Snack time!

As you know, I ♥ Twitter (follow me here). Yesterday, a Twitter friend @dietriffic asked about fun, healthy snacks to serve kids. I had to jump into the conversation given my background in health and prior career incarnation working with children (as a princess, lunch table teacher, camp counselor, "mommy, daddy, & me specialist," and more).

Kids love hands on, experiential, and tasty (you might notice they're not shy about their opinions). As a teacher, caregiver, or relative, we get the great task of making it fun and healthy. This benefits their health and has an immediate impact on their behavior. Many of the challenges adults face with kids can be easily remedied by changing what they eat.

Sugar, corn syrup, and foods with additives have become "acceptable" drugs - producing highs then lows followed by an addictive craving for more. It's quite ironic when people feed their kids crap then get upset at them for behaving "badly," under the false impression that more discipline is the answer. Uh, no. Just give them whole foods - the kind that grow in and on the earth - fruits, veggies, protein. There is such a need for educating families and schools when it comes to nutrition. We all have a responsibility to be healthy and role model that for future generations.

There is often conflicting information about food and what's "good" or "bad." There are two powerful ways I discern what information is correct. First, I always use my intuition. I ask if this is valid info and if it's accurate or right for me. Second, I ask who's behind this information, as in what organizations support it and do they stand to gain or lose profit. Food is a political and corporate issue. There are industries that invest a lot of money to trick us into believing in the safety and nutritious value of certain "foods." Thank goodness we've got the internet and social media. It gives people a voice that we didn't have in the past.

For more educational resources about food and health, check out:

Farm to School - "These programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers."

American Farmland Trust - Their mission is to save the land that sustains us by transforming U.S. farm policy, supporting farmland protection initiatives, creating viable plans for agriculture, and keeping the land healthy by safeguarding natural resources.

Organic Consumers Association - "Campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability."

Watch movies, read books - Super Size Me, King Corn, Future of Food, and Michael Pollan's books.

Wait...wasn't this post about snacks? Ah yes, you get the fruits and the roots when you visit this site!

Fun, tasty, healthy snacks:

"Sea Creatures" -Use sticky brown rice, cut up veggies (zucchini, carrots, cucumber), avocado, and of course, Nori seaweed for the roll. Sushi rollers will help squish all the ingredients together cohesively. Make it into a sea creature  by using carrot sticks for legs, have a cucumber tail sticking out of the back end, and make avocado eyes.

"Mountain travel" - Bake butternut until it's easy to cut through with a butter knife or cookie cutter. Let the kids cut into different shapes and place them on top of each other with a strong wide base at the bottom to a thinner pointier top (the peak of the mountain). Use cinnamon as snow. Walnuts as rocks. The squash seeds can be roasted and used for designs (perhaps a lion or a bird on the mountain?).

"Go bowling" - Take almond butter and a little agave nectar to taste and roll into small balls. Have goji berries, cranberries, or raisins be the pins. Use you thumb and pointer finger to "roll"/flick the ball down the lane. You can also bowl "outside" by having the balls roll into cocoa nibs ("dirt").

Eat and enjoy! Any fun snack ideas or educational food resources you want to share?

Comments

[Mel]

Vanessa,

Totally fad ideas!!! I love them. I'm linking to this in my original post. Thanks.

[James Hubbard, M.D., M.P.H.]

You sold me. Great ideas. Sounds delicious.
Thanks

[Pink Heels]

I earned a Brownie patch in 2nd grade when I learned how to make Ants on a Log. My mom still has the recipe card that I made for my first recipe. I was sooo proud!