I have grown wary of sending my four-year-old to school with bananas. Despite my best intentions to ply her with fresh produce, I have spent too many weekday mornings scooping mashed-up, peeled but uneaten bananas and browning apple slices out of her Elsa lunchbox.
Like many parents, I’m constantly trying to strike the balance between convenience, nutrition, variety, budget and – importantly – whether my kid will actually eat the foods I’ve packed for her.
To unearth more healthy options that won’t turn into uneaten science experiments, I spoke with Dr Taylor Arnold, a registered dietitian with a doctorate in nutrition and a large social media following, about her approach to healthy snacking.
“[Snacks] are a great way to ensure kids are adding nutrients,” said Arnold, whose popular Growing Intuitive Eaters platform offers a playful approach to feeding that helps children develop healthy habits over the long term. “We can use snacks to our advantage, to emphasize the protein and the fiber and those healthy fats and fill in the gaps that they might be missing.”
Arnold is a proponent of intuitive eating, an approach that encourages adults to follow hunger cues rather than rules and restrictions that are sometimes arbitrary. That doesn’t mean throwing out the rules. “You absolutely need to have boundaries when you’re raising an intuitive eater,” she said. “They just need to be rooted in helping them become independent, competent eaters.”
Protein, fiber, fat: choose two
Arnold, who has three children aged three to seven, said she tries to ensure each snack she feeds them has at least two of three in the protein, fiber and fat categories. These foods will support muscle growth, digestion and brain development, and keep kids full longer. “I use that as a kind of rule, to help me structure snacks in a simple way,” she said, adding that yes, kids need carbohydrates too, “but they usually don’t need help consuming carbs,” she said.
Taylor said she also tries to include a fruit or vegetable in every snack, to make sure her children are getting enough fiber and nutrients. “Those broad rules are not only for me to make sure they’re getting what their body needs, but it’s also teaching them how to build a balanced snack.”
Taylor recommends an array of fresh and homemade snacks – apple “pizzas” with yogurt and chocolate chips, anyone? – but she said there are many convenient packaged snacks that can also form part of a balanced diet.
All prices current at the time of publication.
Here’s what’s in her family’s pantry:
“I love the Stonyfield yogurt pouches because they’re whole milk. I try to buy whole-fat yogurt pouches, which have 3.5g of fat, because they’re more filling and their growing brains need the additional fat content.”
“Kindling pretzels have added protein, which most kids don’t need. But some kids are struggling with growth or protein intake – or, for example, may have ADHD and have a hard time finishing their meals at lunchtime – and need something quick and easy. These offer 8 or 9g of protein per serving.”
“These are dried pea pods, and they also have lentil snacks. They’re a nice source of protein and fiber [the lightly salted flavor has 10 and 8g, respectively] and they’re easy to throw in a lunch box. If you have a kid who’s struggling with diet variety, that’s a nice way to add some fiber and beans and veggies. We also like Biena chickpeas – the ranch-flavored ones taste just like Ranch Doritos.”
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“Hippeas are a regular purchase in my house,” Arnold said. “They’re like a chickpea cheeto and have a little bit of protein in them: 3g per serving. I like the white-cheddar flavor. I also just discovered Love Corn [which only has three ingredients] and they are delicious. The Only Bean edamame beans are good too – but I eat them more than my kids do.”
“These and hummus cups are so easy for lunch boxes. You can send these with mini ini, crackers or chips and make a little Lunchable situation.”
Bear Fruit Rolls and Fruit Minis
“My kids love these. It’s just fruit with no added sugar, which is what I look for in any fruit snacks or fruit leathers,” Arnold said.
Bear fruit rolls
Bear fruit minis
Mini Perfect bars
“I like the taste, simple ingredients, and protein content [6g] per size of the bar. This is a great option for parents looking for a fairly easy and on-the-go-protein option [I say fairly easy because you do have to keep it refrigerated]. Keep in mind that these bars do contain several allergens, so they’re not appropriate for many kids with food allergies and you can’t send them to nut-free schools. MadeGood bars have added sugar, but they are school safe for nut-free schools.”
Danielle Renwick is senior editor, US partnerships at the Guardian
