Hey guys!
Last week, I told you guys about a great book, Food Fights, that I have been reading to help with the boys eating habits. It really is a great resource, and has been really helpful to us. Today I am going to share an excerpt with you from the book! I hope that it helps you too!
I thought that with Summer coming real soon,
finding good snacks for the boys will become harder and harder.. So, I thought that this excerpt could help you guys find some healthy snacking tips.
WHAT’S LACKING IN SNACKING
What’s Not Lacking in Snacking
One of the biggest problems with snacks is, quite simply, that they typically
consist of high-calorie, unhealthy foods rather than nutrient-dense,
healthy foods. With fresh fruit all too frequently replaced by juice and
other sugary drinks, more candy, less milk, and the prize for the largest
increase in snack foods over the past 30 years going to chips and crackers,
what’s clearly not lacking in snacking is salt, sugar, and fat.
Smart Snacking
So now that you know what not to serve for snacks, we wanted to make
sure to impress on you the fact that snacking can and still should play an
important role in your child’s daily diet. Simply put, the right approach
to snacking can help keep kids from getting hungry and cranky while
also giving them added energy and (if you plan it right) added nutrients.
By following simple, smart snacking advice like the tips below, you
can ultimately help your child grow better, think better, and stay active
throughout the day and throughout childhood.
• Snacks should not be the exception to the rule that food, in general,
should have nutritional value. Make sure you commit to applying the
same noble goals in choosing your snacks as you (hopefully) do for
your child’s meals.
• Keep finger foods on hand. Finding foods that are quick and easy to
grab and serve is actually quite easy. Simply cut up some fresh fruits
or veggies; keep whole grain crackers, pretzels, or ready-to-eat (and
preferably low-sugar/high-fiber) cereals on hand; and then let your
toddler or older child handle the feeding part independently.
• Don’t be fooled by packaging. Labels on snack foods for kids, along
with sugary children’s cereals, seem to be the most commonly misleading
when it comes to nutrition. Don’t let creative labeling such as
“fruit snacks” or “low-fat” lead you to believe that sugary treats are
necessarily healthy.
• Figure out some “free foods” that your child can eat at any time. It’s
entirely appropriate to agree on some healthy “free foods” (such as
fruits, vegetables, yogurt, or hard-boiled eggs, for example) that your
child can sit down and eat whenever he’s hungry. Remembering that
your ultimate goal is to help your child learn to eat when he’s hungry
and refrain when he’s not, your role is to simply make very sure that
the criteria you use for creating this list is based squarely on the food’s
nutritional value.
• Keep junk food out of sight and out of mind. This means not
only limiting the amount of junk food you buy and allow into your
pantry, but also the amount of television your child is allowed to
watch. With literally thousands of television ads designed specifically
to make your child’s mouth water over unhealthy snacks and cereals,
turning off the television—not just when you’re eating but keeping it
turned off throughout the day—can go a long way toward preventing
unhealthy eating habits