Kids Health
While meals make up the majority of a child’s nutritional intake, most children eat at least one snack per day. While many of the most commonly offered kids’ snacks tend to be of lower nutritional value than meals, snacks still can support—or even enhance—your child’s overall healthy eating plan. Here’s how:
*Use snack times as a way to increase fruits and vegetable intake. Most kids do not eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. Snack times offer a great opportunity to increase access and exposure to these nutrient-dense foods. Consider pairing them up with dairy products or dairy substitutes (such as grapes and cheese) lean proteins (such as celery and peanut butter), or whole-grain cereals and bread (such as banana sandwich on whole grain bread).
*Keep a range of healthy foods handy at home. It is much easier to make easy, healthy snacks when you keep a few key items stocked at home. Ideas include different types of raw vegetables and fruit, yogurt dip.
*Avoid processed foods and added sugars. Processed foods (made in a factory and sold in bags and boxes) do not have many nutrients and often have a lot of added sugar and salt. In addition, children may become hungry faster after eating processed foods.
*Teach your children to eat a rainbow of colours. Arrange your children’s foods to show the beauty of fresh, brightly coloured foods. Talk about the farms where food comes from and the farmers who help grow it.
Selecting snacks for toddlers
With all the energy your toddler uses, his stomach can’t hold enough to keep him from getting hungry between meals. Many children need a morning and afternoon snack, which should be timed so they won’t interfere with lunch or dinner. Snacks should include a satisfying balance of healthy foods.
Healthy Snacks for Toddlers
Fresh fruits
*.Apples, bananas, peaches, nectarines, pears (sliced)
*.Cherries, grapes, plums (sliced or smushed and pitted)
*.Orange or grapefruit sections (cut into pieces)
*.Strawberries
*.Apples, apricots, peaches, pears (cut up)
*.Dates, prunes (pitted, cut up)
*.Raisins
Vegetables
*.Carrots, green beans (well cooked, diced)
*.Steamed cauliflower, broccoli
*.Yams (cooked and diced)
*.Peas (mashed for safety; a child can inhale whole peas)
*.Potatoes (cooked and diced)
Dairy products
*.Cheese (grated or diced)
*.Cottage cheese
*.Yogurt, fresh or frozen
*. Milk
Breads and cereals
*.Whole wheat bread
*.Bagel cut into small pieces
*.Crackers (saltine, graham, whole grain)
*.Dry cereal
*.Rice cakes
Meat/protein group
* Fish(canned tuna, salmon, sardines; whitefish)
* Peanut butter (smooth, spread thin on bread or cracker)
Snacks to avoid
Raw vegetables are mostly too difficult for toddlers to manage, and some—carrots, whole cherry tomatoes, whole green beans, celery—are a serious choking hazard for toddlers. But there’s no reason a toddler shouldn’t enjoy well-cooked vegetables cut into manageable pieces. Big chunks of any food and glob-like spoonfuls of peanut butter are hazardous and should not be given to children younger than 4 years; the same advice is just as important for any types of nuts, peanuts, or popcorn because children aren’t able to grind food and reduce it to a consistency safe for swallowing. Chunks of peanut butter can stick to their palate and end up choking them.
-healthychildren.org
