Family on a diet - Any suggestions on snacks?

overit75
overit75 Posts: 150 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am ashamed to realize that my children really need to lose weight. Any suggestions on fun healthy snacks? My daughter loves fruit but my boy is a little more picky on it. Thanks.
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Replies

  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    Look up the 88 Snacks Under 100 Calories post.
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
    String cheese
    Nuts
    Popcorn
    Veggie Chips (you can find these in the chip aisle. Still not great on stats but better than potato chips)
    Salsa
    Hummus
    Rice cakes
    Greek yogurt

    Not all are low calorie (nuts) but they have health benefits to eating and the good fats help keep you feeling full longer.
  • angelew
    angelew Posts: 133 Member
    celery topped with peanut butter and raisins (ants on a log!)

    apple slices with peanut butter

    veggies dipped in "Ranch" dip (mix a Ranch seasoning packet with plain fat free Greek yogurt...no one will know it's not sour cream!)

    peel bananas, wrap in foil and freeze...tastes like ice cream!
  • thriftycupl
    thriftycupl Posts: 310 Member
    How about celery and peanut butter?
  • DrKittyCat
    DrKittyCat Posts: 108
    Roasted chick peas (just toss with them some olive oil, spices and stick 'em in the oven): super yummy!

    Maybe invest in a dehydrator? You can make dried fruits, veggie chips, etc.
  • michellelhartwig
    michellelhartwig Posts: 486 Member
    carrots with PB are great, too!
  • btm03
    btm03 Posts: 38 Member
    My kids can be picky too, but they do like string cheese, apples with peanut butter, fruit and yogurt smoothies, popcorn, applesauce (no sugar) with cinnamon, greek yogurt, triscuits, rice cakes with pb and jelly or pb and honey, caterpillar's (I made these up, but it gets them to eat bananas...cut the peel off 3/4 of the banana lengthwise, then slice into bite sized pieces, top with cinnamon, then I add dark chocolate chips for legs, eyes, and a mouth). Well, that's all the ideas I have right now. Good luck!
  • robinbarten
    robinbarten Posts: 17
    With kids it has to be easy for them to grab and eat.

    2 slices Oscar Mayer honey smoked turkey breast wrapped around a light string cheese. It's also good heated up a little.
    100 calorie microwave popcorn bags.
    apple or banana with 1T peanut butter.
    Cottage cheese with pineapple or mandarin oranges. I buy the little fruit cups for 60 or 70 calories.
    Nutrigrain bars
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Cheese sticks
    fruits with yogurt dip
    veggies with dip
    whole grain crackers with salami and cheese
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    my kids love yogurt, string cheese, baby carrots...the two older ones like bell pepper strips with ranch dressing...popcorn.
  • amycarol59
    amycarol59 Posts: 111 Member
    I have been taking frozen fruit microwaving for a min or so and blending it with some vanilla SF syrup and refreezing it slightly my kids love it like an italian ice.
  • jching29
    jching29 Posts: 163
    Oven fries made with olive oil spray or Pam are great :) just cut small potatoes into wedges, spray and season, then pop them into an oven at 350 until tender. Turn once to get crispy edges. With garlic powder and a little salt and pepper, they're killer! Getting sugar-free ketchup and other healthy condiments are a great step in the right direction, too!
  • LillysGranny
    LillysGranny Posts: 431
    My granddaughter and I made cute "centipedes" with banana slices, peanut butter, a few halved pretzel sticks and 2 raisins for eyes. They were adorable and tasty! Monster mouths (green apple, pb, slivered almond teeth) are another fun one. My granddaughter went through a picky stage, but she eats most everything now. I have to give her Dad credit for sticking to his guns and making her try one small bite of everything (even if she'd had it before).
  • lsjd2000
    lsjd2000 Posts: 287 Member
    we try to keep plenty of fresh fruit and veggies (baby carrot, cut up cucumber, celery etc) in the house for them to snack on easliy along with pretzals, fruit snacks, granola bars, yogurt etc.
    We do not keep chips, cookies (very often there a rare treat), snack cakes etc in the house - we will occasionally buy chips or cookies as a treat or if doing a cook out etc but its rare we also dont keep soda in the house if they want a drink its milk, water or tea, in the summer we'll have lemonaid or somtimes kool aid (but it stains so not often)
  • rebysue
    rebysue Posts: 136
    I was actually shocked at some of the things my kids will eat when I offered it to them. Mine love bell peppers sliced up (especially when I give them a variety of colors, carrot sticks (especially the mini baby carrots and matchstick carrots), sliced cucumbers, lettuce/spinach dipped in "ranch" (someone already mentioned this, mix powdered ranch with yogurt, plain regular yogurt works just as well as greek), grape tomatoes, pear tomatoes (I think they like the tomatoes because they are little), garbanzo beans straight from a can, smoothies (and most of the time I sneak quite a bit of spinach in and they don't even notice).

