How to Pick Smart Snacks
Do your kids come home from school or play roaring like a bear that they are hungry and looking for a snack? My boys frequently do. While on their rampage through the home looking for something yummy to each, they often stop at grabbing sweets and junk for a snack, which doesn’t give them any fuel for energy. Here are some tips on how to pick smart snacks that will fill their need to munch and snacks you can feel good about, too.
How to Pick Smart Snacks
I received compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.
Check Those Labels – Certain snacks might appear like a decent snack at first glance, but you might be surprised if you flip over the package. Watch the labels to understand appropriate portion sizes and what ingredients are hiding inside.
Avoid Chips and Snack Mix – It might not take too much thought to consider that potato chips and similar varieties probably aren’t the best snacking choice. Have you ever considered that tortilla chips are right up there in the same realm as unhealthy as are pre-packaged snack mix. Make your own homemade snack mixes, instead, where you know exactly what is going into the mix and how much to serve.
Make Popcorn “Right” – Popcorn can be a great snack! It’s filling, fun, and you can munch on quite a bit of popcorn with relatively low calories and carbs. However, store bought overloaded with butter popcorn isn’t the healthiest choice. Instead, pop your own popcorn with an air popper and moderate what you put on top to make it a great choice for an after-school snack.
Make Veggies Fun – Vegetables are a great snack for being filling and healthy in one, but often kids will reject plain vegetables. Instead, make your veggies fun by presenting them in unique ways, adding a healthy dip like hummus or peanut butter, or cooking the veggies for a different approach.
Use Variety – Simply offering different snacks from day to day can go a long ways in giving your child a variety of nutrients and keeping snack time fresh and interesting. Try different fruits, veggies, and grains. A simple slice of toast can make a simple, filling snack. Go for a hard boiled egg the next day. Follow that with a dish of cottage cheese and peaches after that. Your kids will love the variety and may be more willing to try different things each day.
When your kids have a craving for something sweet, pick a snack that is smart but will still feel like a treat to your kids. SMARTCANDY is infused with vitamins and feels just as fun as the not-so-healthy alternatives they are used to. They have two varieties, each in two flavors.
FROOT looks and feels like a candy treat, but isn’t! It’s a disguised yogurt and candy coated fruit snack. It comes in Strawberry and Orange varieties. GUMMY comes in sour and sweet varieties and feels like a package of fruit snacks with natural goodness and vitamins to make it a snack parents feel good about choosing!
These are great snacking tips. I have not heard of smart candy before. I will have to get some and try it.
Snacking healthy is crucial! Thanks for sharing!
Love your idea of making veggies fun! The more appealing I make my son’s snacks, the more likely he is to eat something healthy.
These are great tips! I will have to check out Smart Candy for my kids!
Smart Candy sounds tasty! I would like to try the gummy ones.
These are great tips! Three of my four kids are great at snacks, the other always goes for the unhealthy stuff.
Checking labels is always so important! I was always told that if you can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t eat it!
I have never heard of Smart Candy. I think my daughter would love it. She is a fruit fanatic. She would choose to eat fruit before her actual dinner. Every time I go shopping, I really do check the labels, because one thing I have noticed is that for most foods, high fructose corn syrup is the first ingredient! I have come to check that the foods are labeled organic and non-GMO.
Great coupon. I love how fun smart candy is, it would taste good mixed in with the “Right” popcorn that you note.
I really need to pick some of these up for my kids. We are trying to cut out the junk!
I’ve never heard of these before but they sound delicious! I think my kids would love them.
Thanks so much for the review! I have been looking for these and forgot what they were called.
Healthy/yummy snacks are awesome. I didn’t know about SmartCandy! It sounds great for kids.
I have a house rule… healthy snacks after school and a small treat after dinner. It helps me try to keep my kids somewhat healthy, LOL
I have not heard of this smart candy before!! It sounds like a great snack choice for kids.
I’m the sort who ‘snacks’ when I need to feel full, so I eat large amounts of raw veggies or fruit because I can justify quantity that way. While I don’t think these would be a realistic snack, they certainly sound like a delicious sweet treat when I’m craving sugar.
These look like something I would love. The girls are grown but sharing this because we can all use a Smart Snack.
These look like a great option for my kids. Especially after our last trip to the dentist.
Smartcandy sounds great. I love that I can get my candy fix and get a little vitamins in me, too. Awesome.
Thanks for these tips! Picking a healthy snack can be really difficult sometimes, but I’m interested to try Smart Candy. I think my boys would like it!
Those sound really good. I think my boys would love those.
Oh the Smart Candy looks so neat! I have not seen or heard of it before. I love that it has the vitamins and is healthy…yet looks like candy! I have to try to find it tomorrow at the store! What a great product!
This SmartCandy treats look delicious! I would like my family to try these. We try to snack smart and one way is to make our own air popped popcorn with healthy seasonings. We stay away from chips and snack mixes because they are not healthy!
I’ll definitely have to give Smartcandy a try, I might be a nice addition to movie night.