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Holiday snack ideas

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Quick, easy and heathly ways to feed hungry tums!

Article: Michelle Shaw from True Love
Image: Baba & Kleuter

School holidays inevitably mean hungry kids all day long. Snacks aren't bad – in fact, kids need snacks to keep their energy levels up and prevent them overeating at meals. The trick is to keep snacks as healthy as possible. Here are some ideas from the experts at WedMD.

Give children a little of what they like (be it potato chips or chocolate) a couple of days a week and you'll have better luck getting them to eat healthy snacks the rest of the time.

Pay attention to portion size. Don't go overboard just because it's a snack.

Make healthy snacks yourself rather than opting for the pre-packaged variety, suggests Marjorie Livingston, a professor of nutrition at the Culinary Institute of America in New York. "When you make biscuits or cakes, for instance, substitute some of the flour for ground flaxseed," says Livingston. "Your kids won't taste the difference and you'll be giving them added fibre and important omega-3s. Substitute fruit puree for half to three quarters of the fat in any cake, cookie or muffin recipe. You can also cut sugar by a third to half without stirring up much of a fuss."

If you want your kids to eat healthy snacks such as fruit, vegetables and whole grains then make them easily accessible. Cut up fruit and veggies into bite sized chunks and keep in the fridge. Cut energy bars into smaller pieces and divide nuts and popcorn into portions and pack into plastic bags.

You can also substitute some of the flour in a recipe with stone ground flour, oat bran or even whole wheat Pronutro. For more ideas take a look at Sustained Energy for kids by Gabi Steenkamp, Tanzia Marline and Jeske Wellman.

Any more suggestions for healthy snack ideas?