Snacks

A friend asked me about snacks the other day - specifically if there are ways to encourage kids to not beg for cookies but to ask for healthful snacks instead.  I had to give this some thought. 

My kids are old enough to talk with, they've spent years (practically their whole lives, as they would tell you!) hearing about the benefits of eating well and not eating too much junk.  But I'm not the sweets-and-snacks police either. We have cookies, ice-cream and other treats.  What I strive for is some balance. 

I want them to learn to make good choices in what they eat.  I do believe that by participating in the preparation, they're more likely to eat whatever it is you've put together.  

Even little kids can help put peanut butter or cream cheese in celery sticks and push rasins in (Ants on a Log).  They can dip carrot sticks and apple slices into yogurt or peanutbutter.  Playing with your food is an acceptable way to encourage kids to try new things.

I do have a one-bite rule, they have to try one bite of everything.  I believe the fastest way to create a stubborn, picky eater is to force them to eat things they don't like.  Every parent knows that kids' tastes change more rapidly than the latest findings in food research, so trying to keep up with them will drive you crazy.

I also believe that hungry kids will eat what's available, within reason.  So not keeping your pantry stocked with foods you don't want them to eat is a good strategy.  There have been many times I've said "all I have is cheese, yogurt, cereal, or fruit, you choose."  No cookies, no whining.  The only thing that's gotten us to this point is consistency.

So what's our deep, dark secret?  The snack jar.

I keep this jar filled with foods from the borderlands.  The pre-packaged items that go into lunches, camp bags and occasionally hungry-afternoon-kids.  They know these are mostly for taking other places, not for eating at home, and I don't fill it with things they can't resist.  But they're available in a pinch.

In an ideal world, I'd always have enough frozen muffins, banana bread and fruit around the house and lunches would be packed only with fresh foods and homemade goods.  In my real world, it's a combination of our best effort, and the snack jar.