Great Heart Healthy Snack Ideas For Kids 😍👪

You probably know of most of these but here’s a reminder for some “heart” help for the kids or grandkids, during the holidays. It’s so easy to just let our kids reach for the Xmas cookies or holiday fudge instead of something healthy, but if your children are like most, once you offer up a healthy snack in a fun way your children will grow to associate that food with fun and enjoy eating healthy. How easily could you bring these along to Grandma’s for the holidays for a heart healthy snack?

Here are some snacks that are good for your heart and theirs. Old Classics: Ants on the log – Take a stalk of celery; cut it up into “logs.” Cover it in heart healthy nut butter (peanut or almond) and then sprinkle with raisins. A tasty, fun, heart-healthy snack.

Banana boats – These are a fun alternative to s’mores around the campfire. Take a banana, slit the peel, keep the banana in but cover it with marshmallows and antioxidant rich dark chocolate chips (not milk chocolate). Wagon wheels – Take two circular whole-grain crackers, put fat-free, 1% or low-fat cheese in between and you have a healthy snack in the shape of a wagon wheel. Wagon wheels redux – A new take on the old classic. Slice up an apple on its side to create circles. Fill with low-fat turkey or low-fat cheese and you have a nice low-carb, gluten-free snack.

Make Your Own: Create your own tortilla chips. Take whole wheat tortillas, cut in strips, brush or spray with a touch of heart-healthy olive oil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees F until crispy. You can also add cinnamon sugar for a sweet holiday treat.Bake your own fries. Take a potato or for an even healthier vitamin A-enriched snack, a sweet potato, and slice it into 1/8- to 1/4-inch strips. Again, brush or spray with olive oil and bake in the oven at 425 degrees. After 20 minutes, shake a little sea salt over them, raise the temperature to 450 and bake ten more minutes until crispy.

Make Ordinary Food Holiday Fun Food: Instead of just a fruit salad, try fruit kebabs. Or let your children make their own kebabs and share them with the family. You can use toothpicks or actual kebab skewers and add slices of banana, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple or melon to make a fun and festive heart-healthy snack. Consider turning boring veggie or fruit trays into a Xmas tree shape, everyone wants to eat. Using kiwi or grapes for Xmas tree branches.

Apples represent garland and the trunk. Raspberries, blackberries and/or blueberries for the ornaments, etc. You get the idea. Have your kids help you with this giving them something to look forward to snack during your holiday get together’s.What about Santa toothpicks? Take one grape, one slice of banana, slice the top off a strawberry and add a mini marshmallow on top. Secure with a toothpick or a skewer (easier for little hands to pick up)

Take Along A Kid’s Formulated Multivitamin The formative years of youth are the best time to start good nutritional habits. Flintstones? You’re getting the idea but I’m talking about vitamins that provide optimal nutrition for your little monsters Look for a daily multivitamin that supports development of 2-12 year olds. Do Not buy your kid’s multivitamin from the grocery store. You need to provide optimal nutrition from the beginning. Not just candy with a little extra vitamin C. If you need a recommendation, email me at greg.wirth@cholesterol-coverup.com