Healthier snack options1/30/2024 Your sense of taste and smell can change with age, and this can affect your appetite and enjoyment of food. Bake in the oven at about 160☌ for 45mins, turning halfway through. ![]() Arrange the slices on a baking tray (kids can help here) and sprinkle with herbs or spices and a small amount of olive oil (for vegetables). Thinly slice fruit (such as apple) or vegetables (such as sweet potato, beetroot, parsnip or carrot) using a knife or a peeler. Homemade crisps – try making your own fruit or vegetable crisps at home.For younger children, this can be a good chance for them to practice spreading or chopping skills (younger children should use suitable plastic cutlery that is age appropriate). You can try smooth nut butters, low-fat spreads, or reduced fat cream cheese as a base, and add sweet toppings like sliced banana, grapes, strawberry or kiwi, or savoury toppings such as cherry tomato halves, cucumber or pepper slices. Toast creations – experimenting with different spreads and toppings for toast can be a great way for kids to have fun creating their own snack.Younger children can have fun trying to count the pops! To add some flavour you can try a light sprinkling of cinnamon (kids can help with this). Pop your own popcorn – if you can find plain popcorn kernels (with no added salt or sugar) in the supermarket (try the international foods aisle) or your local shop, then you can try making your own popcorn at home.(Note: primary school aged children should be supervised when cooking/preparing food – for more advice see our information on teaching children how to grate, peel, cut and use scissors to prepare food) Serve with dips such as hummus or reduced fat cream cheese for a healthy mid-morning or early afternoon snack. Add other veggies, such as cherry tomatoes or a few salad leaves, to make a face or other fun patterns. Veggie sticks and dips – chop up some batons of carrot, celery, cucumber or pepper, and arrange them in a colourful pattern on a plate.Getting the kids to help out, or watch and learn, can make for a fun activity. You might want to try some of these simple snack ideas for children. If you tend to have a mid-morning and/or mid-afternoon snack to fill a gap between meals, plan out healthier options you can have, such as a round of wholegrain toast and peanut butter. Plan ahead – make a list of healthier snacks to buy before you go shopping, and it’s a good idea to avoid shopping when you are feeling hungry, as some research suggests this may mean we are more likely to make less healthy choices.Try replacing these with healthier alternatives (see below), for example by putting a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table or next to your computer and keeping less healthy choices in the cupboard out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind – avoid having snacks high in fat, sugar and salt easily at hand, as this might mean you are more tempted by them.For more information on healthy portion sizes see our resource ‘Get portion wise!’. You can eat larger portions of fruit and vegetables as a snack because they are less ‘energy dense’ - that is you can eat more for relatively few calories. For example, put a handful of crisps or nuts in a bowl, or buy smaller multipack bags when you go shopping. Be portion wise – if you occasionally enjoy snacks high in fat, salt or sugar, try to portion them out to avoid eating a large number of calories in one go. ![]() Also, look for ‘lighter’, reduced fat/salt and sugar free options. You can use the traffic lights on the front of packaging to easily compare products at a glance and make a healthier choice.
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