A fellow mom friend of mine, Julia Shelton of My Blue Canoe blog, shared a way she encourages her children to choose healthy snacks. It's what she calls their "snacking tray." She fills it up with a colorful variety of healthy snacks and her children make the choice of what they would like to have each time. All the choices are pre-prepared in advance for ease of execution, appropriately portioned out and all of them are nutrient-rich that help maximize their nutrition with each choice. What's also great about this idea is that it empowers children to make their own choice, which is really the key for your child's lifetime nutrition status. Put your snacking tray in an easily-accessible place in your refrigerator so your kids can just grab and enjoy.
I absolutely love grassroots ideas like this one, mostly because they have been formulated in the homes of real-life families. Let's continue to share with each other so we can invest in the health of all families by doing just that. If you would like to share creative ways you encourage healthy eating and snacking in your own home, I would love to hear about them!
Julia Shelton is a wife, mother of two precious girls. On her My Blue Canoe blog, she shares her family adventures and tries to focus on the beauty we happen upon in this journey of mindful mothering, intentional living, and plain 'ole having fun.
This is a wonderful idea and one that I've been using in my own home for over 20 years (minus the muffin pan) - but I may just dust off my muffin pan. I found members of my family would look for quick grab and go snacks (chips, cookies, candy, etc.) and I started to create my own quick snacks and strategically placed them on the kitchen counter (wheelchair accessible height). When people would pass the healthy snack tray they would grab a fruit, a handful of popcorn, carrots and celery sticks, peanut butter, etc. I was delighted to see the positive changes in their eating habits.
ReplyDeleteThe theme here is make it easy to consume healthy choices and they will - proven true in your home and in ours as well. Thanks for stopping by, Dr. Frank!
ReplyDeleteThis is so cool! I love it... after the first time I made muffins, my 2-year old keep calling 'cake' when he sees this tray. I should try some veggies and see what he says :)
ReplyDeleteHow cute. Try the snacking tray and her horizons will expand when it comes to this type of cookware! How fun. Thanks for stopping by, Nour.
ReplyDeleteI have a question after using this technique for my 6 and 9 year old. How do you keep the kids from eating the items on the tray simply because its out. I tried to put the tray out as a snack between their breakfast and lunch meal, but they consumed it, almost in race car style, in a matter of 30min.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the recommended time frame for placement and consumption of this type of snack tray and can this be used to replace lunch altogether?
Great question, Gina. It makes me wonder why they are wanting to consume so much - if this snack time is 4 hours since their last meal then they may need something a bit more substantial. If you want to send me a sample day's intake, feel free and I'll take a look!
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