How do I strike a healthy balance with snack and treat foods for my kids? The national nutrition survey Kids Eat Kids Play shows many children still miss out on essential nutrients like calcium and magnesium, while eating too much saturated fat, salt, and sugar. It can be too easy to focus on 3 square meals a day and forget about the important role snacks play in boosting essential nutrient intakes and keeping a healthy weight.
Healthshare's expert dietitian Emma Stirling from Scoop Nutrition tells of three tips to strike a healthy balance with snack and treat food for kids. Separate snacks Due to their small stomach capacity and active day, kids need mid-meal nutritious snacks for fuel and to help ensure daily nutrient requirements are met. It's important to clearly separate snack foods from treat foods. At mid-meal snack time make sure stomachs fill up on "nutritious snacks list" first like fresh berries, wholegrain crackers and dip or small cubes of cheese. And pack portable snacks in case you are caught out and the closest option is a convenience store. Once hunger is curbed or satisfied you can offer a small "treat". Tip: In my family all treats for all family members (yes, daddy's dark chocolate too) are kept in an opaque container on a top shelf in the pantry. Out of sight, out of mind, until treat time. Reward wisely If you be a good girl at the grocery store, you can get a treat. You didn't eat all your veggies, so you can't have ice-cream. Oh my poor darling, let me get a band-aid for your grazed knee and a little candy to cheer you up. Sound familiar? The problem with this is, it simply teaches children that treat foods are the most desirable and this can set up patterns of emotional eating. The key is to break this cycle and approach treats as an enjoyable part of regular eating with no strings attached. Tip: Try non-food rewards for good behavior like a sticker chart, new book or favorite outing. Timetable treats Aim to be consistent with your approach and set up a timetable or guidelines on how you will include treats. In your home, it may only be a treat three times a week, or only after sport, or only at parties. But whatever you decide is your family's mantra, stick to it. A treat time plan the whole family (even mum and dad) sticks to, helps your kids develop a healthy relationship with food. Tip: Make a craft project together and cut out pictures of treat foods and snack foods from catalogues. Stick them on a chart that clearly shows the two groups for all to see. For more blogs, information and tips about snacking and successful weight management for yourself and the family visit Healthshare (www.healthshare.com.au), where you can connect with experts like Emma, get free hints and tips from other leading Australian dietitans and connect with others. Simply log onto Healthshare (www.healthshare.com.au), free for all Australian's 18+ years.
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Tuesday, 31 January 2012