While kids are notoriously picking eaters, any parent can attest to children’s love for snacks. And according to the Mayo Clinic, snacking can help kids get important nutrients as well.

Because healthy children are typically in tune with their own levels of satiation, they are less likely to eat overly generous amounts at meals and stock up on calories like adults do. This means they may be hungry at different times than their parents or friends. Kids need food for energy, so it’s times like these that you don’t want to be caught without a snack. Hungry kids are cranky kids, plus it isn’t healthy for their blood sugar to get too low.

Fun Snacks For Kids

• Breakfast Food – You know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and probably wouldn’t dream of letting your kids out of the door unless they have had something to eat. But breakfast foods can make great snacks, too! The next time you make pancakes on Saturday morning, make extra to put in the freezer. Later in the week, you can reheat pancakes to make delicious pancake sandwiches with scrambled eggs or peanut butter and jelly. For an extra nutrition boost, try using buckwheat or barley flour instead of regular white flour.
• Healthy Chicken Fingers – Chicken fingers are a favorite on the kid’s menu at most restaurants, but they don’t have to just be for dinner! The protein in chicken makes it an ideal snack food. To make a healthy version of this favorite, place slivered almonds in the food processor with whole-wheat flour, your favorite seasonings (or try garlic powder, dry mustard, and paprika) plus salt, pepper, and olive oil then process until the almonds are finely chopped.  Coat chicken tenders in egg whites then dip them into the almond breading, then place them on a rack on top of a baking sheet in the oven at 475 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Fruits and Veggies – Kids often love fruit for the sweet crunch, but sometimes it can be more difficult to persuade them toward vegetables. Convince them that carrots and celery really can be tasty by serving cut-up veggie sticks with hummus or almond butter. Low-fat yogurt can also be used as a tasty dip for fruit.  Try vanilla yogurt with apples, lemon yogurt with strawberries, or let the kids pick their own combinations and score some major points.

Snacking is the perfect way to boost kids’ diets with essential vitamins and nutrients. Always be prepared and your kids will be happier and healthier.

Sources:

• “Healthy Snacks For Kids”, Mayo Clinic
• “The 20 Best Snacks For Kids”, Parents.com

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