4 Healthy Snacks For Kids After School
Most children arrive home from school ravenous. The long hours between lunch and school dismissal is enough to make many children hungry well before dinner.
Children who do not eat much of their lunch at school due to talking with friends or other distractions may also need the additional nutrition and calories that a mid-afternoon snack can bring.
Healthy Snack Options
Many children reach for the first thing they can find after school, such as sugary snacks, chips, or unhealthy sodas. These ingredients are empty calories, and do little to help children grow and develop.
Many of today’s children are suffering from obesity due to the high amount of sugar and fat in their diets combined with lack of daily exercise.
Parents can help their children make healthy choices by providing healthy alternatives to sugary or fatty snacks. Providing a healthy snack does not have to be difficult, and usually takes very little preparation at all.
For the best success, have snacks already reach to go in individually-sized packages so children can simply pick them out of the refrigerator or pantry right when they arrive home after school.
Homemade Trail Mix
Trail mix purchased from the store often has unwanted additives that make the snack less healthy. Added sugars and candy almost negate the health benefits of trail mix.
However, you can easily make your own trail mix at home for a healthier version of the snack.
Mix low-salt nuts, no-sugar-added dried fruits, and bittersweet chocolate chips to the mix for an extra sweet kick that children will love without adding large quantities of unhealthy sugars or fats to their diet.
Choose the kinds of nuts and fruit your children like. Popular choices include dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried strawberries, dried apricots, dried mango, peanuts, cashews, almonds, and pistachios.
Apples and Peanut Butter
This is a classic after-school snack that takes little preparation. Simply cut an apple into ½- inch thick slices. Cut out the core from the middle of the apple.
Spread peanut butter between two slices of apple and stick the two slices together to make an apple sandwich.
If your children are allergic to peanuts or do not like the taste of peanut butter, provide them with a variety of fruits and a sweet yogurt dipping sauce for a healthy and light snack.
Veggie Sticks and Dressing
Veggie sticks are one of the healthiest snack options available. Cut up a variety of vegetables in advance and place them into individually-sized bags.
Classic kid-friendly vegetables include cucumber, red or yellow bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and olives. Provide a side of dressing so children can dip their veggies.
Use classic ranch, or for a healthier option, use vinaigrette or other low-fat dressing.
Chocolate and Banana Quesadillas
If you have a little extra time to prepare a snack for your child, one kid-pleasing and healthy recipe is chocolate and banana quesadillas. Melt a small pat of butter into a small pan.
Cut a banana up into thin slices. Place a tortilla into the pan with the melted butter. Place the banana slices onto the tortilla. Sprinkle some semi-sweet chocolate chips onto the tortilla.
Add a second tortilla on top of the first. Cook the quesadilla for a few minutes per side, until the tortilla is golden-brown and slightly crispy. Cut the quesadilla into wedges and serve after cooling.
With these healthy snacks, you can provide your child with the nutrition that he or she needs to get through the day.
Providing healthy snacks as an alternative to sugary or fatty snacks is an excellent way to introduce the concept of healthier eating to your child and can help prevent current and future health problems.
