Start Your Preschooler Off Right - Provide Healthy Snacks

Everyone loves to snack, but for youngsters, snacking plays an important role to overall nutrition intake.

Small tummies cannot consume large amounts of food as adult stomachs can. Children need to have small frequent meals and snacks in order to get the proper calories and nutrients that they need.

For this reason, it is important to provide at least two healthy snacks to children every day, in addition to three balanced meals. Be thoughtful of the snack choices you provide since these snacks will provide a large portion of the childs total daily nutritional intake. Snacks can be simple and nutritious. Sometimes parents think they do not have time to offer healthy snacks. Snacks can be simple and nutritious. Use the guidelines here to get off to a good start.

GUIDELINES TO HEALTHY, NO STRESS SNACKS:
Limit sweet snacks such as cupcakes, cookies, gummy snacks, or snack cakes to birthdays only. If you do want to provide a sugary snack, do so in the afternoon. Children receive nearly 70% of their nutrition by lunchtime, so we need to take advantage of morning snack time and make it nutritious.
Dont think it always has to be homemade. Young children enjoy simple snacks. Many packaged products are okay, such as low fat wheat crackers, animal crackers, graham crackers, and dry cereal.
If you do have time and desire to bake, small baked muffins, such as blueberry or banana, are usually a hit. Again, add a serving of fruit on the side.Use the five food groups to plan snacks. The Milk Group, Bread/Starch Group, the Fruit Group and Vegetable Group are basics for snack building.
When planning snacks think: one choice from the Bread Group and one choice from the Fruit or Vegetable Group. Add a beverage and you are set.
Remember to provide low fat milk as your snack beverage. Low fat chocolate milk is fine too. Fruit juice is okay, but try to provide juice that is 100% fruit juice. Milk still provides superior nutrition over juice for growing bones. Milk also provides protein.
When you have time, slice apples- children will often eat bite-size fruit over whole. Offer what the child prefers.
Dont worry that my kid wont like this. Chances are, if they dont like the fruit choice, they will like the starch choice instead. Research shows that it takes up to twelve exposures for a child to even try a new food. It is our responsibility as parents and educators to expose children to a variety of foods; it is the childs responsibility to eat them. Do not force a child to eat, theyll try it when they are ready.
Yogurt tubes or small cups of low fat fruit yogurt, while a bit high in sugar, still provide a simple nutritious snack alternative for children.

SNACK COMBINATIONS:
1. Bite-size Graham Crackers, bowl of grapes, low fat milk
2. Mini bagels, cream cheese and margarine or peanut butter to spread on, low fat milk
3. Small apple muffins, low fat milk, fresh strawberries (2-3 per child is enough)
4. Small Wheat crackers, chunks of milk cheddar cheese, cranapple Juice
5. Sandwich-type cheese crackers, apple slices, Grape juice
6. Honey wheat pretzel sticks, raisins, low fat milk.

These snack ideas will not only provide a healthy option for your preschool child, but are good choices that the whole family can enjoy. By planning healthy snacks for your children, you will be getting them off to a good start. In addition, your childs school will thank you for your cooperative spirit and helping to provide a safe and healthy environment for your children!

(c) 2007 Rosanne Rust

Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN
Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Consulting, Writing, Lectures
Licensed Provider for Real Living Nutrition Services

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