Healthy snacks for kids, the brilliant ideas they will find delicious.

Nutritionist Susie Burrell helps us sort through all the food confusion to come up with healthy snacks for kids.

It can be so confusing to try and think of healthy snacks for your children. Particularly during school holidays. When it feels they are constantly in the kitchen asking for food.

Diet advice for kids is changing every day. One expert tells us to give them 2-3 serves of fruit each day, then another expert tells us this is way too much for little kids. Then we’re told that dairy is a great choice, but we’re then urged to make sure it is low fat AND low sugar.

We decided to call in the big guns to give us some advice on healthy snacks for children. Nutritionist and pediatric dietician Susie Burrell says that while growing kids do need snacks, that does not mean that they need to snack on processed, high-carb, high-sugar snacks.

Susie says, “Bars, bites, sticks, straps and chips offer little nutritionally. The golden rule of thumb is to make sure that kids snacks always offer something positively nutritionally whether it is fibre, calcium, iron, protein pr wholegrains and keep the chips, bars or chocolates as a once a week treat.”

So we’ve put our heads together and compiled this 7 healthy snacks suitable for all kids. And they look delicious:

1. Fruit kebabs with cheeseAlternate cubes of cheese and your child's favourite fruits. Fresh fruit is always a nutritious, fibre rich snack food. There is concern that 2-3 serves of fruit are too much for young children however the issue is only when kids are consuming 2-3 pieces of fruit + juice + dried fruit as the more processed the fruit, the higher the sugar content.

Lighter fruits include berries and melon or team fruit kebabs with fruit and vegetables (e.g. capsicum, carrots) which most kids need more of. Also serving veges kebabs with hommus or fruit with a mix of veges and cheese or fruit with Greek yoghurt helps to give nutrient rich protein with the snack.

2. FrittataFrittatas are a great way to increase vegetable consumption. Use low fat bacon to make it healthier and olive oil instead of butter. You may also consider doubling up on egg whites and removing some of the egg yolks, although egg yolks are very nutritious. The best option is to add milk and cheese to the eggs to offer calcium and load in as many veges as you can!

3. Muesli barsMaking muesli bars at home removes preservatives and allows you to control the amount of bad fats and sugar included in the recipe. Also available in nut-free recipes for allergy kids.

Any wholegrain is a great choice but just watch the dried fruit which concentrates the sugar.

4. MuffinsUse pureed fruit instead of sugar when making muffins at home and try and olive or sunflower oil instead of butter. Always use mini muffin sizes for primary school aged kids and 1-2 is a serve with a glass of milk.

5. Toasted sandwichesAn oldie but a goodie. Fill toasted sandwiches with ham, cheese, tomato, baked beans but choose wholemeal or multigrain bread and skip the butter. Wraps are also a lighter choice and younger children can have 1/2 a sandwich with avocado, 100% nut spread, cheese or tuna as a filling snack choice.

6. PopcornOne of the best investments you'll ever make is to buy a popcorn maker. Healthy popcorn works all the time, or pop it yourself in a pot using a small amount of olive oil. This is a great snack and very popular. Making popcorn at home means you can control the oil and the salt. Skip the butter and any sweet toppings.

7. Flat bread chips and salsaA delicious snack is toasted flat bread segments with salsa or hommus. Use wrap bread such as wholemeal pita wraps or Mountain Bread. Just cut into segments and bake in the oven until crispy. Using wrap bread is a much lighter choice than corn chips. You can by jars of salsa or make your own. Stick to skinny versions of guacamole and hommus or better still, try making them at home yourself.

Susie Burrell is a nutritionist and paediatric dietitian who worked as the specialist weight management dietitian at The Children’s Hospital for eight years. For more information see www.susieburrell.com.au.

What are your children’s favourite healthy snacks?

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