One of my sweetest memories is “snack time,” the 30 minutes right after my daughter came home from school. I’d listen to everything that happened to her that day while she ate. Healthy snacks supply energy and help meet a child’s daily nutrition requirements. Because children have smaller stomachs, they need the energy and nutrients provided by these mini-meals. Try prepping these snacks with your child or providing them with the ingredients for these “Help Yourself” snacks!
Help Yourself Snacks
Vegetable group
Baby carrots
Cauliflower pieces, slightly cooked, chilled
Celery sticks stuffed with peanut butter or cheese
Green or red pepper pieces
Vegetable juices
Cherry tomatoes
Zucchini pieces
Fruit group
Apple chips, Bare Fruit Organic Dried Cinnamon Apple Chips Fat Free
Apricots, dried, Made In Nature Tree Ripened Apricots — 6 oz
Apple wedges
Apple wedges, peeled
Applesauce, Earth’s Best Kidz Organic Apple Sauce Cups with Cinnamon
Apricots, fresh or canned
Banana chunks
Banana halves
Cranberries, dried, Eden Foods Double Organic Dried Cranberries Sweetened with Apple Juice
Fruit slushes
Fruitsicles, frozen
Grapes, seedless
100% juice boxes, Earth’s Best Totsâ„¢ Organic Apple Peach Banana Juice
Kiwi halves
Melon pieces
Nectarine, fresh
Orange sections
Peach or pear pieces, fresh or canned in juice
Pineapple chunks
Pineapple, dried
Plums, fresh or canned
Prunes, pitted, Newman’s Own Organic California Prunes
Raisins, Newman’s Own Organic California Raisins
Strawberries
Tangerine segments
Meat group
Peanut butter
Roasted soynuts or pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Hard-cooked egg
Milk group
(Choose low-fat milk options most often.)
Cheese cubes or slices
String cheese
Fruit yogurt
Milk, plain or flavored
Pudding cups
Cottage cheese
Bread group
(Choose whole grain options most often;
look for whole grain as the first ingredient.)
Bagel
Banana bread
Breadstick
Bread, whole grain or enriched
Cereal pieces, low sugar (such as
Cheerios ®, Chex ®, Crispix ®)
Cookies
Cornbread
Crackers (animal, Kinnikinnick KinniKritters Animal Cookies
graham, oyster, whole grain)
English muffin
Granola, low fat, Bear Naked All Natural Granola Fruit and Nut
Muffins, low fat
Pita bread
Popcorn
Pumpkin bread
Pretzel, soft, Newman’s Own Organics Spelt Pretzels
Raisin bread
Vanilla wafers, Back To Nature Mini Vanilla Wafers
Whole wheat tortillas
DISH WITH THE DIVA: What were your favorite childhood snacks?
The Kitchen Diva is Angela Shelf Medearis, a regular guest chef on “The Dr. Oz Show” and “The Today Show.” She is the author of many cookbooks, including, “The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook.” She writes “The Kitchen Diva” blog for Vitacost.com on a weekly basis.