“I’m hungry. What can I eat?” I hear those words often these days. Maybe my kids are all on a growth spurt – with four of them there’s bound to be at least one or two going through that at a time. As a result, I’ve found myself looking for, or suggesting, snacks for them to eat. With my youngest being 10 years-old, we’re past the point of having a planned mid-day snack. My kids know that if they’re hungry and it’s mid-day, a snack is fine. They’re old enough to get it themselves – for the most part. But lately I’ve given out more ideas and guidelines for healthy snacking.
1. Check your hunger – Have a snack if it’s been awhile since you’ve eaten, you’re hungry, and it’s not too close to the next meal. Too close and you won’t be hungry for the meal.
2. Eat intentionally – Sit at the table and enjoy your snack. Don’t walk around or sit in front of the screen.
3. Choose wisely – Snacks should help round out your diet, providing nutrients and calories to help meet your body’s needs.
Snacks are fine and can be part of a healthy diet. To help my kids choose healthy snacks my husband and I developed this list of snack ideas for them to go to when they’re hungry. It’s helpful since I’m not always at home and it helps guide them in making a healthy choice for their snack – something they need to learn as they get older. The list includes individual food items as well as combinations of foods. I like this because it gives them ideas and allows them to come up with their own combinations as well. It’s available in pdf format for download.
I also have a list of links for healthy snack recipes or ideas I’ve either tried or would like to try – in case I or my kids feel like making something in the kitchen. Many of these sites have other great ideas for healthy snacking as well.
Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
No-Guilt Peanut Butter Banana Oat Chippies
Do you have any healthy snack ideas you’d like to share? Please add your ideas in the comments below. If you’ve enjoyed this post would you consider sharing it on Facebook or Twitter?
Lindsay L, RD (@LeanGrnBeanBlog) says
thanks for the link love!
Marie says
You’re welcome. And thanks for stopping by here, Lindsay!
Becca says
Sounds like a delicious and healthy list! Thanks for sharing at the Healthy Tues Hop! 🙂
Marie says
I felt like my own kids needed a guide for their snacks too. Thanks for stopping by!
jugglingrealfoodandreallife says
This is a fantastic list. I printed it out and plan to put it on my refrigerator for the kids. I also appreciate your advice on when to snack. My children are struggling with that right now. My first grader wants to eat when he is hungry. Sounds good, Unfortunately, he wants to snack right before dinner and then doesn’t eat dinner. It’s all healthy food, but it doesn’t seem to be a good habit to start. Thanks so much for sharing this with our Let’s Get Real readers. I hope you come back to visit us often.
Marie says
Snacks certainly can be challenging. You want them to pay attention and eat when they are hungry, but there needs to be some limits and self control too. I need to remind myself and my kids of that too. Thanks for visiting! I’ll be sure to stop by again soon.
Casey says
Excellent guidelines for healthy snacking. Teaching your children these principles will assist them in developing healthy eating for life. I see peanut butter features in the list. Peanut butter is great but try to stick to natural brands as they have about half as much sugar as the commercial brands.
Marie says
Nuts butters, including peanut butter, do have some added sugar – good point. Always read the labels and choose those with the least amount of added sugar. Thanks for stopping by!
apronstringsotherthings says
these are some great ideas. pinning so I can come back later!
Marie says
I’m glad you found some ideas you can use. Thanks for stopping by and pinning!
Leah says
Thanks for all of the ideas. I will definitely be trying some of these ideas with my kids because I am always looking for new snack ideas. thanks for linking up to the Friday Follow Along, stop back by this week because you are featured!
Marie says
Leah – So glad you stopped by and found some useful ideas. And thanks for the feature!
Juggling With Julia says
Thanks so much for including my link, Marie! Great post, great advice. The pdf is beautiful, too!
Marie says
Thanks, Julia. So glad you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your posts as well!