14 Healthy Snack Ideas Even The Kids Will Love

In many ways, science says, kids are what YOU eat.

Kids’ eating behaviors are shaped by their own experiences with food and watching what others—like their parents—eat. If you eat a healthy diet, chances are your kids will too—and not just because you’re in charge of the shopping and cooking. Parents are their kids’ first role models. Even if you’ve had some bad habits in the past, your kids will be observing all the healthy changes you’re making now and may want to join in.¹

Since you ARE in charge of the shopping and cooking, you can help yourself and your kids by not bringing tempting snacks into the house. It’s tough to be satisfied with an apple when your kids are crunching your favorite chocolate chip cookies.

It’s time to up your snack game! Stock up your kitchen with healthy snacks for kids that also fit into your healthy weight loss plan. Here are some easy snack ideas and healthy snacks for kids—plus some recipes—that will keep you and the kids happy, healthy and satisfied.

1. Fruit Kabobs with Yogurt Dip

Fruit kabobs are a fun and creative way to get in fiber and nutrition. All you have to do is grab some skewers and slide on your favorite fruits! Slice up any combination that you enjoy into bite-sized pieces. Sliced grapes, strawberries, bananas, watermelon, cantaloupe, whole raspberries and blackberries are all tasty options.

Houston Family Nutrition recommends serving fruit kabobs with a side of vanilla yogurt for dipping.² Just make sure you are choosing a low-fat option that isn’t loaded with a ton of sugar. You could also purchase a plain low-fat yogurt and sweeten it up with a little stevia and vanilla extract.

2. Fruit Parfait

Instead of filling up on store-bought baked goods and sugar-filled desserts, consider making a healthy parfait at home. They are a tasty snack that doubles as sweet treat! Simply layer low-fat yogurt in a glass with fresh berries or fruit, then top with a sprinkling of granola.

Try to find a low-sugar granola at the store for the kiddos, or consider making this homemade Chocolate Granola recipe! > If you’re on the Nutrisystem weight loss plan, you can prepare your own personal parfait using the Nutrisystem Granola while the kids enjoy a different kind.

3. Homemade Potato Chips

Satisfy your sweet and savory cravings with a homemade chip recipe! When you make chips at home instead of buying them at the store, you can control the ingredients and calories that are added. Better yet, using an air fryer can really cut down on the fat by eliminating the need for tons of oil.

Lucky for you, The Leaf Weight Loss Blog has several healthier chip recipes that fit into your weight loss plan! They’re so good, even the kids will love them. Our BBQ Sweet Potato Chips recipe is easy to make and can be made in the oven or the air fryer. Get the full recipe here! >

Snack Attack? 10 Healthier Chip Recipes for a Guilt-Free Crunch

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4. Air Fryer Desserts

If your kids are always asking for a sweet treat, healthy dessert recipes are a must for your meal prep menu. Air fryer desserts are a great option because they’re quick, easy and fun to prepare.

Give our Air Fryer Skinny Chocolate Donuts a try! You and your kids won’t believe that this is a healthy snack, but it is. These whole wheat donuts are topped with a homemade chocolate glaze and taste just like you picked them up from the local bakery. Your kids will love how great they taste, and you’ll love how they fit perfectly into your Nutrisystem plan!

5. Veggie Sticks with Dip

A delicious dip is the ultimate hack for helping you and your kids get in your daily veggie servings. Simply chop up vegetables like carrots, celery and cucumbers into sticks and whip up an easy dip recipe to dunk them in. Buy pre-cut vegetables and you have a quick pick-me-up!

Our Buffalo Blue Cheese Dip recipe makes your veggie sticks taste like hot wings. Can’t handle the heat? Explore this list of 20 healthy dip recipes to find one your whole family will love! > 

6. Energy Balls

Energy balls are sweet healthy snacks for kids that really pack in the nutrition! It’s all healthy stuff—oats, nuts, dried fruit and spices—but you and the kids will think you’re eating cookies. Most energy ball recipes only require a food processor and a little time in the fridge. Check out some of our favorite energy ball recipes below:

• No-Bake S’mores Protein Balls >
• Snickerdoodle Energy Balls >
• Key Lime Pie Energy Balls >
• Lemon Poppy Seed Energy Bites >

9 Healthy Lunch Ideas for Kids from a Nutritionist

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7. Homemade Granola Bars

Sure, you can buy granola bars at the grocery story. However, then you have no control over the fat and sugar content. Making your own granola bars at home is a much better option, as you can pick and choose the ingredients and flavors that your family loves.

Our Homemade No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bar recipe is easy and quick to make—just combine peanut butter, honey, rolled oats and semi-sweet chocolate bits in a saucepan, cool and press into a pan which sets in the freezer. You can make a couple of batches at the same time to last the entire week (unless the kids go back for seconds). Each bar is 199 calories. They even fit into your Nutrisystem plan as one Smart Carb and one PowerFuel.

