• Topics: Family Youth and Community Sciences | Raising Healthy Children series | Martinez, Julie M | Snacks | Shelnutt, Karla P

Raising Healthy Children: The Role of Snacking¹

Every kid loves a good snack. Unfortunately, many parents think that all snacking is bad and leads to weight gain. Although this might be the case with snacking on cookies, chips, and candy all day, healthy snacking is an important component of a child's nutrition. Childhood is a time of rapid growth, and meeting the nutritional needs associated with normal development is critical to a child's well-being. Since children have much smaller stomachs than adults, healthy snacking helps to provide nutrients between meals in order to help them meet their daily nutritional needs. The key is learning how to make healthy snack choices and avoid consuming too many snacks that are high in added sugars and low in nutrients. This publication teaches parents the importance of snacking for children and how to provide healthier options.

How Healthy Snacks Benefit Children

Healthy snack choices can provide children with some of the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and calories they need for growth, energy, and overall good health. In fact, healthy snacks can satisfy nutrient gaps and provide up to one quarter of a child's daily energy needs. Healthy snacking satisfies hunger between meals, improves concentration, and prevents overeating at mealtime.

Snacking Strategies

One of the keys to promoting successful and healthy snacking in children is to be equipped with effective strategies. Following these tips will help you provide appropriate snacks* at the appropriate times and places:

• Try to keep snack portions small and less than 250 calories. Serving larger snacks increases the amount of food a child will eat. Small portions are especially important for those occasional snacks that contain lots of added sugars and are low in nutritional value.

• Serve regular meals and snacks every three to four hours. Allowing adequate time between meals and snacks will ensure that children are not too full to eat their meals. Structured meals and snacks also will keep kids from eating out of boredom. Avoid using food as a reward or as way to calm an upset child to prevent emotional eating later on.

• Buying snacks from a vending machine or grabbing a bag of chips or cookies is usually an unhealthy temptation for families on the go. Be prepared by having healthy snacks on hand to make it easier for your child to make smart snack choices.

*Not all snacks are appropriate for everyone. Always keep in mind food allergies and potential choking hazards when planning snacks.

Making Healthy Snack Choices

Use the Nutrition Facts labels when buying foods for snacks. Look for foods that are low in calories, saturated and trans-fats, and sugar, and purchase those that are high in nutrients such as dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron.

Choose food group foods first—to meet the recommended intake for different nutrients, think about ways that you can pair up foods from different food groups. MyPyramid for Preschoolers recommends that each snack incorporate at least two food groups. Try to incorporate foods from all of the food groups into the snacks that you serve over the course of a week.

Healthy Grains

Grain products are available as whole or refined grains. Whole grain products are higher in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and these are important for good digestive health. Adequate intake of whole grains can also reduce the risk for certain diseases. It is recommended that at least half of the grains served come from whole grains. Snack time is the perfect time to serve your child whole grains. Ways to incorporate whole grains into your child's diet are listed below:

• Try whole-wheat bread, pasta, and brown rice instead of white bread, pasta, and rice.

• Try whole-grain baked tortilla chips, crackers, low-fat granola, or cereal bars.

• Popcorn can be a good snack if little or no salt or butter is added. For added flavor, you can try non-salt spices such as garlic or parmesan cheese.

• Try whole grain cereals, such as whole-wheat cereal flakes, toasted oats cereals, raisin bran, or oatmeal. Watch out for added sugars! Try to keep them below 35% of your total sugar intake.

Fruits and Vegetables

Keep fruits and vegetables readily available and offer them often. Buy them pre-cut or cut them yourself and refrigerate for later use. Try buying fruits that are in season because they are usually less expensive and of better quality. Get your children involved by having them help you shop for fruits and vegetables and clean and cut them into fun size pieces or shapes. Starting a small garden is another way to get kids involved and interested in eating vegetables and fruits. Try some of the ideas below.

• Serve fruits, like apple slices and grapes, or vegetables, like celery sticks, cucumbers, and baby carrots with low-fat dip, peanut butter, hummus, or yogurt.

• Buy fruits that are fresh, dried, frozen, or canned (in water or 100 percent fruit juice). Avoid fruit that has added sugars. Canned and dried fruits can be transported easily and have a long shelf-life. Examples of commonly eaten dried fruits are raisins, prunes, and cranberries. Pineapple, apples, and bananas also can be purchased in the dry form.

