By Keri Glassman

Kids love to snack! And the best part is that healthy snacking is good for your kids! With growing bodies and minds comes high energy and nutrient needs. There is no room for wasted calories – kids need every meal and snack to count towards good nutrition. With small stomachs (about the size of their fists), kids often eat smaller meals. Healthy snacks are the key to meeting their nutrient needs each day. Most kids need to eat every 2-3 hours to get in all the nutrients and calories they need to sustain adequate growth.

Think of your kids’ snacks as small meals. This means they should be just as nutritious as the rest of the food you give them throughout the day! When your child’s tummy starts grumbling at 3PM, you can use this as an opportunity to get in important nutrients that your child may come up short on in his/her meals. For example, if your child wasn’t hungry at lunch, and threw out half of his peanut butter sandwich, use his next snack as an opportunity to get in some protein! Instead of grabbing a bag of potato chips, try offering a whole wheat tortilla spread with some mustard, and rolled up with 2 slices of turkey.

When choosing snacks for your kids, look for foods that have no trans or saturated fat, are high in fiber, low in sugar, have protein and vitamins and minerals. Sometimes you might even find that your child is more willing to try a new food as a snack instead of at a meal. Snacks can be a great time to introduce your child to things like edamame, avocados or soy nut butters – use snack time to be adventurous!

Here are some healthier alternatives to some common snack foods:

Keri is the founder and president of KKG Body Fuel, Inc., a nutrition
counseling and consulting practice. She is also the nutrition director for
Citibabes, a private club for moms and families in Soho New York. Keri is
also an advisory board member for SeeMore's Playhouse, the Emmy-
award-winning children's show.