All parents want their children to eat healthy and be happy. Parents want their children to have the best chances in life. A great gift for children is to develop how to eat healthy. Having good and healthy eating habits is a skill which will turn out to be incredibly helpful when they become older. Especially for young children, it is incredibly important to eat nutritious and healthy. This also includes the snacks they consume throughout the day. Children who are still growing are affected by the food they eat. The food they eat on a daily basis does not only affect their energy levels, but it also has an influence on their moods and their overall health. Therefore, it is important to teach children to eat well from a young age. This will not only benefit them directly and on the long term, but it will also have a positive influence on the parents. However, many parents believe that healthy snacks take a long time to prepare and they often believe them to be expensive as well. This is not the case. There are many tasty things you can make which are cost-effective. Also, many supermarkets offer healthy snacks especially for children. If you prefer making healthy snacks at home, this is also possible. Below are different snack ideas for children, which are not only easy to make, but they are also cheap.
Healthy eating, and healthy snacking, involves planning and buying the right ingredients. The things which you will have in your cupboard will be things you will be grazing on at home. Thus is you want your children to be eating healthy snacks, it is important not to buy unhealthy products which children could eat as snacks. Often this also means that you might have to stop buying those things which you like to eat as a snack which might not always be healthy. If you buy the snacks for yourself, your children will be able to find them in the house as well. Thus, a bit of planning is required before visiting the supermarket. In this way you reduce the things you do not want your children to eat as snacks.
If you want your children to eat less crisps, chocolate or cake, then make sure you buy less of it in the supermarket. You can also decide not to buy these products at all, but if you believe this to be a big step then start by reducing these things. While this might sounds very simple, many families struggle. This is due to the fact that the average family is so busy that they hardly take the time to re-evaluate their diet. It is important to take a moment and think about those things which could have a big impact on the lives of your children, and your own.
An easy way to start is to replace the things your children, or you, usually graze on as snacks. Replace these products by nuts, dried fruits or seeds. These things do not only look appetizing, but for children they are also easy to grab. They can easily grab a handful of nuts. Not only are they appetizing, they also provide your children with all the necessary nutrients they need. There are many different options when it comes to nuts and dried fruit. You can give you children peanuts, cashew nuts, almonds or pistachios. If you notice that your children are not too keen on having just nuts, you might want to mix them with raisins. Raisins provide a sweet taste to the mix. There are also many different options with regards to dried fruit. You can try dates, dried mango, apricots, mulberries and figs. You can also try dried prunes. However, children might not be a great fan of the taste of dried prunes. Thus, try out different dried fruits and see what your children like most.
While many people talk about having to eat healthy and having to eat well, many people actually do not know what this means. The first thing people think of when talking about a healthy diet and healthy snacks, is vegetables and fruits. While these things are incredibly important when adopting a healthy diet, there are many other types of food which are considered to be part of this category. A general name for healthy foods is also called “whole foods”. People might have heard of the term “whole foods”, but they often do not know what they are. Whole foods are food items which are natural and unprocessed foods. Fruits and vegetables are considered to be whole foods. Other types of whole foods include brown rice, quinoa, lentils and beans. Whole foods are characterized for being high in minerals, vitamins, fiber and antioxidants. Moreover, they are also considered to be low in fat, low in calories and low in sugar. Since whole foods are naturally high in fiber, they also keep you full for a longer period of time and they slowly release energy. Thus, whole foods are definitely a type of food which are recommended as snack for your children. The following sections will provide examples of different healthy snacks you can prepare with your children.
Another simple place to start is with fresh fruits. There are some parents who are concerned about the levels of fructose and sugar in fresh fruit. However, fresh fruits are an incredibly healthy and easy snack. Compared to a chocolate bar or to a bag of crisps, fruits are by far a superior snack. Another health benefit of fresh fruit is that they are full of fiber and water. Many children do not drink enough water during the day. Thus, fruit does not only supply them with the necessary vitamins and minerals, but they also ensure that children get enough water. While many parents are caught up with oranges, bananas and apples, there are many other fruits which you can try. Children actually love fruit since it is sweet in most of the cases. Some types of fruit which are popular among children are grapes, mango, passion fruit and different types of berries. Pieces of fresh melon or chunks of pineapple are also incredibly popular. A benefit to the abovementioned types of fruit is that they are not only inexpensive, but they can also be prepared for the lunchbox of your children. If you want to add some extra flavor to your healthy snacks, there are many different things you can add. For example, you can add some hazelnut butter or almond butter. These nut butters are a good combination with slices of banana and apple. Another spread you could add is tahini. You can think of tahini as being similar to peanut butter, but made from sesame seeds instead of peanuts. Tahini is not only incredibly nutritious but it is also high in calcium, omega 6 and omega 9. It is also possible to combine these different spread with crackers, rice cakes or oatcakes.
As mentioned, parents often think that preparing snacks takes a long time. However, you can also prepare the snacks together with your children. One activity to do is to bake together with your children. You will notice that sharing a baking experience together with your child is not only incredibly rewarding but it is also a lot of fun. It might take a bit of time, spills and some messes, but if you have time it is definitely worth it. Children are also more likely to eat snacks in which they have been involved. There are a lot of baking recipes which do not follow the standard recipe of white flour and sugar. Many healthy baking recipes involve using wholegrain options. For example, this could be buckwheat flour, honey, liquid sweeteners and butters which are made from nuts. One of these recipes is the preparation of flapjacks. Flapjacks are easy to bake with your children since they are incredibly easy to make. A benefit of flapjacks is that they do not contain nuts. This makes them ideal for children who do not like nuts or might have an allergy for nuts. Another recipe which is easy to make together with children is muffins. There are many different recipes of muffins which contain healthy ingredients.
This section will provide a few ideas for healthy snacks. Earlier in this article, the idea of fresh fruit was presented. An idea to make fruit look more appetizing is by making them into rainbow fruits skewers. You can use a range of different types of fruit to make the skewers colorful. They are a simple and nutritious snack for children. Children will also love to help prepare them. Another healthy snack idea is to combine fruit with nut yoghurt. You can serve this dish for breakfast instead of cereal. It will also keep children satisfied for a long period of time due to the high content of fiber in this recipe. Instant frozen berry yoghurt is another snack which is easy to prepare. It will take you about two minutes to prepare this snack. It is low in fat and low in calories, but provides children with protein and many other healthy nutrients. Hummus is another recipe which you can easily prepare at home. Combine the necessary ingredients and you will have an easy dip or spread. You can cut vegetables such as cucumber, carrots and peppers and combine them with the hummus. Smoothies are also great snack ideas. They are especially a good idea for summer. A nice and healthy smoothie idea is to combine mango and banana. It will be a great treat during a hot summer day. Another smoothie idea is the Peach Melba smoothie. This smoothie is made by combining peaches, orange juice, raspberries and fresh custard. Blend everything together and you have a smoothie which is fresh, low in fat and incredibly tasty.
