Snack Attack! How to beat the bad choice blues

How many times has this happened: You and the kids come home – you haven’t fixed them a snack and they start raiding the cabinets & fridge?

Chips and crackers come out and before you know it, they’re filled up on all the less than healthy foods.

So, what’s the solution? Easy answer – don’t stock chips and cookies. But, darn it, once in a while I want a cookie or some chips so that just doesn’t work for me. So here’s the solution I came up with. We’re going to borrow the idea behind the Lunchable and prepack a variety of snacks for not just the kids, but, for the whole family. Initially it will sound like a real pain – “I don’t have time for that, forget it!“ you will say. And yes, initially it will be tough to remember. But once you get the hang of it, it becomes just like making coffee in the morning – just one of those things you do.

I like to do all my “Lunchables” on Saturday. They last all week and I feel better knowing that my kids (and if I’m being honest – me too) aren’t filling up on unhealthy stuff. If you don’t want to pack your own combination of “lunchables” you can just devote a shelf of the fridge to healthy snack choices. There are tons of items that come prepackaged for snacking. Here’s what our shelf looks like today:

We have salami and cheese packs, carrot and celery baggies, avocado and ranch dip, string cheese, honeycrisp apples, hard boiled eggs, olive packs, and chilled red grapes. Those are the refrigerated items. In the cabinet I put in baggies: servings of crackers, pita chips, peanut butter dip cups, nuts, crackers, and pretzels.

Having the kids help you choose the items and put them together is a great way to get them involved in making healthy eating choices and they have a “go to” for a quick snack.

For a fun and whimsical way to pack your kid’s snack after soccer practice or for a party, try our fun Butterfly Snack idea.