    Any time we take fruits/vegetables and turn them into something (ie, apple monsters, veggie skeletons) my kids think they are getting a great treat and gobble it right up! The best is when I give them a few different things and tell them to create a monster for me. I guess something about playing with their food makes it taste better!
  • ikate724
    ikate724 Posts: 2
    First off...don't feel ashamed. This good health thing is NOT easy! Especially for busy families. Convenient snacks and unhealthy are just so easy. So don't beat yourself up. Anyhoo -I think all the suggestions above are good. Love the ranch seasoning in greek yogurt. You just solved my problem of needing a dip for my veggies. And the centipedes sound fun to make together. Thanks ladies!
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    i just made two different snacks today .. one with frozen black cherries . i used a parfait glass .. 1/4c black cherries, next a tbl of whipped cream . another 1/4c black cherries and another tbl of whipped cream..topped it with a 1/8c of slivered almonds..it was really super good!!!!

    i thawed the cherries half way so they were really cold and refreshing with this hot weather we have

    another one is 1/2c canned pumpkin mixed with a one serving container of nonfat plain greek yogurt. add splenda to your sweetness liking and pumpkin pie spice..mix it up and put it in the freezer ..great snack and very healthy!
  • momtokgo
    momtokgo Posts: 446 Member
    We are dairy free, but my kids love rice crackers (plain, sesame or roasted tomato) rice cakes, fruit, apple sauce, soy yogurt, smoothies, popcorn, pretzels, turkey, cheecha puffs, muffins (whole wheat and homemade).

    My oldest daughter can have cheese, and she likes cheese strings, greek yogurt, crackers and cheese.
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    pork rinds
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    I am ashamed to realize that my children really need to lose weight. Any suggestions on fun healthy snacks? My daughter loves fruit but my boy is a little more picky on it. Thanks.

    The key is making calories count. So much of what most kids really enjoy eating are "empty calories"... Calories that cost you but deliver NO nutritional value. You mentioned fruit and that is a great one... Jello, some pudding cups, nuts, certain yogurts, etc, Probably more important than all that is limit the television... take up the cell phone, turn off the computer and make them go outside to play.. good old fashioned backyard soccer, football, basketball, or whatever... Exercise comes easily for most tikes and there are a lot of fun options there... So many kids are sitting under the air conditioner, watching the television and eating chips rather than getting out and playing and developing their bodies.
  • Storey621
    Storey621 Posts: 82 Member
    How about celery and peanut butter?

    This is also good with peanut butter chips =) adds a little taste that kids'll love
  • jaxbeck
    jaxbeck Posts: 537 Member
    I am ashamed to realize that my children really need to lose weight. Any suggestions on fun healthy snacks? My daughter loves fruit but my boy is a little more picky on it. Thanks.

    You've received some really good suggestions so far, what was listed is pretty much what we keep in the house for our kids. They don't need to lose weight but I like for them to eat healthy so they won't have issues in the future. We have a popcorn airpopper that they love. It's much healthier and we buy fun sprinkled toppings for them to each pick from. In addition to fruits & veggie sticks we keep string cheese, cheese cubes, yogurt, frozen yogurt in place of ice cream and nuts. If they like Hummus, try a hummus & cucumber pita. It's very good & filling! If they have never tried it don't assume they won't like it....3 out 4 of my kids ended up loving it!
  • chaika7
    chaika7 Posts: 2 Member
    oatmeal crackers:)
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 445 Member
    NO to whoever said Microwave popcorn. That is unhealthy CRAP.

    Make your own popcorn. All you need is: popcorn kernels (duh), coconut oil, salt. I would recommend a Whirlypop (sp?). We have one and it makes the best popcorn. It's a stove-top hand crank design, so might be fun for the kids too!
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 445 Member
    Another idea, just came to me (divine intervention?), take a family outing to the farmer's market. At least where I live, each stand gives out free samples. Let them try stuff and see what they like, for free :) And you can buy it there and know it's good fresh local produce.
  • deadstarsunburn
    deadstarsunburn Posts: 1,337 Member
    Encourage them to go play games that require physical activity. I bet they'd love if they had their mom playing with them too! =]
  • Captain_Mal
    Captain_Mal Posts: 945 Member
    Fruit
    baby carrots
    yogurt
    peanut butter smeared on some crackers
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    What are the ages of your kids? Younger kids need full fat foods, and some foods are choking hazards. Older kids can eat a wider variety of foods and their nutritional needs are different.

    Cheese and crackers
    Celery and peanut butter
    yogurt
    graham cracker and peanut butter
    cereal
    fruit
    veggies and hummus
    cottage cheese
    fruit smoothie
  • Linbo93
    Linbo93 Posts: 229 Member
    If your kids are looking for a healthier alternative to ice cream, and something that they can have fun making, consider making chocolate covered banana's together! Its one of my absolute favorites, cheap and fun to make and can be stored in the freezer for quite some time!
  • MalyMal
    MalyMal Posts: 102 Member
    Pinterest has really fun ideas althought the site itself can become very addicting LOL. I am not sure how old your kids are but Jessica Seinfield has a book out called Deceptively Delicious its got good idea and new takes on old recipes. Don't be ashamed life has a way of getting away on you but you are releizing it now which is FANTASTIC !!!!

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