8. Apple Slices and Nut Butter

Apples and peanut butter are a snack time staple. The dynamic duo pairs fiber-rich fruit with the healthy fat and protein that is found in nuts. This balanced snack is a great option to pack for s school or office lunches. Want to switch things up? Almond butter makes this old standby special. You can buy a jar of almond butter and smear one tablespoon on a sliced medium apple, or look for single-serving almond butter packets at the grocery store.

9. Ants on a Log

Every kindergartener’s favorite treat! Smear peanut butter on a celery stalk and stud with raisins. Just like the last snack, you can swap in almond butter for something different. You can even use different types of dried fruit instead of raisins. It’s a simple, three-ingredient treat that the kiddos will be asking for all week!

9 Healthy Living Tips for the Whole Family

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10. Healthy “Ice Cream”

Stop buying tubs of ice cream that are loaded with added sugar, fat and calories. If you have a powerful blender, you can easily make your own ice cream at home that’s just as delicious! “Nice cream” is the trendy frozen treat that everyone is blending up in their kitchen. Most recipes use bananas as the base as they create a creamy and decadent consistency that’s just like real ice cream. Then you can have fun and add all of your favorite toppings and additions.

To make a peanut butter and chocolate version of nice cream, grab your blender and combine a quarter-cup of powdered peanut butter with one medium frozen banana and a tablespoon of sugar-free chocolate syrup. Blend until creamy and then eat it right away. It doesn’t keep.

11. Black Bean Brownie Dip

You might want to keep the black beans as a secret ingredient when you serve this healthy snack to the kids. They’ll never know! They’ll also never know that medjool dates and maple syrup supply the sweet to this Black Bean Brownie Dip, which also includes unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Serve it up with strawberries or graham crackers.

How to Get Your Kids to Eat More Fruits & Veggies

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12. Spicy Buffalo Deviled Eggs

If your family loves buffalo wings, they’ll love this egg version made with hardboiled eggs, buffalo sauce and light mayonnaise. Each satisfying serving (one whole egg) is only 81 calories. You can count it as one PowerFuel if you’re on the Nutrisystem plan. Get the full recipe here! >

13. Banana Pops

This “popsicle” is healthier than any other option you will find at the store. Featuring fresh bananas and low-fat vanilla yogurt, Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego recommends peeling and cutting the bananas in half and sticking a popsicle stick in the flat end. You will then roll each banana in the yogurt.³

After coating it in the yogurt, we think these tasty pops would be even more delicious with a coating of chopped nuts or granola. Pop them in the freezer when your done so they can firm up before eating. Yum!

14. Chocolate-Covered Fruit

Fruits covered in chocolate are great healthy snacks for kids.  They can even help out in the kitchen with this one! Simply melt some semi-sweet or stevia-sweetened chocolate in the microwave. Once it’s cool enough to handle, let the kids dip their favorite fruits in the chocolate. You can even use dried fruit like dried pineapple slices, mangoes, oranges, apricots or raisins. You can even sprinkle them with chopped nuts, seeds or even sprinkles!

Looking for more healthy snacks for kids? Click the link below for tons of after school snack ideas!:

21 Easy After School Snacks for the Kiddos

Read More

Sources:

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2678872/
2. https://houstonfamilynutrition.com/kid-friendly-fruit-kabobs-recipe/
3. https://www.rchsd.org/health-articles/banana-yogurt-popsicles/

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Is it just me?

H: 4’10 - SW: 72.6kgs- CW: 58.7kgs - GW: 48kgs - Female

I've been on this weight journey since Jan of this month and I've lost 14ish kgs and I'm really pleased with that! I've been trying to work out (weights and cardio) consistently (5/6 days a week) and eat at a caloric deficit, but I sometimes don't always stick to this plan. I'm using a TDEE spreadsheet to track everything. I have also been trying to reduce my cortisol levels by ensuring I get enough sleep and avoid being stressed (which is difficult as I have anxiety ahaha).

However, I have noticed that I cant consecutively lose a substantial amount each week if that makes sense? For example, if I lose 1kg one week, the next week I'll either maintain, lose 0.2-0.5kgs or even put on weight. My goal is to lose 1kg a week and I'm trying so hard to get to my goal but I can't keep up a consistent weight loss. Am I doing something wrong? Is there something I'm missing? Is it just me?

Is this normal? I really need to reach my goal by October, so all tips, advice and experiences are welcome!

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Obsessed with weight loss but can't do it, feel like a defeat every day

Hello!

(Sorry for my weak english)

Seem like people get lot of good advices here so I thought I could give a try. I'm 6 feet 2 very overweight (270 pounds). Kind of funny since long time ago, I used to be too thin for my height (150 lbs) and I was wearing more t-shirt to look more fat.

