Making sure your children eat right is a constant battle for many moms and dads all over the world. There are many ways to rid your self of the battles over snack choices. In an effort to raise happy and healthy kids, we must make every effort to provide them with healthier choices that they like. You may be surprised how happy they are with healthier choices. Here are some ideas to help you encourage your children to enjoy better choices.
The logical first step is to free your kitchen counters and tabletops of all sugar-filled, greasy junk foods. Give away, or store out of sight, candies, donuts, greasy potato chips, and the like. Replace these with more nutritious snack foods such as fruit cups, bowls of fresh fruit or dehydrated bananas and other dried fruits. If there's nothing else in sight, your child will eat these healthier options. Once children taste these snack items, they (and you) will be surprised at how much they like them.
Involve your children in the choice of healthier snacks. Spend a few hours each week making a nutritious snack food with your kids. Children love to spend time with their parents, and they are much more likely to eat something they have helped to make. Fruit salad is easy to make and it will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Another snack you can make with children is sugar-free gelatin, in a flavor of their choice, with pieces of fruit mixed in. You can get hundreds of ideas for child-friendly healthy snack recipes on the Internet. Remember to ask your children to help you choose recipes they would like to make - and to eat.
Frozen fruit juice slices topped with a small amount of fat free whipped cream make perfect snacks in warm weather, for instance. Frozen yogurt also makes a tasty and nutritious alternative to ice cream - minus the fat and sugar. Frozen yogurt is commercially available in many flavors, or you can make it at home. Both of these will soon become favorite snacks that your kids can enjoy after school.
On chilly days you can give children non-buttered popcorn with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, or you could slice some apples, sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and bake in a pan until the sugar bubbles and serve over low-fat yogurt. Cinnamon toast and peanut butter spread over warm waffles also make tasty (and healthy) cold weather snacks. Raisins, dried figs, dehydrated bananas and pineapple chunks are power-packed, nutritious snacks that will keep for long periods.
In the final analysis, it isn't really difficult to get your children used to eating healthier snacks. Through trial and error, you will soon know what your kids' favorite nutritious snack foods are; keep your home free of junk foods and make sure they can always reach healthy snacks that they like.
Working parents pressurized for time should consider purchasing a crockpot. This will allow you to start cooking a meal in the morning before you go to work so it will be ready when your children come home from school. Instead of snacking as they wait for you to prepare dinner, they'll be able to eat right away. You can even find slow cooker recipes for healthy snack foods. Finally, remember that your snacking habits influence those of your children, so always try to set a good example.
The logical first step is to free your kitchen counters and tabletops of all sugar-filled, greasy junk foods. Give away, or store out of sight, candies, donuts, greasy potato chips, and the like. Replace these with more nutritious snack foods such as fruit cups, bowls of fresh fruit or dehydrated bananas and other dried fruits. If there's nothing else in sight, your child will eat these healthier options. Once children taste these snack items, they (and you) will be surprised at how much they like them.
Involve your children in the choice of healthier snacks. Spend a few hours each week making a nutritious snack food with your kids. Children love to spend time with their parents, and they are much more likely to eat something they have helped to make. Fruit salad is easy to make and it will keep in the refrigerator for several days. Another snack you can make with children is sugar-free gelatin, in a flavor of their choice, with pieces of fruit mixed in. You can get hundreds of ideas for child-friendly healthy snack recipes on the Internet. Remember to ask your children to help you choose recipes they would like to make - and to eat.
Frozen fruit juice slices topped with a small amount of fat free whipped cream make perfect snacks in warm weather, for instance. Frozen yogurt also makes a tasty and nutritious alternative to ice cream - minus the fat and sugar. Frozen yogurt is commercially available in many flavors, or you can make it at home. Both of these will soon become favorite snacks that your kids can enjoy after school.
On chilly days you can give children non-buttered popcorn with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, or you could slice some apples, sprinkle lightly with brown sugar and bake in a pan until the sugar bubbles and serve over low-fat yogurt. Cinnamon toast and peanut butter spread over warm waffles also make tasty (and healthy) cold weather snacks. Raisins, dried figs, dehydrated bananas and pineapple chunks are power-packed, nutritious snacks that will keep for long periods.
In the final analysis, it isn't really difficult to get your children used to eating healthier snacks. Through trial and error, you will soon know what your kids' favorite nutritious snack foods are; keep your home free of junk foods and make sure they can always reach healthy snacks that they like.
Working parents pressurized for time should consider purchasing a crockpot. This will allow you to start cooking a meal in the morning before you go to work so it will be ready when your children come home from school. Instead of snacking as they wait for you to prepare dinner, they'll be able to eat right away. You can even find slow cooker recipes for healthy snack foods. Finally, remember that your snacking habits influence those of your children, so always try to set a good example.
About the Author:
Michelle is surely an accomplished blogger whose discipline is composing about quick, yet delicious, house cooking. Her articles or reviews typically stress the many advantages of crock pot recipes like slow cooker recipes, which is among her favorites.
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