How to get kids to eat healthy snacks
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- Elizabeth Somer , Registered Dietician and Author
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Elizabeth Somer
Registered Dietician and Author
Kids are gonna snack--but snacks don't have to be junk food. Author and dietician Elizabeth Somer has great ideas to help you get your kids to eat healthy snacks.
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Instructions
How to get kids to eat healthy snacks
- 25% of your children’s calories come from the food they snack on -- that’s a quarter of their daily intake that could be really healthy.
- Remember that until your children start driving, you are the gatekeeper for everything that comes into your home. Don’t bring in chips, cookies and soda.
- Stock your kitchen with kid-friendly, healthy food to snack on. If all your children have to snack on is milk, fruit and fresh grains, then they will make better choices.
- For snacks on the go, apple slices, baby carrots, yogurt and string cheese are good choices. Stay away from vending machines as much as possible.
- If you have forgotten to pack healthy snacks and have to resort to a vending machine, try to pick something that resembles one of the four food groups.
- Set an example for your children during your own snacks and meals. If you want your children to eat fruits and vegetables for snacks then you should eat them yourself.
- Start serving healthy food on a regular basis. It may take 10 times before your kids will try their spinach or carrots!
- You can work in healthier foods to your kids’ diet by adding them to their favorite foods.
- Try to get at least two food groups into each snack. For example, a slice of apple (fruit) with peanut butter (protein) is a good choice.
- Stay away from pear and apple juices as they are essentially concentrated sugar water. Orange juice or even chocolate milk with Vitamin D is a better choice.
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