My 5 year old is a very picky eater. She has a tendency to eat her snacks but not her lunch. Especially at school because no one is standing over her to make sure she eats it. Then when she comes home she is “starving” and wants a snack. It is very frustrating. So while I still enforce the “no snacks if you don’t eat your meals” rule, I have gotten creative with snack time. There are great healthy snacks in your snack aisle. Then when your kids want to snack you can feel good about it.
As an adult trying to watch my weight I look at fat and calories, but for my 5 year old, who at this point is the size of a pencil, I worry about sugar content. Some easy and quick Healthy snack suggestions are:
1)Wheat thins with some cheese cubes.
2)Any kind of fruit cut up with a yogurt cup. (she tends to eat her fruit, including grapes better if I cut them up)
3)Peanut Butter Ritz sandwiches are surprisingly low in sugar.
4)Another option is Carr’s wheat cracker’s (whole wheat, no bleached flour) they taste sweet, and my kids love them!
5) Goldfish crackers are great and they even have whole wheat options.
6) Slice an apple, and create a peanut butter “dip”. (Just put it in a small container)
7) Carrots and Ranch Dressing. (Buy the baby carrots. Or crinkle cut they look like P. Chips)
As soon as I come home from the grocery I divide the snacks into individual snack size baggies and toss them into the snack drawer, or Snack Bin in the fridge.(And go ahead and cut up the fruit) This allows she, or I, to pull a perfect portion sized snack out quickly, on the go! Some of these things come already packaged in single servings. The only fruit I do not cut up is apple because it browns.
I found a great link on this subject from the site below. Aurelia is a life coach and mom. She has alot of great words of encouragement, and tips on being a better mom, by being a better you. This particular article is on my topic of today, healthy eaters. It also provides another link to a site solely devoted to offering unique ideas for healthy snacks and meals your kids will eat. So check it out!
http://aureliawilliams.wordpress.com/2006/08/30/snacks-for-toddlers/
Actually, these ideas sound great for grown-ups too.
Isn’t it crazy how kids can be so different and unique? My daughter has always eaten just about anything. My son is extremely picky. Last night at dinner we had to get a different bottle of ketchup because he was convinced the one he had was “hot”. He’s a real turkey sometimes and I can’t believe how two kids growing in the same house with the same eating styles can be so totally opposite! I blogged some of his quirks recently at: http://www.hollyscorner.com/blog/2006/08/26/pickles-dorritos-chocolate-milk/
Hugs,
Holly