by Ashlee Lamar
Summer is right around the corner and most kids are finally out of school and at home. More time around the house often leads to increased snacking. Prepare for the next snack attack with these nutritious tips:
Make snacking fun: let kids help prepare their snacks
– Fruit kabobs: cut favorite fruit into bite sized pieces and line up on a skewer (bananas, grapes, strawberries, raspberries)
– Fruit pizzas: spread peanut butter evenly on a tortilla. Place slices of banana on top
– Top yogurt with frozen blueberries or strawberries
– Make a banana split: top a banana with strawberry frozen yogurt and whole grain cereal
– Spread peanut butter on top of celery sticks. Top with raisins
– Toast a whole wheat waffle. Top with low fat yogurt and bananas
Choose the healthier option
– Look for ‘baked’ chips instead regular chips
– Look for the low fat version of dip, encourage kids to dip with carrots or cherry tomatoes
– Choose frozen yogurt over ice cream
– Encourage 1 serving of fruits or vegetables before eating a sweet treat
Sip smarter
– Encourage water as much as possible. Drinking soda loaded with caffeine can have a dehydrating effect
– Purchase juices labeled as “100 percent fruit juice” and watch the serving sizes. Avoid juiced titled “juice cocktail” “fruit drink” or “fruit punch” as these will usually have added sugars.
– Encourage skim milk in place of soda. Skim milk is packed with protein, low in fat and a great alternative to most high sugar drinks.
Ashlee Lamar is a registered dietitian at Providence Medical Center.
Fruit and Yogurt Popsicles
Ingredients
– 1 cup plain yogurt
– 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (bananas, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries)
– 2 tablespoons honey
– 4 wooden popsicle sticks/plastic spoons
– 4 paper cups
Directions
1. Place yogurt, fruit and honey in blender.
2. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into paper cups, dividing mixture evenly amongst the 4 cups.
4. Cover cups with foil. Make slits in center of foil and insert popsicle sticks.
5. Freeze 5 hours or until solid.
6. Peel off the paper cup and serve.
*popsicles can also be made using plastic popsicle molds
Serving Size: 1 popsicles
Makes 4 popsicles