Nutritionist Susie Burrell helps us sort through all the food confusion to come up with healthy snacks for kids.
It can be so confusing to try and think of healthy snacks for your children. Particularly during school holidays. When it feels they are constantly in the kitchen asking for food.
Diet advice for kids is changing every day. One expert tells us to give them 2-3 serves of fruit each day, then another expert tells us this is way too much for little kids. Then we’re told that dairy is a great choice, but we’re then urged to make sure it is low fat AND low sugar.
We decided to call in the big guns to give us some advice on healthy snacks for children. Nutritionist and pediatric dietician Susie Burrell says that while growing kids do need snacks, that does not mean that they need to snack on processed, high-carb, high-sugar snacks.
Susie says, “Bars, bites, sticks, straps and chips offer little nutritionally. The golden rule of thumb is to make sure that kids snacks always offer something positively nutritionally whether it is fibre, calcium, iron, protein pr wholegrains and keep the chips, bars or chocolates as a once a week treat.”
So we’ve put our heads together and compiled this 7 healthy snacks suitable for all kids. And they look delicious:
Lighter fruits include berries and melon or team fruit kebabs with fruit and vegetables (e.g. capsicum, carrots) which most kids need more of. Also serving veges kebabs with hommus or fruit with a mix of veges and cheese or fruit with Greek yoghurt helps to give nutrient rich protein with the snack.
Any wholegrain is a great choice but just watch the dried fruit which concentrates the sugar.
Susie Burrell is a nutritionist and paediatric dietitian who worked as the specialist weight management dietitian at The Children’s Hospital for eight years. For more information see www.susieburrell.com.au.
What are your children’s favourite healthy snacks?
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