Eating For Health

Snacks – should kids have snacks?   Do snacks ruin a kid’s appetite?   Are snacks healthy?   So often I hear that kids shouldn’t have snacks.   A friend recently stated her kids are always hungry after school, but they don’t know if they should get snacks or what snacks to give them.   All kids not only should have snacks but actually need snacks.  Kids, especially younger kids, have very small stomachs.  They can’t eat large amounts of food at meals so they get hungry between meals.  USDA sets a meal pattern for child care centers and this meal plan has a morning snack and an afternoon snack.  School-age kids should have an after-school or afternoon snack every day.  After-school snacks are a great opportunity to provide kids with nourishing options that keep their energy levels up.   But this snack shouldn’t be gorging on junk food.  What are some guidelines for healthy snacks and what are some snacks kids can make for th...

Who doesn’t enjoy some popcorn?   Many people love to indulge in some popcorn when they go to the movies or pop their own at home when watching a movie on TV.   So, what is the bottom line? Is popcorn good or bad for your health?   Well, that depends on how you prepare the popcorn and what you put “on” the popcorn. Does popcorn have any nutritional value? Popcorn is actually loaded with good nutrition.   A few years ago, I was preparing for class and a student came in early and was eating a snack.   I happened to walk by her seat and she hid the snack bag as fast as she could.   I asked her what she was snacking on and she sheepishly pulled out a bag of popcorn.   I told her popcorn is whole grain and a very healthy snack – good choice.   She then proceeded to openly enjoy her bag of popcorn.   Popcorn is whole grain.   Corn is unusual in that it can be a vegetable when we eat corn on the cob, whole kernel corn, creamed style corn...