10 ideas for snacks for children beyond cookies

Have a snack! It's time for that meal that is between lunch and dinner and the ideas are over: Is there anything beyond cookies and sweets? Of course yes. The Mediterranean diet includes endless ideas and foods to take for a healthy life. If you are looking ideas for your children's snacks, Do not miss these recommendations.

The importance of the snack

We have talked a lot about the importance of having breakfast every morning But what about the snacks? As dietitian-nutritionist Ana María Expósito Sierra explains, "both the mid-morning and the snack meet certain objectives in the diet." Specific, these meals represent 10 -15 percent of the child's nutritional needs.


In addition, snacks help "properly distribute nutrient intake throughout the day, "which in turn prevents children (and any adults) from" arriving hungrier at dinner ", explains this expert.

In this sense, this dietitian-nutritionist from Guadix (Granada) reports on the best time for parents to give their children a snack: it does not exist. That is, lChildren "have a valuable mechanism of feeling of hunger that will indicate when the time is right for the snack."

In summary, There is no ideal schedule since this will depend on the needs of the child. "For example, if you practice a sport in the afternoon, your hunger may be increased," says the nutritionist, who insists that the best time for a snack "is defined by them (children)". Of course, it usually happens in the middle of the afternoon.


The ideal snack

As mentioned, the snack represents between 10 and 15 percent of the daily nutrients needed by the child. Therefore, "the nutritional values ​​of the snack should be aimed at to cover the nutritional needs that they have not yet covered during the course of the day ".

So, this expert points out that the snack is the ideal time to incorporate Fruit (for minerals and vitamins), the dairy (for its content in proteins of animal origin and minerals such as calcium) or the cereal, which provides complex hydrates and fiber. Of course, everything in its proper measure: "It is necessary that it be a light snack, easily digested and that does not take away the hunger for dinner", qualifies.

In this sense, it is important to highlight that there is no perfect snack since every child is a world. "What you have to keep in mind is that this snack does not contain saturated fats, industrial pastries, simple sugars or fatty sausages", says this dietitian-nutritionist. The brands specialized in infant feeding are making products for increasingly healthy snacks for children and this is evident in the inclusion of fruits, dairy products and cereals.


As far as the quantities are concerned, these should be a portion: 200 milliliters of milk or a serving of fruit, for example. "The ideal is to cover your appetite and not exceed the amount," he insists.

Ideas for children's snacks

To conclude, Expósito Sierra proposes these ten snack options away from industrial cookies and zumitos to take away that "they contain a quantity of sugars added worrying".

- Toasted bread with olive oil and fresh cheese.

- 1 natural yogurt with 1 pear in pieces and a handful of chopped almonds

- Banana and kiwi wheat pancake (containing two varieties of fruit does not mean that it contains the two complete pieces of fruit)

- Tomato and oil toast (as always)

- Strawberry and oat bran milkshake

- Carrot sticks and slice of bread with turkey jerky

- Glass of milk with cocoa and 1 homemade muffin with wholemeal flour and no added sugar.

- Apple cut with cinnamon and yogurt.

- Banana and oatmeal smoothie without added sugars

- Slice of rye bread or oatmeal with tomato slices and 1 minced egg on bread.

Angela R. Bonachera

Video: DIY Quick and Easy Recipes: Fun Food for Kids | Cooking for Children


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