Healthy Kids: Summer Snacks
This article is # 2 in a 4- part series on Kids Summer Nutrition for Ask Miss A magazine. www.askmissa.com
Tune in next week for Healthy Kids-Summer Beverages.
For article #1 on Easy Summer Meals, see Mrs. Obama below..
Are you facing a long hot summer of “kids food” at amusement parks, the country club pool or even your best friends home? What can you do to keep your kids from succumbing to the processed food tidal wave? Do you have to choose between the ice cream cone with 30 ingredients, a bag of salty chips with trans fats, or candy bars made with high fructose corn syrup?
Snacking has become a national pastime, and today’s kids seem to view snacking as an on going eating style. Schools have contributed to this with morning snacks, afternoon snacks, extended care snacks, parties, birthdays and math class where they count jelly beans. It seems like kids can’t move without one.
How do we transition them to a healthy and hopefully active Summer?
Here are a few snacks I recommend to my clients with kids; all are taste tested by the 6-12 year olds that pass through my home on a weekly basis.
In a pinch, go for snacks with minimal processing, as few ingredients as possible and a nutritional boost.
Here are my top choices – there are some you can make yourself and others you can find at your local Whole Foods. All are easy to pack and send off to day camp.
1)Cinnamon Apples– Let’s make our fruit interesting. I grew tired of seeing whole apples returning from school each day- and sliced apples turned brown, ew. One day I cut an apple, put it in a baggie, sprinkled it with cinnamon, shook it up and we have “apple pie apples.” The cinnamon covers the brown oxidation. Last summer’s tennis team asked for these everyday, and one Mom asked me for my “secret”. Now you know.
2)Dried fruit, crunchy fruit, rolled fruit, smashed fruit Give them natural fruits instead of candy.
–Pavich organic’s: Don’t forget the raisins now that your kids are aren’t toddlers. Add in some nuts for protein or try dried mangos or papaya. (Buy the unsulfured brand). Pavich is our favorite brand of raisins- – plump and delicious.
–Funky Monkey: 100% real fruit and most are 100% organic with no added sugar. They are freeze dried, crunchy and delicious. PURPLE FUNK is banana and acaii. The BANANAMON flavor is banana and cinnamon, that’s it! Look for the bright foil packages and fun characters.
–Twisted fruit by Clif Kids: an organic healthy alternative to high fructose fruit leather, or those horrible squirty things. Twisted fruits are pure fruit and really yummy.
– Mashups by Revolution Foods: Easy to transport, organic whole fruit purees in an easy to squeeze package.
3) Whole grain popcorn: Go for whole grain instead of snack chips. Popcorn is is a great choice to replace salty fatty snacks. Go organic to avoid GMO corn. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese or some taco seasoning for a kick for the older kids.
4) Healthy snack bars – Snack bars can be deceiving, be sure to read your ingredients and choose the ones with the least ingredients and processing.
–Envirokidz brand Crispy Rice Bars are organic, made with natural sweeteners and kids love them.
–Larabars now come in a mini size and have minimal ingredients. New flavors like peanut butter and jelly make them popular with kids, and Mom’s too.
5) Here’s a Nutritional Style recipe for a really quick snack for you and the kids. I keep these ingredients on hand; it takes about 10 minutes and a food processor.
10 Minute Nut Bars
Ingredients
1 cup peanuts or almonds
2 TBS sesame seeds
¾ cup raisins
¼ cup medjool dates
2 TBS honey
2 TBS cinnamon
Grind all ingredients except honey in the food processor until a semi-fine texture, but before it becomes the consistency of a nut butter. Add honey to blend.
Add mixture to a small square pan and pat down to about ¾ inch height,
or as my son likes to do, roll it into balls.
Refrigerate for an hour or so.
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