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Nutritious Snack Ideas

Smart Solutions : Episode SSL-836 -- More Projects »
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Let children create fun designs with food to pique their interest. This banana bus is a good example. Just make a bed of squeeze cheese and put the banana on top. Add cucumber slices for the wheels and celery pieces for windows.
Home economist Sandra Phillips shares fun, nutritious snack ideas for children.

  • Children often do not want to eat something if you tell them it is good for them, so don't emphasize that as much.

  • Make eating good-for-you foods fun by involving them in preparing them from a young age.

  • Teach them that nutritious things can taste as good or better than junk food.
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Figure A
  • Designate a play drawer for your child in the kitchen (figure A). Fill it with plastic tubs and utensils and let them play.

  • Cut out shapes from bread slices with cookie cutters. Add a healthy topping such as egg salad or peanut butter.
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    Figure B
  • Send children outside on a bug hunt. Have them study the bugs' shapes and colors. It gets them out of the house and thinking creatively. When they come back in, have them make a snack in the shape of the bug(s) they found (figure B).

  • Preteens can actually participate in preparing meals like lasagna. We've included an easy recipe below.

    Easy Lasagna

    Ingredients:

    spaghetti sauce
    lasagna noodles
    beef, browned
    cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (your choice)
    mozzarella cheese

    Preparation:

    Put the sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch pan. Place noodles on top of the sauce, then add cottage cheese (or ricotta, if you prefer) and cheese. Repeat these layers three times. Place in a 350-degree oven for one hour to bake.

    Once the meal is finished, have the child look over your shoulder while you do dishes to make sure you're doing it properly. Quiz them on where the items go once washed to make a fun game out of it. He or she has already helped prepare dinner, so cleaning up afterward is up to you.

    • Resources
    Grandma's Quick Fixes
    by Sandra Phillips
    Marsh Creek Press
    PO Box 700
    Pocatello, ID 83201
    Phone: 208-232-6212
    Toll-free: 888-748-3535
    Fax: 208-232-6286
    E-mail: TobiH@aol.com
    Guests
    Sandra Phillips
    Home Economist, InHomeVations
    PO Box 1185
    Whittier, CA 90609-1185
    E-mail: sandra@inhomevations.com
    Website: www.inhomevations.com
    Also in this Episode
    Smart Solutions : Episode SSL-836
    •Recycling an Old Skirt
    •Nutritious Snack Ideas
    •Car Wash 101
    •Smart Solution of the Day
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