Snack Ideas

Home Lifestyle Groceries and Food Snacks and Desserts Snack Ideas

Kids need snacks, but not constant grazing. You need to make sure the snacks are healthy and are going to do them some good, nutritionally. If you give them the junk that they clamor for from watching too much TV, they will end up eating continually. It makes sense, if you think about it. When your children (or you for that matter) don't get the nutrition necessary, their bodies still crave those nutrients and will keep signaling that it's time to eat, even after downing a bag of Doritos and drinking a whole liter of Pepsi. They might be temporarily full, but never satisfied because the body was overfed and undernourished and therefore still needs food (when I say that I mean REAL food). See why is good nutrition so important? This is how you stop the vicious cycle of constantly eating; junk doesn't satisfy at all.

Cheese, Grapes and Baguette photo from Shutterstock

So let's get a grip on this snack food issue and get some snack ideas happening. Not having a plan (as we well know!) is a recipe for disaster. You know how to make a grocery list. So how about adding some of these snack ideas on your list this week?

Here are five easy snack ideas:

1. Fruit - Oh I know, not as sassy as you wanted. But try making the fruit bowl the first "go to" place for a snack and you'll get some extra nutrients in your child at the same time.
   
   
2. Cheese - I love those cheese sticks, but you can just as easily cut up cubes of cheese for your child (an ounce is plenty). Pair the cheese and the fruit and you have a terrific snack idea that will satiate and satisfy.
   
   
3. Nut Butters - I am crazy for nut butters; I have peanut, almond and macadamia nut in my fridge. I dip everything in there from fruit to veggies and the combo is a great mix of carbs, fat and protein that will satisfy and stop the grazing!
   
   
4. Yogurt - Get plain low fat Greek yogurt, mix it with frozen berries and a squirt of local honey (helps with immunity for allergies!)
   
   
5. Smoothie - Whip up some whey protein powder, fruit, and a little water and you've got a powerful snack in a glass. This is especially good for your teenagers between school and sports.

So there you have it. Here are five awesome snack ideas that are healthy, inexpensive and will keep your children from starving before dinner!

Leanne Ely is a New York Times best selling author of Body Clutter and the popular Saving Dinner cookbook series. According to Woman’s Day Magazine, she is the expert on family cooking.

Leanne's syndicated newspaper column, The Dinner Diva can be found in 250 newspapers nationwide and in Canada. Her vast broadcast experience includes media satellite tours, QVC several times as well as guesting on several national television shows, including HGTV’s Simple Solutions, ABC Family’s Living the Life, Ivanhoe’s Smart Woman, Small Talk for Parents and Talk of the Town. She has guest chef-ed on the cooking show, Carolina Cooks and has taught cooking classes all over the country for Bloomingdale’s.

In addition, she is a seasoned radio personality. Leanne’s own radio show, Heart of A Woman aired during drive time in two major California markets, Los Angeles and San Diego. Her current show, The Dinner Diva is one of the top Blog Talk Radio shows on the Internet.

On the Internet, she pens the Food for Thought column for the immensely popular, FlyLady.net, with over half a million readers weekly. She has been featured in Woman’s Day magazine, the Chicago Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, Orange County Register—to name a few. Additionally, she is a sought after speaker and has spoken all over the country, with keynote addresses to corporate and non-profit entities. SavingDinner.com

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