As parents, we all know how challenging it can be to choose healthy snacks for our kids that we know they will like.
Kids are often drawn to sugary, salty, and overly processed options that might taste good but lack essential nutrients that their bodies desperately need.
And who’s familiar with this situation? You feed your kids a delicious meal, which they choke down and claim they are stuffed, only to beg for a snack 30 minutes later? This happens in my house daily and is probably one of the more frustrating things as a mom!
One way I combat this is by teaching my kids what healthy snack options are. This way, when they are hungry again, they will at least be choosing something nutritious to put into their mouths.
We have the opportunity to guide our children towards healthier snack and food choices that will benefit them now and set the foundation for lifelong eating habits.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of healthy snacks for kids, how to identify them, and offer some fantastic ideas for both packaged and homemade options.
What Does it Mean for a Snack to Be Healthy?
Minimal ingredients. I like to be straightforward and that’s as straight as it gets. Fewer ingredients automatically equal a healthier food.
- **A Whole Food:** Whole foods are anything that is grown, preferably close to home or at least in your country. These foods are naturally more rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and protein, offering more nutritional value relative to processed and packaged foods. They help support growth, development, and overall health.
- **Low in Added Sugars:** A healthy snack should have little to no added sugars. Excess sugar can lead to energy crashes, weight gain, and metabolic distress.
- **Minimal Processed Ingredients:** This would be anything on the ingredient label that you can’t read or don’t know what it is. Some examples would be natural flavors, artificial flavors, seed oils (sunflower, safflower, canola, vegetable, or soybean oil), and high fructose corn syrup or any derivative.
Healthy snacks play a crucial role in a kid’s diet as they provide the energy needed for growth and play. Kids are naturally energetic and active, and they require regular fueling to keep up with their busy lifestyles.
Healthy snacks can also help maintain consistent energy levels throughout the day, which is vital for their ability to focus in school and enjoy their extracurricular activities.
In addition, instilling healthy eating habits at a young age can lead to a lifetime of better choices. When children learn to enjoy wholesome foods, they are more likely to continue making nutritious decisions as they grow older.
While the choices I make for my kids may not be popular among other families, I make sure to take the time to explain to my kids why we choose the food we do and encourage them to think about how it will fuel their bodies and what nutrients it will provide.
How to Know What a Healthy Snack is
Navigating the world of snacks can be overwhelming, but it is very doable when you just strip things back to the basics.
One rule I have after school for snacks is that they need to choose something out of the fridge. This immediately eliminates almost all packaged foods and therefore helps me to know they are probably picking something nutritious without me having to dictate their every choice.
I also limit the amount of sugar they consume. If they have something sugary, I try to do it after school or mid-day instead of at night. This ensures they are not bouncing off the walls before bedtime and that they are able to burn off what they ate.
There is quite a bit of research coming out about blood sugar and how its drastic increase and decrease can negatively affect our metabolic health which then can lead to a host of other symptoms.
This article about balancing blood sugar and why it matters is from a company called Levels. They are backed by MDs and full of great information about how to achieve the best health.
What Ingredients You Should Avoid
When selecting snacks for your kids, it’s essential to be vigilant about certain ingredients that can negatively impact their health. I already covered some of these above, but here is a more condensed and straightforward list of things you should avoid.
- Added Sugars, specifically artificial sugars:
- These come with many different names such as High fructose corn syrup, Fructose, Sucrose, Sucralose, Corn syrup, and many others. Check out this post on the difference between the different types of added sugars for more information.
- Artificial Additives: Many processed snacks contain preservatives, artificial colors, and flavors that can be harmful to children. Some of the major ones are food dyes, msg or Monosodium Glutamate, soy, natural or artificial flavors, and a host of other things you most likely are not familiar with.
Take a look at the ingredients in a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. I pulled this directly from a bag, take a look if you have one in your pantry.
There are a host of other ingredients outside of what I mentioned above that are highly suspicious to me, what is Disodium guanylate? I’m pretty sure our bodies don’t need that to function properly.
