7 snack ideas for kids: healthy and cheap!

The time between breakfast and lunch is very long, so our little ones need a healthy snack that provides energy to both the brain and the body so that they can achieve all the functions of their physical development and learning. Whether they are in-site classes or online, it is very important that your children have a snack. Take into account some recommendations:

1. A snack is a light meal, not a main meal, so it should have fewer calories and be smaller than a normal meal.
2. The snack does not replace breakfast. Children should have breakfast daily, and eat it during the first two hours after waking up.
3. This snack must consist of four axes: Natural water. A portion of fruit and vegetables, food of animal origin, oilseeds or legumes. A serving of cereal.
4. We suggest the following meal schedule: Breakfast 7:00 a.m. Snack 10:30 a.m. Lunch 15:00 p.m. Dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

7 healthy snack ideas for children

Preparing these snacks will also mean savings in your pocket; each one has an approximate cost of 13 pesos per person compared to the bought ones that can cost around 20 or 30 pesos. These are the suggestions given by the Ministry of Health:

Healthy menu 1

• Taquitos of jicama lettuce and grated carrot with panela cheese (3 pieces of lettuce, ½ cup of vegetables and a slice of cheese).
• 1 cup of papaya cut in pieces.
• 1 cup of homemade popcorn.
• This menu has an approximate cost of 13 pesos per person.

Snack idea 2

• Nopal (prickly pear stems) cooked with panela cheese (½ cup of nopales and a slice of panela cheese).
• 4 whole grain crackers.
• 1 orange.
• This menu has a cost of 15 pesos per person.

Kid snack 3

• Fruit with yogurt and sesame seeds (1 cup of papaya with 4 teaspoons sesame seeds and a half cup of sugar free yogurt).
• ½ cup grated carrot.
• 14 pieces of natural unseasoned peanuts.
• This recommendation has a cost of 15 pesos per person.

Healthy lunch for children 4

• Beans and tortilla shells (mashed beans with 3 corn shells).
• Cooked nopales salad (1 cup).
• 2 prickly pears.
• This preparation costs 18 pesos per person.

Menu 5

• Quesadilla: corn tortilla and panela cheese (1 pc)
• 1 cup of apple cut in small pieces.
• ½ tcup of jícama
• 14 pieces of natural unseasoned peanuts.
• It has a cost of 20 pesos per person.

Snack idea for kids # 6

• 1 medium size fruit cut in small pieces (or ½ cup of fruit cut in small pieces).
• 100 grams of vegetables.
• ½ sandwich with a slice of bread with cheese, turkey ham or some other protein such as tuna.
• Water (avoid the consumption of sugary drinks or soft drinks).
• Cost: 20 pesos.

Snack #7 for your little ones

• 1 boiled egg.
• 100 grams of raw carrot sticks.
• 1 tangerine.
• 14 pieces of almonds.
• Water.
• Cost: 25 pesos.

Remember that cravings prevent children from concentrating on their tasks, reduce physical performance and capacity to learn.

This is a guide issued by the IMSS for the correct nutrition of children and adolescents. It might be useful.

Translated by: Ligia M. Oliver Manrique de Lara

Spanish version: Here

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