As it is half term this week, I am sure you are busier with the children at home, especially as they are constantly hungry and looking for something to eat.
There are many snacks that you can buy from supermarkets but these are not always the healthiest as high in sugar, fat or salt.
This doesn’t mean that you cannot buy your snacks, if you do, read the labels to make the better choices. For instance, instead of the regular fried crisps have the baked ones. As seen a packet of Walkers crisps has 8 grams of fat and the baked ones have 3.4 grams of fat.
Juices are a good source of vitamins but are also very high in sugar. In this week’s live video, I shared that Innocent apple juice is made with 8 pressed apples and is a good source of vitamin C. However, most children (and even adults) will have more than the small suggested serving portion of 150 ml. Realistically many will have double the amount – 300 ml, which is about 28 grams of sugar. Did you know that one medium sized gala apple has about 18 grams of sugar and 4 grams of fibre, which is more satisfying than a glass of juice? (Source: USDA food content). It is much better to eat the fruit than drinking fruit juices. Water should be the main drink for children.
I always recommend that children have plenty of fresh produce like vegetables and fruits.
It would be best if you get your children involved when preparing meals as this encourages healthy habits from a young age. Some suggestions are:
Vegetable sticks with a dip. Have these ready in the refrigerator, on a lower shelf, for your children to snack on.
If your children like ice-cream you can make frozen berry yogurt by blending frozen berries with some Greek yogurt.
Instead of a bar of milk chocolate why not have strawberries coated with chocolate; made by melting some dark chocolate and dipping some berries into it and then freezing the berries.
Or try chia overnight oats by combining 1 cup milk, 1 tbsp natural yogurt, 1 tbsp chia seeds and ½ cup oats in a mason jar. Refrigerate this overnight and in the morning layer it with fresh fruit. Perfect for breakfast or before an activity.
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