The Benefits of the Nutritional Snack

Toddlers and young active children grow rapidly. They need good nutrition through plenty of healthy meals and snacks, but kids can also be very picky eaters. Here are a few basic tips that can help you establish healthy eating habits from the start.

Balance Is Important
Meals should contain a balance of fruits, vegetables, protein, dairy, and grains. The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid should be used as a guideline, it says meals should contain at least six servings of foods from the grain section daily, three servings of vegetables daily, two servings of fruits daily, three servings of meats daily, and three servings of dairy products daily.

Snacks Can Help
Many parents find it difficult to prepare and serve complete balanced meals all the time. Snacks are very important for growing children, especially those picky eaters who don’t eat much at meal times. Nutritious snacks like fruits and vegetables, especially green vegetables, which are high in iron and fiber, vitamin C and potassium.
The key is to keep snacks readily available around the house. Food that are quick, easy to prepare and nutritious include microwave popcorn, graham crackers, fruits, frozen fruit juice on a stick, trail mix, pretzels, low-fat yogurt, and low-fat milk. Encourage plenty of milk and water rather than sodas that have low nutritional value.

Eat a Rainbow
A good strategy for having a balanced diet is to try to include foods of every color throughout the day.Here is a great example of including color variation in your child’s meals:
Breakfast
Milk (white)
Banana slices (yellow)
Apple (red)
Orange juice (orange)
Snack
Blueberries (blue)
Whole Wheat Crackers (brown)
Lunch
Cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread (brown)
Celery sticks (green)
Peach (peach)
If your child is an overly picky eater or their diet continues to cause you concern, seek out the assistance of a registered dietitian who specializes in working with children to develop strategies to provide for the good nutritional health of your child.


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