Best Way to Make Healthy Snacks for a Child

No matter how much effort you put into food preparation, no matter how meticulously you plan your child’s meals, sometimes your child will be hungry between meals. Nutritious food is good for him, whether he eats three large meals each day or six small ones.

This doesn’t mean your child should have eaten more at lunch. A small, nutritious snack between meals can take the sharp edge off a child’s hunger, putting him in better spirits until the next meal arrives, and can turn a bad mood into a good mood. Of course, you don’t want the day to deteriorate into a never-ending series of small snacks, because that will reduce your child’s interest in family meals—and will also have you permanently stuck in the kitchen. A midmorning and midafternoon snack works wonders for everyone.

A child likes snack-type foods because they are

• small and easy to consume;
• less structured than family meals;
• different from usual main courses;
• selected by him.

These positive reasons mean that your child will probably eat whatever snack you serve him. This opportunity can be used to reinforce good eating habits and introduce new nutritious snack foods. Ensure that the snack doesn’t make your child so full that he can’t eat the next meal.

Healthy snacks include sliced fresh fruit or vegetables (such as apples, pears, oranges, seedless grapes, carrot sticks, green pepper strips), finger-food (such as meat/cheese sandwiches with whole-grain bread, pizza strips, cheese on toast), and dairy products (such as cheese cubes, yogurt, low-fat cheese spread, cottage cheese). Low-fat chips can be given occasionally.

Never give a peanut to a child under the age of five, because he could accidentally inhale it and choke. Never give small chil­dren snacks that could be aspirated; check with your pediatri­cian first. Never give snacks to a visiting child without first checking with a parent about food allergies.

Snacks and treats are different, although your child may not agree! Candy, cakes, cookies, potato chips, and soft drinks should be avoided. Aside from giving your child an excess of carbohydrates that may turn into fat, candy causes tooth decay. Don’t be fooled by supposedly healthy cereal and granola bars: read the contents label carefully, since many cereals and snack bars contain a lot of sugar and fat.

Be realistic. Every parent starts off determined not to let their child eat junk food, yet soon realizes this isn’t always pos­sible. At times, you are bound to give your child candy or gum. He’ll survive that nutritional lapse! Likewise, don’t feel bad because your child has binged on candy, soft drinks, and pota­to chips at a party. That’s what makes it a party.

Opinions vary about “junk” foods. In many instances, fast food has nutritional value (for example, take-out hamburgers, submarine sandwiches, tacos, pizza), as long as it is eaten as one small component of a well-balanced diet. The danger is that these foods might become an integral part of a child’s weekly food con­sumption. So don’t feel guilty about letting your child have an occasional fast-food hamburger, or a small piece of fried chicken.