Sensible Snacking for Children (2024)

FAQs

What are the 7 sensible snacks? ›

Other general healthy snacking tips

For older school-age kids, mix dried fruit, unsalted nuts and popcorn in a snack-size bag for a quick trail mix. Blend plain fat-free or low-fat yogurt with 100% fruit juice and frozen peaches for a tasty smoothie.

A good rule of thumb is to offer snacks a few hours after one meal ends and about one to two hours before the next meal begins. Postponing snacks until a few hours after a meal helps prevent kids from refusing food at a meal and then begging for more food as a "snack" just after the meal ends.

Snacks should be calorie controlled, nutrient dense, appetizing, and filling. When preparing your snacks for home, work, or on-the-go, try to pick the healthier option that will keep you fuller longer.

Have chopped and ready-to-eat fruit and veg, like apple, carrot, cucumber, celery, peppers, peeled satsuma segments, strawberries, halved grapes, tinned pineapple or melon slices pre-prepared for an easy snack kids can eat with their fingers.

Swap: Lentil, Black Bean or Homemade Chips. It's time to leave the potato and tortilla chips at the grocery store. Give kids the crunch they want but with healthier junk food alternatives, like chips made with lentils or black beans. You can even make your own tortilla chips in a snap.

What are Smart Snacks in School? Smart Snacks in School refers to the national nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold outside of the federal reimbursable school meal programs during the school day.

Should kids snack all day? ›

I usually recommend offering your child three meals, and two to three snacks in between those meals, per day. For younger children, the recommendation is that they need to eat about every two to three hours. Older children can sometimes go a little longer, maybe three, or three and a half to four hours.

Keep a variety of nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat foods nearby to snack on when hunger hits. This will help lessen the temptation of less healthy options from vending machines, break rooms or convenience stores. Ideas include fresh fruit, air-popped popcorn, fat-free or low-fat yogurt, and nut mixes.

First, plan on enjoying snacks only during specific times or portion out healthy snacks so you stay energized and don't overindulge. Second, fill your home with healthy food choices, such as fruits, vegetables, low-sodium soups, whole grains and lean proteins.

Participants who mostly ate unprocessed and minimally processed snacks did better on some health measures, compared with people who mostly ate ultra-processed snacks. For instance, they had lower body weight, less belly fat, lower levels of fat and sugar in their blood, and better blood fat responses to food.

Fresh & Chilled

Get fresh with your food with a variety of healthy salads, sandwiches, fruits, veggies, and more.

To heighten alertness she recommends low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, string-cheese sticks or milk (perhaps in your industrial-strength latte). Avoid fat, she says, or you'll feel even fuzzier. Extra perk: The extra calcium helps to prevent osteoporosis, reduce PMS symptoms and improve heart health.