Encourage your kids to eat more whole fruits and vegetables with these nutritious snacks and help lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.
After my daughter Sienna was born, I started making my own baby food. After all, I’m a chef, and making meals for her just felt like an extension of what I was already doing. When she was younger, she would sit in her high chair and watch me cook. Now that she’s a little older, she’s an active participant in the kitchen—my little sous chef.
Part of the reason I take Sienna into the kitchen with me is because I love to cook and I want to instill that same passion in her. Another reason I get her involved is that I know that if she helps me make the food, then there’s more of a chance that she’ll eat it. She’s at a finicky age and anything I can do to encourage her to eat nutritious food is definitely worth the effort!
But even more importantly, I want to lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits. When I was researching my book Natural Baby Food, I learned that dietary patterns are set early in life.
Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is an epidemic in this country with 10% of children 2-5 years old suffering from obesity. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the percentage of people aged 12-19 who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% from 1980 to 2012.
This puts them at a higher risk for Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, which are problems generally associated with adults.
So what are some ways you can teach your children healthy habits? For starters, it’s about encouraging them to eat the right foods and be physically active.
Choose whole fruit over juice
We know that we should be offering our kids lots of fruits and vegetables but often it’s a challenge to get them to choose the healthy option over the not-so-healthy option.
For example, a lot of kids would rather drink a box of juice than eat a whole apple. Kids love fruit juice and tend to overdrink it, reducing their appetite for other, more nutritious foods. Juice lacks the fiber and other nutrients found in whole fruits and vegetables and can be high in sugar. Drinking too much juice can contribute to poor nutrition and obesity as well as tooth decay.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends limiting fruit juice to 4 ounces (½ cup) per day for children ages 1–3 years old. For children 4-6 years old, juice should be limited to 4-6 ounces per day. Infants under 12 months of age should not routinely be given fruit juice since it offers no nutritional benefit.
When you do give your child juice, make sure it is 100%, unsweetened juice.
Instead of juice, focus on offering plenty of fresh, whole fruits and vegetables to your child as a nutritious snack. Put a twist on things to make it interesting for them. As parents, we have to get creative sometimes!
Healthy fruit snacks
Here are some fun ways to get your kids to ditch the juice and enjoy whole fruits instead!
Rainbow Fruit Kabobs
Kids love food on sticks! Arrange an assortment of brightly colored fruit on skewers. For young children, use popsicle sticks or cocktail straws rather than pointy skewers. Cut the fruit into different shapes to make it more fun- you can use a melon baller or tablespoon measure to make uniform balls.
Serve the kabobs plain or make an easy dipping sauce with Greek yogurt. After all, kids love to dip food in sauces too.
Have your children help you assemble the kabobs- that way they’ll have fun and will be more likely to eat them! Sienna helped me make these. That’s why I ended up with only 7 for the photo instead of 8!
Smoothies
Kids love drinks but instead of offering juice, try making a smoothie instead. They’re a whole lot healthier since you’re pureeing the whole fruit. Plus you can add nutritious ingredients like Greek yogurt, which is packed with protein and calcium.
Ground flaxseed adds fiber and a host of essential vitamins and minerals. Bananas or dates are great to add natural sweetness to your smoothies.
Pour the smoothies into small glasses to make them more kid-friendly and serve them with bright, colorful straws.
Put it on toast
Toast is always an easy snack to put together. Make it fun for your kids by decorating the toast with silly faces using fresh fruit. Be sure to use whole wheat or multigrain bread for a boost of nutritious whole grains.
Spread on some of your favorite nut butter (like peanut butter or almond butter), which provides a boost of protein. Then decorate away with fresh fruit like banana slices and berries.
Who wouldn’t want to eat this?! And it’s healthier than the typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
To sum it up, nutritious snacks are an excellent way to help our children get the nutrients they need to grow and play. By exposing your kids to a wide variety of fresh, wholesome, nutritious foods from an early age, you’re teaching them to appreciate and love the real flavors of food rather than the processed sweets that line the supermarket shelves. You’ll also be helping to lay the foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits!
Recipe
Rainbow Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Lime Dip
Ingredients
Kabobs:
- 8 strawberries
- 1 clementine, peeled and segmented
- 8 pieces pineapple
- 1 kiwi, peeled, and cut into 8 pieces (or 8 green grapes)
- 8 blueberries
- 8 purple grapes
Yogurt Lime Dip:
- ½ cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- Lime zest for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Thread the fruit onto skewers (use popsicle sticks or cocktail stirrers for young children). To make the dip, mix the yogurt and lime juice together. Garnish with lime zest. Serve kabobs with the yogurt lime dip.
healthy food says
Thanks for your nice post really this post is very helpful .Please keep it up your writing
Harvindar K Grewal says
Great tips . I wasn't aware of UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition website. thanks for letting us know .
