Kids don’t necessarily eat a lot, but they do eat OFTEN. Very often. Once you become a parent of toddlers you soon realize “snacks” becomes a major item on your weekly shopping list.
The sweet offer in supermarkets is abundant, so that’s not the problem. But choosing healthy snacks that are easily transportable, mess-free, schoolbag resistant, and adapted to sweet loving taste buds, can be more daunting than making a budget forecast for the year ahead.
WHAT MAKES A BALANCED SNACK FOR KIDS?
The primary purpose of a snack is to keep your blood sugar stable between meals. This is especially important for kids who burn energy very quickly.
The perfect snack will keep their engine rolling without spiking glucose levels. Because if their sugar spikes, they will inevitably crash right after. The same applies to us by the way.
Therefore a healthy snack should contain the following:
- Fiber
- Protein
- Healthy fats
- Low (or no) refined sugar
EXAMPLES OF HEALTHY SNACKS FOR KIDS:
Fruit
Any kind, preferably whole (not juiced), two pieces a day, and best eaten with a protein or fat source like yoghurt, nuts, nut butter, or coconut oil for optimal blood sugar control.
Healthy protein sources
Kids need a good amount of protein to build their fast-growing bodies. Snacks make perfect opportunities to up their protein intake. Think plain full-fat yoghurt, nuts & nut butters, seeds, cheese, cottage cheese, hummus, oats, chickpeas (check out my chocolate chip chickpea cookies in my free e-book).
Veggies
Sneaked into sweet treats (such as my sweet potato brownies, green smoothies, “zoats” or zucchini oats), or raw veggies dipped in hummus or a yoghurt for instance
Homemade sugar-free snacks
All the snacks and treats you’ll find here are refined sugar-free. Check out my free ebook for 20 easy sugar-free snacks below, or take a look at the “Sweet treats” section on the blog.
Healthy commercial cookies
For those crazy-busy days, make sure to stock some cookies from organic and health food stores. They’re often very tasty and far better choices than the bigger brands you’ll find in conventional stores. They’re usually made with honey, or at least cane sugar, don’t contain trans fats or additives and are made with few ingredients. Just make sure to check labels first because organic or gluten-free doesn’t necessarily mean healthy.
If you want to read more about healthy snacks or learn which 5 so-called healthy snacks you should avoid, download my free ebook “20 easy sugar-free snacks for kids”.
