Top Tips for Healthier Snacking

"Mom, I'm hungry"

"Mom, can I have some toast?"

"Mom, can I have a cheese stick?"

"Mom, is it time for a snack yet?"

Kids are relentless in their requests for food. We feed them, and then 5 minutes later, they are ready to eat again! Who can blame them? Food is yummy and fun!

But feeding our kids too many snacks can be bad for their health. Do you want to learn how to feed your kids like a nutrition pro?

Read through these healthy snacking tips to learn how:

Tip #1 Schedule snack time

If you want your child to have an appetite for nutritious foods at meals, you need to stop them from snacking within 2-3 hours of mealtime.

The easiest way to stop your child from snacking within 2-3 hours of mealtime is to schedule meals and snacks. Sit down and eat with your kids about every 3 hours. If you routinely offer a sit down snack, your kids will know what to expect and won't constantly beg for snacks.

• If your child says "I'm hungry" before it's time for snack, let them know when the next snack time is and what you'll be having. It's good to teach your child to wait.

• Often children who say they are hungry are actually bored, tired or thirsty.

• Offer water between set meal and snack times.

Health Benefits of scheduling snack times:

1. Reduces tooth cavities (dental caries)

2. Helps children learn about hunger and fullness (not possible if you graze all day)

3. Improves nutrition of foods eaten

Examples of a meal schedule:

• breakfast 8am, lunch 11am, snack 2pm, dinner 5pm, snack 8pm

• breakfast 6am, snack 9am, lunch 12pm, snack 3pm, dinner 6pm

• breakfast 5pm, snack 8am, lunch 11am, snack 3pm, dinner 6pm

• breakfast 10am, lunch 1pm, snack 4pm, dinner 7pm, snack 9pm

#2 Combine Fiber + Protein at every snack

• Foods with fiber and protein are usually nutritious.

• Fiber and protein are filling.

• Combining foods with fiber and protein at snack time will keep your child full and provide optimal nutrition!

• fiber foods = fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans

• protein foods = nuts, cheese, meat, dairy, beans

Examples

• apple + peanut butter

• whole wheat toast + peanut butter

• Whole wheat toast + avocado

• cheese + whole grain crackers

• cottage cheese + whole grain crackers (triscuits)

• fruit + yogurt

• fruit + cheese slices

• whole wheat tortilla + shredded cheese

• veggies + hummus

• black beans + tortilla

• black beans + whole grain chips or crackers

• leftover soup from lunch + crackers

• smoothies with milk and fruit

• whole wheat muffins + nuts or peanut butter

Want more awesome snack ideas?

Check out our recipe page and filter by snacks.

Click this link to sign up for the October 2023 cooking class. We're making healthy Halloween snacks!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2kK7mZNFnphWi36cfDoausJHQgBFvycj0MDfMtOyz-JdVvA/viewform?usp=sf_link

Why pediatric dietitians serve dessert WITH dinner

All my Registered Dietitian friends and I serve dessert with dinner.

We never make our kids take 3 bites of chicken before they can have cake.

We don’t make them finish their mac and cheese before serving ice cream.

And we don’t reward kids with candy if they wolf down their broccoli.

Why?

The simple answer is: Serving dessert with dinner makes life soooo much easier.

The longer answer requires some explaining.

Want to learn more?

Click the link to read an expertly written blog post by my dietitian friend Sally: https://www.realmomnutrition.com/serving-dessert-with-dinner/

And if you try serving dessert with dinner at your house, let me know how it goes by sending an email to nicolebuhlerRD@gmail.com, or leave a comment here on the blog. Want more help with healthy eating or family dinners?

Ask your FA for a referral to me, the DDI Vantage Dietitian.

The #1 parenting pitfall that is wreaking havoc on your child’s eating

“Eat your peas“

“Eat one more bite for me”

“You can have more bread if you take another bite of chicken”

“Look at your sister, she ate ALL of her peas”

“You can’t have any cake until you’ve finished of you dinner”

Are these common phrases at your family dinner table?

They used to be common at my table too.

Until I learned a better way.

An easier way.

A no pressure way.

Research on child nutrition shows that kids who feel pressured at mealtimes eat worse, not better.

Kids who are coerced to eat peas often learn to detest peas.

Kids who are scolded for overeating often learn to feel shame around food, which leads to even more overeating.

Kids who must finish their chicken before they can have cake often learn to idolize dessert or overeat at mealtime to please adults.

It feels like we’re SUPPOSED to pressure our kids to eat. It feels like it's our job as parents to tell kids what to eat and how much to eat.

But that’s not our job.

What is a parent’s job at mealtime?

Job #1: Prepare and eat balanced meals with your child. You can read more about balanced meals in last week’s post or here

Job #2: Trust your child to decide how much and what to eat.

Kids are good at feeling hunger and fullness. Their bodies send strong hunger and fullness signals to prevent under or over eating. If a child is taught to ignore hunger/fullness signals by giving into parental pressure, they might eat more than their body needs. Or they might rebel and undereat! Overtime, this can lead to unhealthy eating habits.

Along with feeling hunger and fullness, children are also good at eating enough variety to meet their vitamin and mineral needs.

In an old 1930's scientific study, children were given balanced meals for several months. Researchers did not pressure or encourage the children to eat any of the food provided. Instead they let the children choose what and how much to eat and recorded everything they ate. Over a period of 6 months, the children ate just the right amount of foods to meet their needs, and they did it without any pressure from adults.

We don’t need to tell kids what to do. Our job is to provide them with healthy foods and sit down to eat with them.

If we want this to work well, we MUST do our job of providing sit-down balanced meals and snacks every 3 hours (read more about balanced meals here).

And we must be consistent about avoiding pressure.

So what do you say when your child only eats bread for dinner?

What do you say when your child won't try their peas?

Check out these ideas from the Choose My Plate website:

https://myplate-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/2020-12/PhrasesThatHelpAndHinder.pdf

Essentially, you want to keep your comments neutral. Simply serve the meal, sit down to eat it with your child, and let them pick and choose from what's there.

What if they don't eat?

It's okay. Don't let them have a snack until the next time you sit down to eat together (read more here in the "sit down snacks" section). By setting limits, you can teach your child to eat only at mealtime.

What about dessert?

That’s a great question for next week’s blog.

See you next week!

P.S. Curious about what I fed my family this week? Here's my menu:

Sunday: leek and potato soup + nectarines + bread with butter

Monday: quesadillas with taco meat + spinach + berries + tomatoes

Tuesday: one pot cauliflower mac and cheese + green salad + apples

Wednesday: sloppy joes + canned pears + green salad

Thursday: hummus + tabbouleh + tzatiki + naan bread + grapes

Friday: stuffed zucchini + leftover hummus + tabbouleh + apples

Saturday: pancakes + eggs + frozen berries

snacks? green smoothies, toast with peanut butter, canned pears, yogurt + granola

breakfast? we eat this peanut butter oatmeal almost every day, sometimes eggs