Hey Everyone! welcome to Fresh Focus. I’m Lauren, one of your Marion VA healthcare system Registered Dietitians.

Today we are talking all things snacks specifically for kids and families. So whether you are a parent with kiddos at home or if you’re a grandparent, aunt, uncle, babysitter, or friend this episode is for you!

Often I hear Veterans telling me that they like to keep special snacks that may not be foods they would normally eat in their home for the kiddos in their lives. I know this is done out of love, but these snacks are often highly processed, high sugar and/or high salt foods that really kids nor adults need to be eating as often. So in this episode, I am hoping you will get some new ideas to make snack choices healthier and more fun for your whole family. So let’s talk about why we want to make this happen and then we will get into some practical tips and ideas to make your whole family’s snacks healthier.

Diets that are high in added sugars and sodium have long been connected to cardiovascular disease or heart disease which is the #1 cause of death in the world. This also includes heart risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and unhealthy cholesterol levels. These risk factors and connection to the intake of added sugar and sodium apply to adults and children alike. The typical American child eats about triple the recommended amount of added sugars and about double the recommended amount of sodium per day.

And we can help reduce that amount with starting with snacks and how we can make those healthier.

Common “snack foods” we can all agree aren’t always the healthiest choices.

And that isn’t to say we can never have some of those but the goal is to work on having those items less often.

First one that comes to my mind is a snack cake.
These are very high in added sugar and fats and offer minimal fiber and vitamins and minerals. So an idea to replace snack cakes may be to make energy balls. Energy balls can be a great sweet treat but we can pack in some more nutrition with the oats will increase fiber intake and help to get more whole grains into your diet. Energy balls are also fun because you can really customize them by adding in different mix ins based on your families taste and preferences such as nuts or nut butters, dark chocolate chips, dried fruit, and protein powders. Also, my kiddos love to help me make the energy balls because they can really get their hands dirty when shaping them into balls. Again getting the kiddos in your life involved in making and trying new recipes and foods they are much more likely to try them and it’s a great way to spend time together. I will attach a recipe for a basic recipe in the show notes for you to maybe try.

Another idea may be to make some homemade cookies. I know what youre thinking now, I thought this was supposed to be healthy options and here we are talking about cookies! But when we make things like cookies at home instead of buying pre-made in the store we have more control over what goes into them and can make them into healthier choices when compared to store bought.

To help increase nutrient density in cookies we could use oats or whole wheat flours to increase fiber and lower intake of more processed white flour. You could also use applesauce or choose healthier options for oils that recipes call for. Many cookie recipes we can decrease the amount of sugar that youre using and this will decrease that amount of added sugar youre getting. Kind of like the energy balls we could also try to add in healthier options for mix ins such as nuts, dried fruits, and even ground flax seed. Cookie dough is also easily frozen so you could mix up the dough, and freeze in individual portions and just pull out a cookie or two as you need them. This way you aren’t tempted to eat lots of cookies in a few days or feeling like you have to make a batch of dough every time your family is needing a snack (who has time for that?! Not me!!!). Same thing with the energy balls, they freeze really well so it’s a great idea to make a big batch when you have a little more time then you can pull just a few out at time to have when you need them.

2nd common snack: chips

Our next common snack of a potato chip. There is a reason some popular brands use tag lines such as “bet you cant eat just one!” Chips are high in sodium and its also really easy to eat large portions of chips.

Lots of people love the crunchiness of chips so what I was going for with these ideas is keeping that factor. Veggies such as carrots or even radishes or celery cut into fun shapes could be a great options. Try slicing different veggies into different shapes as that can help kiddos be more willing to try different veggies they may have previously refused or been more hesitant to try. You could even ask the kids what shape they think would be fun to try. A friend of mine also has used some kid-friendly knives they found to get her kiddos involved in even the actual cutting of fruits and vegetables. Maybe add a dip with your veggies! This could be anything from peanut butter, a ranch type dip made with seasonings and Greek yogurt is always a hit, or even hummus. You could also try a warmed up whole wheat pita or naan bread to dip hummus in.

Another option could be to make your own trail mix. This is a great option again because it is so customizable. You can use whole grain cereals, granola, nuts, dried fruits, any kind of seeds that your family enjoys or would like to try such as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, and add in some sweetness with dark chocolate chips for some antioxidants or even mini marshmallows which are always a big hit with the kids. This is a great option to even raid your pantry and see what you already have and lay out the options in bowls and get some snack baggies or containers and let the kids or anyone who is snacking to make their own custom mix. Trail mix is also so great for grab and go busy nights at the ball park or practices or for snacking on the go on the way to any activities your family may be involved in.

Next very common and kid favroite snack: candy and fruit snacks.
Our next typical snack we want to trade out is a kid favorite…candy and fruit snacks! Most candy and fruit snacks are basically just added sugars with no nutritional value so the goal would be to trade it out for something with more fiber and vitamins and minerals while still satisfying a sweet tooth. An idea that I feel foots the bill would be dried fruits. I would encourage you if youre buying dried fruit already made to check the label and avoid products that have sugar added to them. Another option to cut back on the added sugar may be to make the dried fruit your self either in an oven or dehydrator. Raisins or craisins with no added sugar are great options store bought. Strawberries, bananas, or mangoes could be awesome and easy options to try to make your own as they would be easier to cut up yourself. Even fresh fruit is a great option to satisfy a sweet tooth. Again try different or new kinds that maybe your family hasn’t tried before or cut into fun shapes to make it new and exciting.
If you have a kiddo or maybe you yourself has a sweet tooth, for something on the sweet side you could try making a smoothie with favorite fruits and vegetables to really up our fruit and vegetable intake. Smoothies are so fun because they can be really fun colors depending on what you add to them. When my son went thru a phase of liking the Hulk we made green smoothies with spinach in them and called it “Hulk juice” let me tell you that was a big hit! To make it easy there are great smoothie packets you can buy premade in the freezer section of your local grocery store or you could just buy fresh or frozen fruits and veggies and experiment with different combinations!
Making changes is not always easy, With kids we need to remember not to give up right away even if you have a few recipe fails or “thumbs down” ratings (as I sometimes get at my house). Just stick with trying to make healthier changes for your family and sooner or later some things will catch on! Thanks for listening!