I went from 300 to 252 and I got back to 270. Not even sure how I lost weight, I think I was eating like very low calories each day even though it was hard, some moments I was doing a lot of cardio, sometime lift and strength training. It's alway random, can't really seem to find the way so I go everywhere. Was feeling better when I was doing cardio and strenght training, even though it was hard and often I felt like the efforts for the results in weight loss were not worth it. I was just watching other people who seem to eat whatever they want and yet be in a fine shape.

So most of the time I was just saying to myself F*** it and just eat plenty of stuff before sleeping. Then I was back in the circle. I think when I check my calories, like 1200-1500 per day, it's getting too hard after 5-6 days. If I cut just a little per day, I feel like it will take forever just to lose one lbs.

When I do 45 min exercice bike, which is very boring for me and tough, I just feel more hungry and often I eat more and feel bad for wasting efforts. Trying push ups and I feel stronger, but it's so hard to do with the overweight situation.

Maybe I'm a bit bulimic, or somehow masochist with foods I don't know lol.

How did you guys do to lose weight? I would like to hear your stories and tips. Did you just eat less without exercising and started exercising when you were at your ideal weight? Was cardio important to lose weight, or it's just better for cardiovascular and heart? How long did it take to lose weight?

I feel like I can't accept losing just like 1 lbs per week, it would take forever to be like ''everyone'' else.

I already lost a lot in the past, maybe like 70 lbs in a very short period of time. I was just eating 500 calories each day, did 45 min exercice bike in the day and running very fast in the night. Was very tough and I was alway tired, not focused mentally, was taking naps often, and ended up by getting a lot of lbs back anyway. I don't think it was safe to do that anyway, and it would be even worse now since I'm older.

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Question about weight loss and drinking alcohol

To preface this, about 4 years ago I was 160 pounds. Every day since then I’ve had 4-6 heavy IPAs every night, can I blame it on my clinical depression? Possibly, but I don’t want to make excuses anymore. I want to lose weight and feel better about myself mentally and physically. I’m on day 2 of being sober (that’s a big milestone for me but a shameful one at the same time) and being a very generalized question I don’t expect precise answers, however I was wondering what completely cutting out the 4-6 heavy beers nightly will net me in weight loss.

For clarification let’s say these IPAs have around 200-250 calories each, because they do and I was addicted and currently fighting that addiction. I’m also a 25 year old male if that comes into account in the equation. Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me calculate any sort of weight loss numbers. I hope I’m not asking for too much here.

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Waiting for the Woosh

5' 4" / F / 186 pounds

So I've lost about 6 pounds in the past 6 weeks. I'm trying to not beat myself up about it because I know this is a healthy weight loss rate, but I guess I'm just impatient and annoyed I haven't lost more in this timeframe.

Based on my calorie tracking, cutting of refined carbs, higher intake of protein, and working out more extensively almost everyday, I thought I would lose more (2 pounds/week according to my calorie cutting and calculations). I know 1 pound/week is still good, but I'm really hoping/waiting for a WOOSH of weight loss to happen. My weight has not budged this week, even though I should be losing.

With this in mind, I am losing inches (3 inches off chest and hips, 4 inches of waist) and I am strength training, so I'm thinking the weights/added muscle may have something to do with it. I also have been off my period now for 3 days, so I'm just waiting for a woosh hopefully soon.

Just wondering what everyone else's woosh experiences have been? Especially with periods, I thought the woosh would happen at the end of my period but mine's already ended for a few days? Does anyone else eat at maintenance to trick your metabolism to woosh? Also should I maybe do more cardio and less strength training in order to better accurately see weight loss?

Lots of thoughts/questions, but just looking to hear experiences. Thanks!

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Family negative about my weight loss

Today, for the first time since I was a kid, I have a normal body fat percentage and lean body mass according to my Eufy scale. The only things that still say High, are Muscle Mass and Bone related. I've always worked out a lot. My Weight and BMI are still a bit high, but I'm working on it. I know it's probably not accurate, but I'm taking it as an accomplishment!

I'm 5'10 1/2", and 181.8lbs as of today. With my goal being to weigh 160lbs. I've considered 155 before, but I'm So Nervous to go any lower. I think I'll wait to see myself at 160 first.

I'm posting this because my family is Very Negative about my weight loss, aside from my sister. My mom Always says my face/head is getting too small, "it won't look right". And just now my father asked me randomly "how much more weight do you plan to lose". And the last time I lost a lot of weight, my uncle straight up said "you look sick.." to my face, and grandma and aunts seemed to agree. I know they talk about it behind my back.

