The previous snack series articles featured after-school and classroom snacks for children that included fruits and vegetables, dry snacks, and other snack options. Regardless if children are in the classroom or at home, assisting to prepare their snack or meal is a great way to encourage them to try and eat new and different foods. It can be very easy to merely provide pre-packaged goods, but by instilling good eating habits now -- your children can have lifelong eating habits that are healthier.
As mentioned in the first snack series article, fruit "shish-kebabs" are great ways to have kids assemble their own snack while eating different fruits. To make the fruit shish-kebabs more kid-size friendly, use toothpicks rather than large sticks. Because the size is smaller, not as much fruit will fit but you can still be creative or encourage having more than one shish-kebab. Include fruits like: bananas, strawberries, grapes, cherries, apples, blueberries, raspberries, or slices of pineapples, pears, watermelons, cantaloupe, or whatever fruit they desire. Throw in a marshmallow here or there for an added treat. If you're looking to add something else, consider block/cube cheese, lunch meat, olives or pickles, or Vienna sausages.
Are you looking for a less obvious way to incorporate fruits with their snacks? Just add fruit to their Jell-O snacks. Before placing the freshly made gelatin in the fridge, drop in some chopped fruit of your choice (peaches, pears, pineapples) and refrigerate. Makes a fun treat with a little bit of goodness inside!
If you're able to bake a snack and the kids are looking to make masterpieces, consider baking cookies and having the kids frost the cookies. While sugar cookies are an easy favorite, also consider honey cookies. These cookies require the following ingredients: one stick of margarine, 1/2 cup of honey, 1 tsp of cinnamon and baking soda, and unbleached flour. Make sure to preheat your oven to 325 degrees while you mix the ingredients together. After the ingredients are blended together roll the dough until its desired thickness and use cookie cutters to shape as you like. Bake on a non-stick baking sheet for 12-15 minutes. After they've cooled have the kids frost or decorate as they please!
Orange County Public Schools recognizes the importance of healthy choices for students. Here's an excerpt from the OCPS Healthy School Teams website:
Schools are making many positive changes including prioritizing health and nutrition education, increasing opportunities for physical activity available to their students, selling healthier foods as fundraisers, reducing the number of junk food snacks used in reward programs and class parties, starting employee fitness programs at their schools (such as walking clubs and exercise programs), hosting family and community health fairs, and adding health and wellness information to their school’s newsletters and websites… Schools play a vital role in the wellness of their students by providing opportunities for learning about and practicing healthy behaviors. Good student health fosters student attendance, improved school climate, and improved student performance. Schools also can make a dramatic impact in the childhood obesity crisis facing American children.
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