is to give them super healthy foods from the outset. The sooner parents introduce their child to healthy snacks the better. If a child eats healthy snacks all their life and know of nothing else the child is less likely to give parents a hassle when parents choose to introduce new, healthy foods into the child’s regular diet.
Parents looking to encourage their children to eat super healthy foods should definitely make snack time fun. When kids are having fun they place their focus on enjoying the time they are having and less focus on the fact that they are trying something new. There are plenty of ways to make snacks both fun and healthy too. Let’s take a look at a few fun snacks kids tend to enjoy.
The beverage you give your child during snack time or meal time is just as important as the foods selected. Instead of offering cola or kool-aid and sugar-filled beverages, offer a child a glass of milk or a glass of juice instead. While juice has sugar in it, the fruit juice will still carry more vitamins and minerals than kool-aid offers. The juice selections can also be frozen as well, thereby giving a child a super tasty treat.
Yogurt is an excellent snack for children and is better than pudding from pudding packs. You can even give your child granola chips to add on top of the yogurt, and yogurt is just as delicious with dried fruits, nuts, and banana chips on top. Since yogurts are offered in a variety of flavors, parents will have no trouble finding yogurts that their kids love.
Rather than giving kids fruit cocktail which is fixed in heavy syrup, parents should opt for fresh fruits whenever possible. Cutting up some watermelon, honeydew, and cantaloupe makes for a perfect midday snack. Strawberries mixed with fresh raspberries and blueberries are also an excellent option. The latter berries can be quickly put in a blender with some ice for a super cool and refreshing snack for kids, too.
Cereal snacks are a great way for parents to offer children snack diversity. Choosing healthy cereals like Cheerios™ and puffed rice are better cereal selections than those that are coated with sugar and loaded with calories. The healthy cereal can be mixed with dried fruits like apricots, bananas, and the like, and granola helps to make this type of snack a hearty treat for children as well.
Written by R. Reichert
Robin Reichert is an AFPA Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant.
