Quick, Healthy Snacks to Make in 10 Minutes or Less

Chips, soda and cookies seem like a quick, easy fix in-between meal, but dangerous snacking like this can cause children to gain weight and not get the necessary nutrients their young, growing bodies should have. Instead of handing your child quick, on-the-go snacks full of trans fats, sugar and empty calories, pack food filled with complex carbohydrates.

Simple carbohydrates found in chips, soda and cookies carry with them empty calories and are loaded with sugar and salt that add no nutritious value to your child’s diet. High-protein and high-fiber snacks, such as the ones listed below, will keep your child full for longer and without the extra calories:

• Cheese Kabobs – Cheese comes loaded with complex proteins that keep your kids full right up to dinnertime. Packaged string cheese does the trick, too, but comes in a mundane package with limited flavor. Instead of stuffing your child’s lunch bag full of string packets of cheese, whip up a quick, delicious cheese kabob.
  You can cut out several different flavors of cheese out to stick on a kabob or toothpick, from Provolone, Cheddar, Gouda, or even pepper jack. Sweeten the snack by alternating with fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries, grapes or cut melon. The high-protein of the cheese mixed with the sweetness of a bite of fruit packs a tasty yet healthy snack punch.
• Whole-Grain Cereal Cups – The complex carbohydrates packed into every whole-grain cluster mixed in with some dried yogurt and fruit makes for a quick, easy pick-me-up for your child. All you need is some whole-grain cereal and dried fruit to mix together.  Sprinkle this fast snack into a small cupcake holder and you have a healthy, sweet snack that’s packed with fiber and vitamins.
• Yogurt Pops – Sticking to the whole high-protein routine, a great summer snack made from packaged yogurt mixed with granola and berries makes for a tasty treat. Purchase some packaged yogurt, chop up some berries and mix together with a bit of granola. Once mixed, add the yogurt/berry mix into ice pop makers and let them sit for a few hours in the freezer.
  Once completed, you’ll have homemade yogurt pops for your kids to enjoy. These small treats come packed with antioxidants from the berries and full of high-protein thanks to the yogurt. If you want to limit the sugar intake, try fat-free yogurt or sugar-free treats and balance the pops with the berries added in. Other online cooking guides may offer alternative ideas to the yogurt pops.

You don’t have to buy packaged snacks that come packed with fats and sugars. Instead, use the kind of skills that can be found by taking online cooking lessons to make your own snacks for your kids to better monitor their sugar and fat intake. You don’t have to take sacrifice time to make these snacks either. All can be made in just less than 10 minutes to offer a healthier, smarter alternative to even granola bars, which are packed with sugar and fat.

Sources

TeensHealth (2012)

 

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