Meg @ With Salt and Wit says
These are great snacks! So good that I might have to have a few of them myself! This is a great post!
Farrah says
I'm so excited for you + this is such an awesome cause! <3! I would be all over those fruit kabobs (love all the colors) and the dip sounds delicious!! I love toast + smoothies too. :] I'm probably still just a big kid at heart, haha.
Rebecca | NOURISHED. says
Love this post!! So many great ideas here. I don't have kids myself but I can imagine how much it must be to have a little sous chef and important early eating habits are.
Sarah- A Whisk and Two Wands says
Healthy foods at their best! This is very important to me. I try to make healthy eating fun for my kids. I have them help in the kitchen when possible and when they want to and don't hide veggies. They both really love their fruits and veggies and healthy foods but I try to keep everything in balance and we have our treats too.
Emily Kyle says
As a mom to a 2 year old. I know how hard it can be to keep them eating right! I love the fruit kabobs, they're colorful and kids love anything served on a stick 😉
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
I love this post. I volunteer for a program called Cooking Matters that helps educate parents on many of the tactics you listed above. As a pretty healthy eater most of the time (even when I was a kid), it was an eye opening experience to see what other families struggles with. Great message!!
Colorado Gal says
Such an important topic. I don't have kiddos but based on everything I see and hear, obesity rates keep rising and I imagine healthy snacks are a good way to start combatting that issue.
Alisa Fleming says
This is such an important topic. I love these ideas and especially those fruit kabobs - what kid wouldn't love them!?
Taylor Kiser says
Love all these great ways to get kids to eat whole fruit versus juice! Instilling healthy habits from the start is so important. Getting healthy snack ideas like these into the hands of parents is a big help!
Lindsay Cotter says
I think it’s so great that Sienna gets to be your little sous chef! No better way to lay a good foundation for healthy eating habits than to learn from you in the kitchen! Loved reading the fun snack ideas with fresh fruit. Kids will love making their own fruit kabobs!
Jessica @ Nutritioulicious says
These are great ideas Sonali. I have found with my girls that they definitely are more interested in what I make if they are involved in prepping it with me or even just watching me. It also helps if I'm eating with them - role modeling is key. These days they are much more choosy (I don't like saying picky) and it's been a challenge, but I keep plugging away. Can't wait to make those kebabs!
Mona says
So important to get kids off to the right start with good nutrition. So many of the foods that people think are healhty for kids are terrible like, as you point out, juice! Thanks for writing abou this issue.
sonaliruder says
Thanks Mona!
Elizabeth Shaw says
Great ideas Sonali and I couldn't agree with you more. Those numbers are frightening and as an RDN it pains me to see such little ones with such adult health issues. If only we could get kids more interested in trying those green veggies and fruits by getting their hands on them early on in the kitchen! Your sous chef is a prime example on how beneficial it is to get kids in the kitchen! Great ideas too!
sonaliruder says
Thanks Liz. It really is so sad seeing the physical and emotional impact that obesity on children.
usha says
Very healthy and easy recipes for me to prepare, when our grand daughters visit us.
University of Florida will benefit highly from your expertise and simple recipes.
sonaliruder says
Thanks so much!
Bernadette says
What is your take on the debate regarding grains and wheat? I've been researching that they are over processed, therefore we aren't getting all of all the nutritional benefits we can from eating those foods. Also do you use sprouted bread? Is it really more healthier than regular bread (unsprouted)? Thanks!
sonaliruder says
I enjoy grains- they have many health benefits and I believe that they are an important part of a well balanced diet. I try to incorporate whole grains as often as possible and limit the refined grains. I do buy sprouted grain bread but not exclusively. Sprouted grains are whole grains and may contain higher levels of protein, vitamins and minerals but it's questionable whether the amount is enough to actually affect your health. Either way, they're definitely a healthier alternative to refined products like white bread.
amanda -runtothefinish says
so passionate about this topic because not only is it unhealthy, but it's really emotionally hard to be an overweight kid too. I think it's a process of getting us all to look at food differently
sonaliruder says
Thanks so much Amanda, your comment really means a lot to me 🙂
Kat says
These rainbow fruit kabobs are amazing!! I love this idea - and what a great snack for kids! Though I have to say that the bear toast is pretty adorable 😉
sonaliruder says
Thanks Kat!
Kristy from Southern In Law says
These are such great snacks! Fruit skewers are always a guaranteed way to get kids eating more fruit! Jesse and I had our Sunday school kids make fruit skewers a few weeks back and even the fussy kids who "hate" fruit were happily eating away because they could create their own combinations 😛
sonaliruder says
Seriously, who doesn't love fruit on a stick?! Thanks Kristy!