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Health and Well-Being

Healthy Snacks, Healthy Teeth

Voracious young appetites often need some "filler" in the evenings, on weekends, or between lunch and dinner. To keep their hands out of the candy jar, you'll need some creative, healthy alternatives that are appealing, quick and economical.

Appearance is everything

If you pay attention in the grocery store, you'll see that packaging is a big part of the appeal of kids' snacks. While you can't emblazon snack containers with brightly-colored renditions of the latest video game character, you can put together kids' snacks that look appealing.

Snack-sized plastic "zipper" bags can be filled with just about any type of snack, making it easy for kids to bring along anywhere. You can make the bags more fun for young children by decorating them with inexpensive stickers. If you'd rather package snacks in environmentally friendly, reusable containers, there are lots of small-sized plastic food containers available in grocery and variety stores.

Very young children (toddlers to about age four) enjoy eating their snacks out of a clean muffin tin; a different snack is put into each muffin cup. Some ideas? Try small pretzels, "fish" crackers, oyster crackers, peanuts (not for kids under three, as they can cause choking), small cheese cubes, grapes (sliced in halves or fourths for kids under three), or small chunks of apple, banana or another fruit your child enjoys.

Older kids often enjoy fixing snacks for themselves (but they won't turn down a snack that's fixed for them!). Kids under age 12 need to be supervised when using the microwave, and all kids should be shown the proper way to slice food with a knife and a clean cutting board.

Easy snacks that older kids can make themselves

Younger children love to "help" fix food, so these snacks would be great for them, as well.

  • rice cakes spread with peanut butter and topped with banana slices


  • celery sticks spread with peanut butter or cream cheese


  • pretzels mixed with peanuts and chunks of cheese


  • a bowl of low-sugar cereal and milk


  • mini-bagels spread with peanut butter, chocolate-hazelnut butter or cream cheese, or topped with a slice of cheese and heated in the microwave


  • pudding cups with graham crackers, either as crumbs sprinkled on top or on the side


  • apple slices spread with peanut butter or topped with a slice of cheddar cheese


  • canned fruit topped with frozen yogurt and granola


  • cheese or refried beans (or both) on a tortilla, heated in the microwave


  • crackers or graham crackers spread with peanut butter or chocolate-hazelnut spread


  • crackers and cheese


  • leftover cooked pasta, heated in microwave and topped with butter, Parmesan cheese, or some sliced vegetables


  • frozen waffles, toasted and topped with frozen yogurt or whatever fruit happens to be in season


  • yogurt (regular or frozen) mixed with fruit or jam, then topped with sunflower seeds, granola or Grape Nuts


  • refrigerated bread sticks or biscuits, topped with spices and Parmesan cheese and baked (supervise their use of the oven)


  • scrambled eggs and cheese rolled into a soft flour tortilla


    • Convenience can be healthy

    Not all pre-packaged snacks are unhealthy or bad for your kids' teeth. Applesauce, fruit or pudding cups, string cheese, cracker packs and mini-yogurts are all convenient, healthy and tooth-friendly. Trail mix (nuts and dried fruits) is good as well, as long as teeth are brushed thoroughly after eating it. The raisins, dates or other dried fruit frequently found in trail mix stick to teeth and need to be removed to avoid the production of decay-causing acids.