Moms who have active kids would know the value of having some snacks along whenever they leave the house. These little tummies tend to rumble more like a hobbit’s tummy which requires at least seven meals a day, according to Sam and Frodo of LOR. I always have some stash of goodies at home for these tummy emergencies both in and out of the house. Now that school is about to open, we have to prepare a list of options for our kiddie snacks to fuel both mind and body during recess.
The variety of snacks available in the grocery makes choosing the right snack for your kids a bit overwhelming, especially if you have an urge to compare nutritional values for each snack. To make shopping for snacks easier, I let the kids choose their snacks and check the nutrition labels before we purchase it. As a rule of thumb, we avoid the junk food or chips aisle in the grocery whenever we buy snacks with the little ones. Some of the basic things that you should check include the Vitamins A & C, potassium, calcium, iron and fiber content of the snack. Choose snacks that provide you at least 5% up to a maximum of 20% of the recommended daily value of these nutrients. Here are the top grocery picks that became constant features in our pantry.
Animal Crackers, Quaker Oat Cookies, Bread Pan, Presto Cream Sandwiches, 
Rebisco Wheat Crackers, Nissin Wafer Cubes, Oreo Cookies, Sunmaid Dried Raisins, and Gardenia Muffins.
I also keep a list of healthy children’s snacks to guide me in planning their snacks for the week. The list include: fresh fruits, dried fruits, peanut butter, cheese, bagels, pretzels, rice cake, whole grain crackers, whole wheat bread, high-fiber & unsweetened cereals, baked snack chips, nuts, and pre-cut vegetables. Low-fat varieties of yogurt, microwave popcorn, granola bars, pudding, meat or cold cuts are also recommended. From time to time I let the kids indulge in not so healthy snacks of their choice like those that may contain some added sugar. But we stick to healthy choices for their regular fares to get them into the healthy snacking habit.
