School-Year Snacks

Now that the school year is approaching for most of us, we want our children to start the year off on the right food with healthy snacks for school and for after they get home. I know it's so easy to buy pre-packaged snacks because they are quick and easy, but next time you want to put a set of fruit cups in your grocery chart.check the label. I am a HUGE label reader; I want to know what everything has in it before I hand it off to my kids. Most pre-packaged foods have a TON of sugar, sodium, and preservatives. We want our children growing up making healthy food choices and the only way they can do that as they get older is for US to help them when they are young. If you fill your house with junk they will eat junk, but if you fill your pantry with healthy choices they will have no choice but to eat what you have for them.

If you are now just starting to make healthier choices for your family, don't get discouraged if they turn their noses up at first to the new foods in the house, make those healthier meals and snacks fun but having your little ones help you prepare them. When packing lunch or snacks in your child's lunchbox give them some choices so they feel in control of what they are putting into their mouths, instead of you telling them what they WILL eat.  Give it time and trust me they will turn around and when they are hungry they will eat!

I have 2 growing boys ages 3 and 5 years old and they cannot stop eating. I remember watching my nephews pack the food away and think..."where is it all going" because they were not big boys. Now I know it wasn't just them....it's in that boy gene! THEY NEED TO EAT and they need to EAT A LOT!!!

Upon finishing breakfast, my oldest is asking for something else to eat. For breakfast we rotate a few selections. Oatmeal with a whole banana and wild frozen blueberries, French Toast made with sprouted bread, Multi Grain Pancakes with Oats, veggie puree and

flaxseed or if we are running late cereal with Soy Milk, Sprouted Toast . All of our meals include some sort of fresh fruit. More and more Jackson is asking for second helpings, and I just look at him and

think...You are 5 years old and already eating me out of the house.

Finding nutritional snacks are easy to find you just need to think outside of the box,  and don't go through the snack aisle at the grocery store. My boys are fairly picky eaters and dinner is the worst meal time for them so I need to make sure that the rest of the day is filled with healthy choices because I don't know whether or not they will eat their dinner.

Here are some of my favorite snacks:

Fruit cut into bite-sized pieces: apple, pear, plum, apricot, peach, nectarine, kiwi, pineapple, berries, banana, cantaloupe, watermelon, honeydew, papaya, mango, grapes**** to kick it up a notch have them dip it into a low sugar yogurt mixture. My favorite yogurt is from Traders Point Creamery. It has less sugar than other leading organic brands and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) it's a GOOD fatty acid that is found in milk products and has shown to contain a host of health benefits. Traders Point Creamery has only Grass-Fed cows and there is 5 times more CLA in those cows then grain-fed cows.

My first choice is fresh fruit, but when we run out I then move to my next favorite....Fruit Leathers!!! I love the Fruit Leathers from Trader Joes , they have so many to choose from and most are under $1 and have a full serving of fruit. I love the ones that have 6g of fiber called Fiberful just look for the fruit leather that has NO concentrate and all natural flavors and lower then 10g of sugar per fruit leather.

Great snacks

• Grain snacks: whole grain crackers (I try to get the ones with flax seed mixed in), toasted bread with fruit preserves or cream cheese ( I use sprouted bread which has a ton of protein and fiber), pretzels, oatmeal bars, cold cereal (dry or with milk)
• Veggie snacks: choose your child's favorite vegetable and let him dip in hummus, salsa, ranch or guacamole. Try carrot sticks, red or yellow pepper strips, jicama slices, and broccoli florets (call them "trees") I like to keep it simple and healthy so I also like to pack dried veggies. My favorite is from Whole Foods Market. Dried turnips, carrots, green beans plus others. It tastes like chips and with a little imagination they think they are getting green fries.
• Dairy snacks: yogurt, yogurt and fruit smoothies cheese and crackers, cheese with apple slices. During these HOT month s try freezing the smoothies or yogurt and make ice pops. My boys love cheeses so I stock up on organic cheese sticks from Trader Joes or Whole Foods. I also buy these great yogurts from Lifeway that come with a screw top and has probiotic in them. I freeze them so by the time they are ready to eat them, it's still cold and it also keeps the cheese cool too.
• ** This new creation of ours has become a favorite in our household.  "South American Smoothie" is not only great for kids but parents too!
• Protein-packed snacks: hummus or black bean dip with pita triangles, crackers or sliced veggies, peanut butter sandwiches or you can even make your own Granola Bars, they are easy to freeze so you can take them out of the freeze that morning and by the time your little one has his lunch or snack at school it's ready to be eaten. Protein Bars that is high in protein (of course) and Fiber look for ingredients that would be equivalent to eating the main part of your meal.
• ****Because nuts and peanuts cause the most severe allergic reactions, wait until at least 2 years old before introducing to your child. Talk to your pediatrician about when to introduce potentially allergenic foods as it may be best to wait longer than the stated guidelines. Small round foods like grapes can cause choking in young children. Avoid whole grapes until age 2 and older.
• Drinks: We don't use juice boxes so I load them up with lots of water in reusable BPA free water bottles.

What are your favorite types of healthy snacks that you give your little ones?

Trina O'Boyle has lived in the Philadelphia area for 3 years. Before settling in the city of brotherly love, Trina has lived in South Florida, London England and grew up in Michigan.  Before starting O'Boy! Organic Trina taught Montessori preschool and Kindergarten for 12 years. As a former school teacher, Trina would cook with her school children and teach them the benefits of eating healthy foods. It not only gets them involved with what they are eating, but it also helps with the development of fine motor skills, it boosts self confidence, and it helps create the foundation for a healthy and nutritious lifestyle. Trina is the proud mother of two healthy boys; Finnegan 3 years and Jackson 5 years. Website and Blog: www.oboyorganic.com

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