Here we share some ideas:
By involving children in the preparation or purchase of healthy snacks, you are encouraging healthy snacking as well as independence. The more exposure children have to healthy foods the better! Have healthy options readily available such as ready-to-eat veggie sticks in a box for when you are out and about, fresh fruit available in a bowl in the kitchen and wholegrain cereal and canned fruit in your cupboards.
Having regular meals at set times, with two or three snacks per day is ideal. Try not to allow snacks too close to mealtimes as this can cause children to fill up. If your child is not eating well at mealtimes, try looking at the amount and type of snacks they are having; they could still be full from their last snack!
Where possible, try to combine snacks from at least two food groups, for example vegetables and houmous or fruit and sugar free yoghurt. Other healthy snack ideas include wholegrain foods such as bread, toast and breadsticks. This will provide extra nutrients and be filling for your little one.
If packaged foods are given to children, they may need to be divided up and shared. This is because packaged foods are normally designed for adults. As a general rule, one portion is roughly the amount that a child can fit in the palm of their hand.
We know childhood is a particularly important period for forming positive behaviours related to nutrition, so we hope this article has given you a few ideas.
Sign up to receive our monthly Healthy Tip emails directly to your inbox
Discover ways to look after you heart
Explore a time-efficient HIIT workout for heart heath that is suitable for all fitness levels, including beginners.
In this month’s Heart Research UK’s Healthy Tip, Barney Hughes, Healthy Heart Coach, explains the relationship between your mind and your heart, and how taking care of one can, in turn, take care of the other.
Traditional “eat less, move more” advice often fails people long-term, so it’s no wonder so many people are turning to medications to achieve weight-loss goals.
In this month’s Healthy Tip, Luca, Healthy Heart Coach at Heart Research UK, explains why strengthening your glutes is about much more than aesthetics, and how it can help protect your heart.
Explore our collection of heart healthy recipes
Warm, fluffy Norwegian classic cinnamon rolls made with greek yoghurt and a quick, no-yeast dough.
Omega-3 rich teriyaki salmon protein bowl with brown rice, vegetables and sesame.
A delicious hybrid between porridge and scrambled eggs designed to support heart health.
A delicious, smoky hummus bowl topped with tender-crisp roasted vegetables.