• Try a fruit salad made with your child's favorite fruits. Some suggestions are strawberries, apples, bananas, oranges, and grapes. Try dipping fruit in a low-fat yogurt based dip!

• Try frozen juice bars as a low-calorie snack. Make sure they are made with 100 percent juice. This will keep added sugar intake down.

• Make a fruit smoothie that contains fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt and various fresh or frozen fruits like, bananas, strawberries, and pineapple. Try adding different fruits such as mango and papaya. Your child might surprise you and love the new, exotic tastes!

• Purchase frozen vegetables that can be easily cooked and served. Try steaming them in the microwave and add low-fat cheese, low-sodium seasoning, or light butter.

• Try crunchy, raw, or steamed vegetables with low-fat dressing or topped with low-fat cheese.

Milk Products

Snack foods in this group can be a great source of calcium and can help build strong bones in growing children. Try to make snack choices from this food group low-fat or fat-free. Cheese can be high in fat so keep portion sizes small or try reduced or low-fat cheeses.

• Try fat-free or low-fat yogurt as a snack. Add various fruits, cereal and/or low-fat granola as a topping.

• Try dipping fruits and vegetables into a yogurt-based dip.

• Make fruit-yogurt smoothies in a blender.

• Use low-fat milk to make a fat-free pudding.

• Use low-fat/reduced-fat cheese as a topping for vegetables.

• Try low-fat string cheese for a quick snack.

• Serve low- or reduced-fat cheeses with fruit, whole-grain crackers, or reduced-sodium, low-fat meats.

• Consuming low-fat milk as a beverage instead of soda can add nutrients that your child may not be getting at mealtime.

Meat and Meat Substitutes

What foods make up this food group? Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, peas, eggs, nuts, and seeds. They all contain protein, which is important for growth and maintenance of the body. Try to select meat and poultry that are low-fat. Eat fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, as well as dry beans and peas, or nuts to add variety to your protein choices. Here are some ways to incorporate this food group into your snacks!

• Dip veggies into hummus, which is made from chickpeas and sesame, or try a bean dip!

• Snack on nuts such as almonds, peanuts and walnuts.

• Go lean—choose low-fat, reduced-sodium turkey, ham, or roast beef.

Additional Ideas

• Snack on leftover lunch or dinner food items, such as a sandwich, soup, or salad. Remember to make portions small.

• Trail mix with unsalted nuts (almonds, peanuts, and cashews), dried fruit, and healthy grains (whole grain cereal, low fat granola).

• Mini pizzas using spaghetti sauce, English muffins, and low-fat mozzarella.

• Celery sticks smeared with reduced-fat peanut butter or cream cheese.

Occasional Snacks

It is okay to snack on cookies, chips, and candy on occasion. Remember to limit the amount and frequency these foods are consumed! Here are a few ideas for balanced choices:

• Low-fat cookies and milk (1% or fat-free)

• Baked chips in various flavors

• Whole-grain chips with salsa or guacamole

• Some of the store-bought snack packs available offer small, manageable portions.

Learn More

If you are concerned with your child's diet or would like more information about snacking or nutrition in general, contact one of the following reliable sources in your county:

• Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) Educator (look in the blue pages of your telephone book.) Florida Extension offices are listed online by UF/IFAS at http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu or http://SolutionsForYourLife.com/map.

• WIC nutritionist at your county Health Department (also in the blue pages of your telephone book).

• For referral to a registered dietitian (RD) in your area you can call the Florida Dietetic Association at (850)386-8850, or check the yellow pages of your phone book.

Recommended Websites

U.S. Department of Agriculture. MyPyramid.gov. Inside the pyramid. This site contains a lot of information about the different food groups, how much should be consumed, health benefits, tips to increase consumption and provides other resources on health and nutrition. http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. How to understand and use the Nutrition Facts labels. Explains how to read a Nutrition Facts label in a relatively easy but detailed manner. http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/default.htm [October 2011].

TeenHealth. Nemours. Smart Snacking. Describes why snacking is good for children, how to tell if snacks are healthy, snacking strategies, and various snacks to try. http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/healthy_snacks.html#

KidsHealth. Nemours. When snack attacks strike. Provides informative snack facts and snack recipes. http://kidshealth.org/kid/nutrition/food/snack_attack.html

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.

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