I've been overweight Most of my life, but have periods where I lose a lot of it. The first time I did this, I was in Highschool. I'd undereat, and exercise 3-4 hours in my room. I'd say my body type is mesomorphic, with a naturally larger build. I'd always feel cold. I couldn't control my body temperature, which I later found out to be a sign that, Yes, I was indeed Undereating. But that's Not the point! My mom only expressed concern about my eating habits two or three times to me. It was me Visually which upset everybody. I would say I was, 5' 9 1/2", 140-150, in the 10 or 11th grade.

No one at school ever said anything about me weighing too little. The closest thing would be a group of girls behind me having a catty conversation about how I walk like a model, and being in disbelief when a girl pointed out that I was a boy. They couldn't believe it and tapped me on my shoulder to find out. I wasn't openly trans back then.

So I'm wondering if it's my shrinking build, becoming more effeminate Than Ever, that's Truly upsetting them. I know they could never gets those words out their mouth if that was the case. Or maybe it's because they are southern, and more fond of their southern body types..

But most likely it's just because I look funny to them thin. So much so they can't keep it to themselves, they Love to gossip. Which sucks because they all know I struggle with self-esteem, anxiety, and I stick to myself. So they don't care if they take my 1 accomplishment away from me if it gives them something else to talk about. I guess they want me to look like all of them, overweight.

Anyways, I guessing I'm typing to find out ways to deal with this. Yes I've straight up told them to Stop/ How it makes me feel.. but they will not. Has anyone else here delt with this before? It already sucks having my "behind" shrink in the process, and having to accept that, if I'm being honest. So the Extra negativity really suck and feels uncalled for! ;/

I've lost 69.5lbs over the last 11 months btw

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2 month update along with some encouragement and tips to pass on

SW(6/1/21): 330 lbs. CW(8/1/21): 304.8(25.2 lbs. lost) GW(7/1/22): 230 lbs.

40(m) yr old here. Just a quick background on me. I have always been on the bigger side growing up but I played sports year round so it never got too bad. Went off to college and gained the freshman 50 not 15 😂. That gain was due to a combination of eating/fixing food on my own and not playing sports or working out as often. Got up to 300lbs by my late 30s but being 6’3’ with a large chest/shoulder frame I didn’t really mind it. My ex wife did weight watchers so I did it by default since she got rid of all my “bad food” but it worked I dropped down to 240. We split up and I stopped doing the weight watchers so naturally I slowly gained the weight back…and more 🙄

Present day: The last few years I have had a little heart palpitation but it comes and goes, I never thought much of it. Well back in May I had several in a row and legit thought I was having a heart attack. I was clammy, short of breath and freaked out. After going to the ER and doing all the tests, I had no blockages or anything wrong but the doctor said I should prob drop a few pounds, cut back on caffeine and exercise again. I have 6 kids(3 of them are step kids) and a new wife of a year and a half, so naturally I want to be around for a while so now I am back on lifestyle change which weight loss will be a by product.

I am no expert but in my field of work I know what to do to keep weight down and how to eat properly, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle. Picture a lung cancer doctor that smokes cigarettes…that would a similar situation. Here are a few things I know/learned from my previous weight loss and this time around too.

1. Find a reason to lose weight other than aesthetics. For me even though I’ve been big I haven’t cared one bit how I look. Obviously looking skinnier will be great but I’m using my kids/wife as motivation. I want to live a long healthy life and be able to enjoy myself and not be too big and unhealthy to get around.

2. Plan, plan, plan! I don’t sit down and package my food in meat nice containers for the week but I absolutely think about my meals. If I don’t know what I’m going to eat or plan it out, then I usually jus grab some quick and unhealthy.

3. Cut back on alcohol and other drinks. I love alcohol, I love whiskey, I love a cold beer on the beach or Sunday during football season. However, 5-6 nights of drinking wasn’t healthy plus I was usually consuming 1500-2000 calories a night. Now I just drink on Friday and Saturday nights.

4. Don’t deprive yourself of foods you love, reward yourself. I latter my most recent weigh in crushed it, so I rewarded myself with pizza that night and got my wife to cook biscuits and gravy the next morning and then crushed that as well 😂. I know if I just never eat anything “bad” then I will overdo it and eat an entire pizza when I do get a slice

5. Don’t punish yourself if you slip up

6. Fad diets may help temporarily but they aren’t sustainable and will kill your wallet. My sister and brother in law do one of them, they can only eat a bar/shake for bfast and lunch and one of the companies meals fo dinner. It also costs them $400 per month!

7. Exercise helps but diet is more important. It’s easier to eat a deficit of 500 calories than it is to burn 500 calories.

8. Keep healthy snacks handy

9. Drink lots of water

10. Chew gum to trick your body into thinking your eating

I’m sure there are plenty more and I’m sure some will disagree with some of these, but this has worked for me!

If you have any questions about my meals or what I’m eating or what types of workouts I’m doing let me know, I would love to share what I have learned but also what I’ve known for years but was just too lazy to do

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