Snacks on the Go

Who doesn’t love to snack?  Summer time is the time to head off on a road trip, to the beach or mountains.  Some people say to avoid snacks, but why?  Snacks are important for kids as they have small stomachs and they need snacks between meals.  Adults love to snack.  So when you are on the go, how to make healthier choices on the run?  One way is to plan ahead and bring snacks with you.   I was at a car wash waiting for my car to get done and saw a mom and her 4-5 year old daughter sitting on a bench.  The daughter said, “I’m hungry”.  I thought for sure the mom would head for the vending machine.  But no, from her purse she pulled out a juice box and a baggie of orange slices, a baggie of whole grain crackers and asked her daughter which one she wanted.  I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed and told the mother how unusual she was to bring healthy snacks with you.  She planned ahead.  CVS actually had a health flier recently that gave some good advice.

1. Focus on Fresh – fresh food is always a healthier choice.  Bring along fruit, orange slices, grapes, an apple, a banana, a box of raisins or other dried fruit.  Nuts, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs are all healthy options.
2. Prepare – bring snacks along with you as you run errands, go on that road trip, go on an outing.  Stock your car with bottled water and bring healthy snacks or have some healthy granola bars stashed in you car.
3. Smart, healthy snacks – pumpkin seeds, nuts, sunflower seeds, low fat, low sugar granola bars, fresh fruit.  On a car trip we stock up with nuts, whole grain crackers, cheese sticks and bring a small cooler with yogurt and chilled bottled water.

Adult snacks:  Parenting.com has some good adult snack ideas:

• Yogurt covered raisins
• Popcorn – low fat, or try the new Skinny Pop popcorn from Costco or Walmart, only 100 calories, or Smart Food Popcorn clusters
• Dried fruit
• Fruit Bars from PURE – Apple Cinnamon, Wild Blueberry
• Quaker Granola Bites – added benefit, oatmeal

Kids Snacks:  WebMD suggests Healthy snacks for Kids on the Go

• Fruit and veggie chunks
• Cheerios
• Dried cereal and nuts, raisins and a few chocolate chips
• Whole grain crackers with peanut butter or almond butter
• Fruit roll-ups cut into bite-sized pieces
• Popcorn in 100 calories portions
• SunChips

Twist and Shout Trail Mix from WebMD

This is a great project for younger kids (aged 2-6). Not only do they feel proud about preparing their own snack, they also get the chance to practice their math skills

1/2 to 1 cup Multi-Grain Cheerios
1/2 to 1 Cup mini pretzels (preferable oat bran)
1/2 cup of raisins
1/2 to 1 cup Goldfish crackers (choose whole grain)
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 to 1 cup of peanuts

• Lay out a snack-sized plastic bag for each child.
• Have each child count out 10 Cheerios and place into a bag
• Next, have each child count out 9 pretzels and place into the bag
• Next, have each child count out 8 raisins and place into the bag
• Next, have each child count out 7 Goldfish crackers and place into the bag
• Next, have each child count out 6 chocolate chips and place into their bag
• Tightly close the plastic bags, and have all children stand up and do the twist. The kids will have fun shaking up the contents of their trail mix. (You might even want to play the song Twist and Shout).
• 1 serving = 10 Cheerios, 9 mini pretzels, 8 raisins, 7 Goldfish, 6 chocolate chips

Per serving: 105 calories, 3 g protein, 14 g carbohydrates, 4.6 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

For other recipes, including Chocolate Pudding Sprinkle Cones, go to Healthy Snacks for Kids on the Go

Sources:  7-healthy-grab-and-go-snacks, Healthy Snacks for Kids on the Go, Image Source:
Popcorn