It’s tough to get kids to eat well, but if you make these easy, healthy snacks part of their regular routine early on, they won’t even consider candy bars as an option.
Think about it: We don’t talk about brushing our teeth and how it’s good for us, we just do it and teach our kids to do it too.
Have the same attitude towards snack time. Instead of telling your kid real fruit is better than a fruit roll-up, set an example by eating an apple when you’ve got a hunger pang and by providing them with the same option. Snacks high in fiber that provide some protein or healthy fat are ideal.
Of course, you need to serve things they’ll actually eat, while simultaneously watching for sneaky ingredients in packaged snacks, like hydrogenated oils and sugar.
Start with some of my favorites, below, that I promise you I’ve tested on my own little ones many times.
3 Easy, Healthy Snacks for Kids
1. DIY Trail Mix
Kids already love trail mix, the trick is just to make your own so it’s not loaded with sugary candy. I love to throw pistachios, cashews, dried apricots, and popcorn in individual Ziploc bags for my daughter. You can use almonds, walnuts, raisins, cranberries, or make them really happy by including antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.
Packaged applesauce often has lots of added sugar, but GoGo squeeZ’s convenient, on-the-go packs are filled with fruit only. Your kids will love the variety of flavors—like applestrawberry, applepear, and seasonal favorite applepumpkin spice—and that they can eat them anywhere. Bonus: Did you know GoGo squeeZ is the Official Applesauce of Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts? GoGo squeeZ is currently sponsoring a sweepstakes to win a trip for four to Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resorts during one of the runDisney kids races. Enter for a chance to win here before January 15, 2017.
3. Fruit Fries and Dip
Call it fries and kids will dig it, right? Use this recipe to whip up a snack in two minutes flat. It adds gut-healthy yogurt (pro tip: use GoGo squeeZ’s new YogurtZ) to protein-rich peanut butter for a snack that really delivers a nutrient boost.
This blog was created in partnership with GoGo squeeZ.