First of all, many processed foods, bakery items, and fried foods, contain trans fats which are the unhealthy fats for your body. Not only do many of these foods contain trans fats, but they are also high in calories. Diets that are high in trans fat, or saturated fat calories, contribute to added weight gain, that helps to fuel obesity in children, and adults. It’s best to read the food labels carefully, in order to find out exactly which ingredients are stated, and if any include the words hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated, since these are the trans fats that should be avoided from your diet.Trans fat is associated with an increased risk for heart related illnesses, and diabetes.
Let kids be creative with some snack foods. For example, if you offer children some low fat string cheese, they can use their imagination to make little stick figures, or other objects with the cheese, before they eat it. Cookie cutters can also be used to cut out fun shapes with the cheese, which can be placed on whole wheat crackers, as a tasty and healthy snack for your child.
Kid’s low fat yogurt comes in an array of colorful flavors, which they can mix in with some crunchy granola, to make this snack even healthier. Fruit pieces, raisins, even a sprinkling of a crunchy cereal, are other healthy choices that can be added to the yogurt, to make it an even healthier snack.
Set up a healthy snack chart. Each time your child finishes his, or her, healthy snack they get a star put under their name. If they have stars under each day of the week, then they can choose the next healthy snack. It may not sound like much, but it’s surprising how excited kids get to see the stars build up under their name. Sometimes when children are allowed to help plan their healthy snack, it makes them feel important.
It may be wise to avoid keeping any unhealthy food choices in the kitchen, so kids are not tempted to ask, or reach for these items. Children will adjust and get used to healthy snacks when there are no other snack foods around.
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