- Seed Oils: As mentioned above, seed oils are another one you want to avoid. They are some of the most highly processed ingredients.
This is done in order to make them smell and taste appealing to us. Dr. Steven Hulme expands on why seed oils are bad in his video, Seed Oils, What No One is Telling You.
By avoiding these ingredients, you can help ensure that the snacks your children consume are not only tasty but also supportive of their health.
What Ingredients Are Good?
We tend to spend a lot of time hearing about what we can’t eat and what we should avoid. This can be frustrating and often overwhelming as you are navigating new foods and trying to make changes.
I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. Taking one step at a time is the best and easiest. You will not overhaul everything in one day, but rather gradually work toward learning more and doing better as each day passes.
Some GOOD ingredients to look for are as follows:
- Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, or Olive Oil
- Natural Sweeteners such as maple syrup, honey, raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, stevia, monk fruit or organic cane sugar
- Salt
- Dry Roasted nuts
- This is a tricky one. I recently realized that unless the package specifically says ‘dry roasted’, you are likely eating nuts processed in some type of seed oil. Frustrating right?! For nut butter, the best bet is to grind your nuts at the store or find nut butter that specifically says dry roasted, with the only additive being salt.
Best Healthy Packaged Snack Options
In our fast-paced world, finding convenient and healthy packaged snacks can be a lifesaver for busy parents. And let’s be real, we all want easy swaps for the mini bags of chips and cheez it’s that have been our go-to’s.
Here are some excellent snack options that are healthy and convenient:
- Simple Mills Honey Cinnamon Sweet Thins
- Boulder Ridge Potato Chips with Avocado Oil (only plain, all the flavored ones have seed oils or natural flavors)
- Jackson’s Sweet Potato Chips
- Once Upon A Farm: squeeze packs and bars are clean and very good!
- Applesauce packs: Costco’s brand is good with only apples and citric acid.
- Lesser Evil Popcorn: Plain version with coconut oil and pink Himalayan sea salt.
Best Healthy Homemade Snack Options For Kids
While packaged snacks are convenient, homemade options can be just as easy to prepare and often more nutritious. Here are some of my favorite homemade snack ideas that you and your kids can enjoy together without sacrificing health:
- Fruit Kabobs: Get creative with colorful fruit kabobs! Skewer a variety of fruits such as strawberries, grapes, and melon for a fun, visually appealing snack that’s loaded with vitamins.
- Homemade Granola Bars or Energy Bites: Making granola bars at home is simple and allows you to control the ingredients. Use oats, honey, nut butter, and your choice of mix-ins like seeds and dried fruit for a wholesome snack. Here is my Almond and Peanut butter energy bar recipe.
- Veggie Sticks with Hummus: Slice up carrots, cucumbers, and bell peppers and serve them with hummus for a crunchy, nutrient-dense snack. Kids can help with the slicing, making it a fun activity. Hummus Goodness is one of the only brands I’ve found with olive oil and no seed oils.
Packaging can be tricky so be sure to read your labels! Or, you could always make your own. This is one of my favorite hummus recipes that whips up in just a few minutes!
- Banana Muffins: These are a great way to use up old bananas. Gluten-free and low in sugar, you can’t go wrong!
Conclusion
While we all know healthy foods are best for our kids and for us, it can still be very difficult. When kids are used to eating the packaged stuff, making a switch can seem like a very long uphill battle.
Take your time, don’t give up, and continue to encourage them to try new things. If they see you eating it they may be more likely to try it as well.
Time spent planning, preparing and cooking food is not celebrated or respected as nearly as much as it should be. I want to believe that we are on our way back to a simpler way of life that values the time, love and energy we all put into preparing delicious and healthy food for ourselves and our families.
Remember to focus on whole foods, minimize added sugars and unhealthy fats, and get creative with snack ideas. With a little effort and knowledge, you can make snack time enjoyable and nourishing, ensuring your kids grow up strong, healthy, and ready to tackle their day.
Embrace the challenge and watch your children thrive with every wholesome bite!
