We are trying to eat healthier at our house (who isn’t, right?) which means some of my kids’ standard snacks aren’t meeting the bar. One of my kids likes Cheez-its, goldfish, or saltines as his snack. The other likes a frozen waffle with lots of Nutella on it. Since these are all basically solid carbs, I’m aiming to get them to make some healthier choices. This has resulted in them standing in front of the refrigerator, flummoxed, waiting for me to shout ideas from the next room until I finally come up with something that meets the healthy bar that also doesn’t sound completely terrible to them.
For working moms whose kids are often on their own at home after school, it can be especially hard to make sure they don’t eat Doritos and Coke every day (that’s what I always had as a kid when my mom was at work – those were the days!).
For my family, I made a list of healthy snack options that each of us truly likes – including some to help ME to remember to choose something better too.
One of my kids has gotten super into smoothies, and will add a handful of fresh spinach to almost any smoothie he makes (we got him this individual smoothie maker for Christmas and he really likes it). We avoid recipes that require juice and stick to milk, yogurt, and whole fruits, which is an improvement over Cheez-Its. He also likes black bean burritos, but needs to be reminded it’s an option.
My other son is pretty good about eating fresh fruit if it’s prepped and ready to grab, so I use this chart to remind him (and me!) of the options that should be on hand. He also likes yogurt and peanut butter, as well as nuts and popcorn (it’s pretty healthy and easy if you pop it yourself), all of which are an improvement over the Nutella waffle.
The hummus and apple/peanut butter options are for me! I pretty much never choose straight fruits or veggies, but with the right dip it turns into a snack choice I’ll actually make, and this chart helps remind me to keep the right things on hand when I do the shopping.
And the best part is that once I made the list, I printed it and stuck it on the fridge so it’s right there when anyone is heading for a snack. Even if I’m not home to shout out suggestions, my kids have a reminder that they should aim for something healthy, and a suggestion of something that ought to be in the fridge!
My kids’ eating choices go in waves, or circles, so I know in a month or so this will be out of date. But that’s ok – The Trip Clip makes it super easy to edit this and re-print it next month. I used the Grocery List to make this and it worked great.
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