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The importance of healthy snacks in promoting and maintaining children's health has significantly increased over time. The consumption of calories from snacks has increased by 53% between 1977 and 2021, mainly attributed to the rise in fast food, convenience foods, and processed and packaged foods. Excessive calorie intake can lead to chronic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, tooth decay, and cancer. Parents, teachers, dieticians, and program leaders can use the following tips to serve healthy snacks to kids in school, at lunch, or any other place.
To promote healthy snacking habits, it is advisable to limit snacking after meals. Instead of sugary or fatty fast foods, opt for a few healthy snacks like apples, celery sticks, crackers, or carrot cake snacks. Encourage physical activity after snacks and avoid relying on junk food.
Offer a variety of healthy proteins to make snacking interesting, such as low-fat cheese, tuna salad with hummus, chicken nuggets with low-fat ranch dressing, lean ham, turkey, and chicken breast. Serve protein on separate platters with dips or as a sandwich on whole-wheat toast. For an easy healthy snack at school, create a ham and cheese pasta salad or a chicken nugget parfait with vegetables and nuts.
Choose low-calorie snacks like almonds, cashews, or sunflower seeds instead of regular chips or chocolate chips. For a high protein lunch, serve lean ham or grilled chicken with vegetables. Replace sugar with honey, agave, or maple syrup and avoid peanuts with high calories.
High-fiber snacks like fruits, nuts, seeds, granola, rice, pasta, or vegetables are filling and pack a lot of nutrition without adding extra calories. Foods with high-water content like peas, beans, carrots, squash, or dried beans help the body process food quickly and burn calories faster, promoting weight loss. Opt for healthy carbs like whole wheat bread over white bread to increase fiber and nutrient intake.
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