One concern with this is the affect it has on producing cavities. Another issue is that snacks play a major role in a child’s diet by providing adequate calories and nutrients to aid in proper growth and development. When unhealthy snacks are consumed children receive too many calories and very little nutrients. This not only causes a problem with weight, especially since childhood obesity is on the rise, but it is also takes away from them receiving the proper nutrients for their growth and development. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that children consume healthy snacks between their meals.
Below is a list of some healthy snacks to pick from.
- Nuts
- Fresh or dried fruit such apples, strawberries, bananas
- Low-fat microwave popcorn
- Baked snack chips
- Whole-grain crackers and cereals
- Vegetables such as baby carrots, broccoli or cauliflower
- Low-fat dairy products such as yogurt, fruit smoothie
Not only should children be consuming healthy snack choices, but they should be eating the appropriate quantities or amount. As I mentioned a previous post avoid allowing kids to overload on snacks or they will not be hunger come meal times.
Quantity and serving size will be discussed in a later post.
3 comments:
I like that you give examples of healthy snacks. Many parents want to give their kids the very best foods, but just don't know what to offer! They have the best of intentions, but end up reaching for processed sugary snacks because it is easier.
Thanks for the info!
I discovered that 1.5 year olds or above enjoy eating food which is cut into different shapes in addition to letting them use lovely and colorful toddler’s tableware.
Sometimes I make wheat toast for my friend’s children where I cut wheat bread into stars, triangles, heart shapes or other cute shapes.
Moreover, I also make blueberry wheat muffins for 1.5 year olds or above because blueberries are rich in lutein and vitamin C which enhance a baby’s visual health and have anti-oxidant effect.
I agree that making shapes can really help in getting kids to eat. In fact I've used this technique to get kids to eat myself. That is also why I planned to do a future post dedicated to mealtime shape ideas.
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