Articles
Afterschool Snacking the Right Way
The afterschool snack is generally long awaited by the hungry student! Many children, and parents, think that after school children should be rewarded with something yummy, which in a childs terms is something full of sugar and laden with fat kilojoules. Chances are they had something of this nature in their lunchbox during the day, so why not look at the afterschool snack as an opportunity to refuel them with some healthy essential nutrients, whilst also pleasing their tastebuds. Whether Mum is bringing it for them to eat in the car, they prepare it themselves when they get home, or they pick it up from the local shop, there is no reason why the afterschool snack cannot be a nutritious part of their daily diet.
What makes a nutritious snack?
Here is a quick guide to a healthy afterschool snack. If you are offering your children pre-packaged snacks, check the nutrition information panel for the following. Remember to look at the per serve column for the Kilojoule content, and work out just how many serves they are actually having. Then look at the per 100g column for the fat and sugar.
450-600kj per serve (100-140 calories)
Less than 10g of fat per 100g
Less than 2g saturated fat per 100g
Less than 20g of sugar per 100g
Here is an example of an afterschool snack nutrition panel that does not fit this criteria.
A name brand Rice Bubble Choc Chip Bar - 389kj per serve, 11.9g fat per 100g, 7.6g saturated fat per 100g, 33.9g sugar per 100g.
Although the Kilojoule content fits the requirements, the fat, saturated fat and sugar content are all far above the recommendations.
What to look for in an afterschool snack
Your child may not be getting the recommended serves from the 5 food groups each day. Trying to fit all these serves in at meal times can be difficult, so look at their snacking times as an opportunity to get some of the recommended 5 food group serves in such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrain cereals, nuts, seeds and dairy products.
Afterschool snack ideas
For the car ride
If Mum is bringing the snack to school for kids to eat in the car on the way home or to an afterschool event it must be quick, easy and portable. Here are a few ideas:
Sakata minis individual fun size packets of rice crackers. These could even be served with an individual mini pot of low fat hummus or tzatziki dip. You may be surprised how much kids enjoy these dips.
Dried fruit boxes if your child is old enough try dried fruit and nut boxes.
Wholemeal sandwich with low fat cream cheese and ham or egg and lettuce.
From the local shop
Supermarkets and local shopping centres are jammed pack full of unhealthy afterschool snacks that are just too quick and easy. However, they are also full of healthy and tasty ideas to keep the kids happy while you run some errands. Here are a few ideas.
Sushi rolls these may sound like they are not kid friendly, but give them a try. There are a number of chicken and beef varieties that kids will love!
Fruit and Nut bars if your child is old enough to eat nuts, offer them a healthy muesli bar option such as Be Natural Nut Bars. They are rich in good fats that children need each day
Fresh fruit juices treat them to a small freshly squeezed juice or small smoothie with low fat yoghurt
Low fat muffins many muffin stores, such as Muffin Break offer healthy muffin options
Make your own
Involving children in their afterschool snack preparation is a great way to teach them kitchen skills and something about healthy eating. Give them some snack options and let them decide which ones they would like to make. Here are some ideas.
Toasted ham, tomato and cheese sandwiches use wholemeal bread and low fat ham and cheese
Popcorn Fun Mix Pop your own corn and add dried fruit and nuts (if your kids are old enough for nuts)
Loaded crackers load up some healthy wholegrain crackers with interesting toppings such as light cream cheese, avocado, ham, turkey slices, flavoured tuna, grated carrot or beetroot, tomato, cucumber and lettuce
Pikelets add fruit to the batter, such as berries, banana or sultanas. Top with low fat cream cheese, banana slices or low sugar jam such as St Dalfor
Make your own muffins get the kids cooking to make some healthy muffins. There are many recipes available online, try www.taste.com.au. Look for recipes that allow you to add fresh or dried fruit. Muffins can be frozen for future days or school lunchboxes
Smoothies use low fat milk, low fat yoghurt and allow them to choose which fruits they would like to add. Try freezing the fruit pieces earlier for a creamier texture.
Toasted English muffins with honey or vegemite or toasted fruit bread with a scraping of margarine/light cream cheese.
Added to site on : Monday, 2 April 2012