While the kids are out of school on summer break, parents are even more challenged to provide healthy meals and snacks for their kids. And with rising obesity rates among children, there are additional reasons to choose snacks carefully.

Nutritionists recommend that snacks, like meals, should come from all basic food groups: protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy. Snacks should also be low in saturated fat and contain little or no added sugars (including high fructose corn syrup, honey, molasses, sucrose, maltose, fructose or sugar alcohols.) Added sugars are “empty calories” that provide no nutritional value yet many children today are consuming seven times their recommended daily intakes of added sugars.

The American Heart Association recommends these daily limits of added sugar:

• For preschool children – about 16.7 g per day. (About 3.5 teaspoons or one pop tart)
• Children ages 4 to 8 -- about 12.5 g per day (About 2.5 teaspoons or one chocolate chip cookie)
• Pre-teen and teenagers should limit their intake to between 21 and 33 g of sugar per day. (This is about 4 to 7 teaspoons of sugar or one 12 oz can of soda)

Some foods like dairy products, fruits and whole grains contain “healthful” natural sugars (complex carbohydrates) that break down more slowly than sugars added to cookies, cakes, pies and even condiments like salad dressing and ketchup. These complex carbohydrates are beneficial to children for energy and should not be eliminated from your child’s diet.

Examples of Healthy Snacks:

• Fresh fruit such as apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries and watermelon.
• Fruit cups packed in water or natural juices or applesauce.
• Raw vegetables, including carrots, celery or broccoli with a low-fat dip or salad dressing.
• Dairy products such as low-fat or fat-free yogurt, cheese or kefir. You can save money and avoid all the added sugar by purchasing large containers of plain yogurt and adding your own fresh fruit for sweetness and flavor.
• Whole grain snacks which include some cereals, pretzels, crackers, cereal bars, multi-grain baked chips, low-fat “natural” popcorn, or rice cakes.
• Peanut butter or other nut butters can be used as a dip with fruit or vegetables and spread on crackers, rice cakes or whole grain tortillas.
• Make your own trail mix with your child’s favorite combination of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grain cereal or pretzels.
• Humus with whole grain pita bread or crackers. It’s also great with raw vegetables.
• Tortilla chips with salsa, avocado or bean dip.

Other Snacking Tips:

• Keep junk food out of the house. (This includes all high fat and high calorie snacks such as cookies, candy bars, and potato chips.)
• Have snacks at set times of the day, about 2 hours after breakfast (mid morning snack) and two hours after lunch (mid afternoon snack) or after-school for older kids. Avoid bed-time snacks.
• Control portion size to no more than 100 – 150 calories per serving.
• Limit soda and high calorie desserts to special occasions or no more than once a week.
• Many “empty” calories are consumed through flavored beverages, teas and juices which often contain added sugars or corn syrup. Limit 100% fruit juice (no added sugar) to one serving a day and encourage your kids to drink water and skim or low-fat milk throughout the day. You can also try flavoring water with twist of lemon or lime and use a natural sweetener like stevia.
• If following these tips would cause a mutiny in your household, you might want to take it slow and make gradual changes and substitutions.

Sources

Live Strong

Sugar Stacks

Mayo Clinic