Submitted by: Alejandra A. Francis, RD /LDN
With summer break ending and students returning back to school, it is time to stock up on school supplies and healthy snacks that are perfect to pack in lunch boxes.
Want to make snacks more fun and appealing to young children? Invite them into the kitchen to help prepare snacks and meals. Healthy meal preparation is an important, lifelong skill that you can pass on at an early age. And, by working together to prepare snacks, you can peel your child off of the computer screen and the one-on-one time will help you stay more personally connected.
Even if your children are involved in multiple extracurricular sports, clubs, or artistic endeavors, you can still find time to prepare breakfast together, pack up dinner leftovers for lunch the next day, and make nutritious snacks. Before you know it, they could get into a really good healthy habit of making their meals and snacks.
It is also important for parents or guardians to give children different opportunities to choose their own meals and snacks. For example, asking “Would you prefer chicken, spaghetti, or should we order dinner in tonight?” helps empower children to know they can make food choices. And, while home-cooked meals are most important, occasionally splurge meals are fun and more realistic in our busy schedules. It is also a good idea to ask them if they see any healthier options available, like choosing fruit-flavored water over a sugary soda.
We want to make sure our future generations are well nourished with healthy meals and snack options to keep them both mentally and physically sharp in and out of the classroom. This will help them learn more and retain the knowledge they acquire. Tonight, could be a great time for you to have a conversation about school, relationships, social life, peer pressures, standardized tests, etc.
Here are a few cute and creative snack ideas that we found online. Each recipe should only take 5-10 minutes to make, but the positive impacts could last a lifetime.
Fire Ants on a Log
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Cool as a Cucumber Sandwich
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Yogurt Blast with Mix Trail & topped with Fruit
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Rainbow aka “Rain Bowl”
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Whole Grain Rice Cakes Loaded with the Goods
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Start today with the conversation about food! I hope you enjoy these cute and creative snack ideas as much as I did! Have a great back to school year and be safe.