Healthy Kid Snacks .... Delicious and Nutritious ....

.... Kid Snacks that you won't have to fight with them to eat.

Snacking can be a good thing, especially for kids, when snacks are chosen carefully. Snacks are essential for young kids as their tummies are small, their energy is high and their attention span short. Healthy kid snacks offered in between meals help to supplement their meals to help provide their nutrition requirements. For the bigger kids, snacks help them not to get so hungry and overeat at meal time. Plan in between meal snacks as part of the days total food intake. Your goal for the snacks is to provide good nutrition and not just empty calories.

Important Keys to Healthy Snacking

1. Look for good ingredients such as fiber, vitamin and mineral content while limiting excess fat, salt, sugar and high amounts of artificial ingredients.
2. Try to choose healthier and more natural options to high-fat, high-calorie snacks. The closer the food item is to it's natural state, the better.

Simple Snack Ideas

Angel food cake

Animal crackers

Apple slices

Baked tortilla chips

Baked bagel chips

Bell pepper slices

Blackberries

Blueberries

Breadsticks

Broccoli florets

Cabbage wedges

Carrot sticks

Cashews

Cauliflower florets

Celery sticks

Cheese bread

Cheese slices

Cherries (pitted)

Cinnamon raisin bread

Club crackers

Cottage cheese

Cream cheese

Cubed cheese

Cucumber slices

Deviled eggs

Diced ham

Dill pickle spears

Dill pickle slices

Dried fruit chips/Dried fruit

Dry cereal

Eggs-hard cooked

Fat free or low fat milk

Frozen yogurt

Fruit juice (100%)

Fruit juice popsicles

Goldfish crackers

Graham cracker sticks

Graham crackers

Granola

Grapes (fresh or frozen)

Green onions

Hummus

Kiwi slices

Lettuce wedges

Meat cubes

Melon

Mini bagels

Mini fruit muffins

Mini pizzas

Natural applesauce

Orange slices

Peaches

Peanut butter crackers

Peanuts

Pears

Pecans

Pita bread

Pita pockets

Pizza bites

Plums

Popcorn

Pretzels

Pretzels and cheese

Pudding, low fat

Pudding pops

Quesadilla slices

Radishes

Raisins

Raspberries

Raw sweet potato sticks

Rice cakes

Ritz crackers

Saltine crackers

Sandwich sticks

Sherbet

Shredded cheese

Smoothies

Sugar snap peas

Strawberries String cheese

Sugar free Jell-O

Sunflower seeds

Sweet potato chips

Tangerines

Teddy grahams

Toast

Tomato slices

Tomatoes

Tortillas

Vanilla wafers

Vegetable juice

Vegetable salsa

Walnuts

Yogurt

Yogurt covered raisins

Yogurt popsicles

Yogurt shakes

Yogurt sundaes

Zucchini strips

Try combining 2 to 3 simple snacks listed above in any combination. For an optimal snack, choose a food rich in complex carbohydrates along with a food rich in protein. Use the examples listed below as a guideline.

Rice cakes, peanut butter and banana

or

Strawberries, frozen yogurt and granola.

or

Pretzels, cheese cubes and peanuts

Healthy Kid Snack Recipes

Healthy Recipe Substitutions

Nutritious Snack Recipe eBook

Tips

• Remember that some snacks can hurt your child’s teeth. PLEASE encourage your child to brush his or her teeth after eating.
• Some foods may pose a potential choking hazard. Serve only those foods appropriate for ages and in appropriate size pieces. Always watch carefully!
• Analyze all ingredients in a recipe for any possible food allergen that a child may have.
• Honey is not recommended for any child under the age 1 year.
• Remember that snacks never take the place of meals.
• All foods in moderation as too much of anything may hurt your child’s health and may lead to excessive weight gain.
• Please check with your child’s health care provider before offering large quantities of food items made with a sugar substitute.
• All children have individual nutrient and caloric requirements; therefore, adjustments will need to be made accordingly.
• As a rule, children’s diets should not be restricted in fat under the age of 2 years unless a child’s doctor recommends otherwise.

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