The Benefits of Healthy Snacking

A healthy and well-balanced diet is important for kids to maintain healthy growth and development. Snack time is a great way to incorporate fruits and vegetables into a child’s daily diet. Here are some of the benefits of healthy snacking:  

Snacking helps kids develop healthy habits. Including three meals and two healthy snacks into your child’s daily diet helps kids learn healthy eating habits that will stick with them for a lifetime. Providing a well-balanced and healthy diet helps kids learn appropriate portion control, to eat (and enjoy) a variety of foods including fruits and vegetables and develop a healthy relationship with food. Kids who learn these valuable habits early are less likely to form unhealthy eating habits such as eating out of boredom or based on emotional factors. They also learn to eat when they are hungry and stop eating when they are full, a skill many adults struggle with.

Snacking gives kids the boost they need. Without snacking, kids are less likely to meet the suggested nutritional intake to maintain a healthy diet because their stomachs are smaller and become full with a smaller meal. Adding two small snacks a day that provide fruit, veggies, low fat dairy, or whole grain helps kids fill in the nutritional gaps they may have been missing from breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition, snacks provide a boost of energy to get kids through the rest of the day.

Snacking benefits a child’s overall health. The development of healthy eating habits at a young age decreases the likelihood of children developing diseases like cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Kids who eat more fruits and vegetables and less “junk food” that contain high quantities of sugar are also more likely to have better dental hygiene. Kids who maintain a healthy diet, including smart snack choices, are less likely to binge on foods high in calories and carbohydrates.

Snacking helps power brain development. Kids who eat healthy snacks are generally more prepared to listen and learn at school because their bellies are full. They have more energy and are more attentive in class. Hungry kids become irritable, tired, and less alert. A healthy snack can do a lot to help kids grow and develop properly.

Now, how do parents get kids to eat the fruits and vegetables their bodies need? Prepare fun snacks, which encourages kids to try new foods and may even help them to forget they are eating healthy food at all. Here are some great snacks that kids will have fun eating.

• Frozen banana “ice cream.” Simply slice a banana and freeze overnight. The next day put the bananas in a blender or food processor, and the result will taste similar to ice cream.
• Apple slices. Slices of apple can be more appetizing for kids and are fun to eat. Add a side of peanut butter for dipping to make them even more appealing.
• Fruit kabobs. Create “caterpillars” out of grapes for a snack. Another way is to use cookie cutters to cut interesting shapes.
• Ants on a log. Simply fill celery with peanut butter and top with raisins. 

• Dinosaur broccoli trees. To a kid, broccoli resembles a tree. Bring the dinosaur toys to the table to “share the trees.” Add ranch or blue cheese dip, or cottage cheese on the side.
• Zucchini spaghetti. Kids love spaghetti. This alternative is just as tasty as traditional spaghetti noodles.

Sarah Lyons is a freelance writer.