The Secrets of Healthy Snacking for Kids + 5 Easy Adopt Habits

A study conducted in 2017, says that India is said to have 17 million obese children by 2025. One of the top four factors to this staggering statistic is lack of awareness. Obesity is a preventable epidemic, and all that it requires is some effort for a healthier tomorrow.

Managing your career, home and kids is never easy. We hear you. Providing your family, especially the growing kids with healthy food is a challenge. You are up against pre-packed snacks, and fast-foods, tantrums and a few tears and some frowns.

The ‘Let’s Move’ campaign started by Mrs. Michelle Obama in 2010 shows the importance of healthy eating. The physical and mental health concerns associated with unhealthy snacking especially the junk foods are many. Heading the list of devils is obesity, and with it comes diabetes, heart issues, blood pressure etc.  The good news is – It is easy to eat snack healthy through these easy-to-adopt habits.

With these 5 tips, you will raise healthier and food-conscious children

1. 1. Keep healthy snacks within reach and at an eye-level: Ease of reach motivates humans to pick whatever is easy and within reach. It is ingrained in our brain. Nod along if in a supermarket you skipped that slightly discounted product in the top-most shelves over to something that you can reach immediately and at eye level. Your kids are no different.

1. Let them choose: the easiest way that you help your child adapt to anything is to let them decide by giving them options. Next time ask your kid to choose if they either want a banana smoothie and a strawberry smoothie; notice that they tend to finish their choice of the smoothie without many complaints.
2. Reduce snack intervals between meals: Kids’ tummies are smaller than adults’ and they eat less in comparison. Snacks are the perfect substitutes to satiate their hunger pangs. Reducing snacking from three to one between meal times helps the kids develop a healthier appetite and have wholesome snacks as well.
3. Never bargain with food: Often kids are bribed with treats if they complete a task, soon they start relating food with rewards. You might also discipline your kids by not letting them eat their favourite food. It is recommended that kids disassociate food from emotions that will reinforce them to not binge eat or abstain from eating in the years to come. Keep ice-creams as ice-creams and not as treats.
4. Never abstain from sugar: If your kids are not allowed to eat sugar at home, they will have them at their friends. Taking your kids completely off sugar will not help and it is not healthy. Aim to provide a balanced diet, which includes all nutrients. Sugar helps, carbs help; overdose of anything is unhealthy, including proteins or other essential nutrients. Switching to healthier sugars like palm sugar, organic sugar is also encouraged.

   

General Tip: Kids eat with their eyes. Set the fruits on a tray, make it colourful. It does the magic. Red from apples, or cherries, green from the grapes, brown from the walnuts, colour splashes from the sauces. It doesn’t take long, or it does not need to be elaborate. But remember just as any gourmet chef say presentation matters. Spread them out, make a mountain, be your own artist – whatever gets them to eat.

These easy to adopt tricks that will foster healthier eating habits in children.

“Check out Snackexpert’s exclusive store with the line-up of your favourite snacks and spruce it up for your child. We are sure you will have more ideas or tips to help children eat healthily? Share with us in the comments below.”