Valuable snacks in your child's diet
What are snacks actually and what role do they play in our daily diet? What can we offer the child as healthyą a snackand what is better not to give him? What model feeding plate can tell us about snacks for the little ones? Read the text below to find out what they should look like healthy snacks for kids and how you can prepare them.
Many parents wonder what snacks for children are the best. What should we give our children when we are on a walk or traveling? Parents' making informed choices has a big impact on the health of their children in the future, as well as on nutritional decisions that they will make for themselves. Unfortunately, the modern lifestyle and the accompanying rush as well as the long hours spent outside the home during the day are not conducive to regular eating. Because Snacks play an increasingly important role in the daily diet - this applies to young children, adolescents and adults alike. We advise what to do to snacks intended for children were for them healthy.
Snacks for children, so what?
A snack is a food product, not a meal or dish, eaten to satisfy hunger between main meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner). Sometimes it can replace lunch or afternoon tea.
Therefore, if we choose snacks, it is important that they are "healthy snacks”That have the appropriate nutritional value and satisfy the taste preferences of children. A healthy snack it can serve to improve the quality of the diet and to maintain the regularity of eating meals. When planning meals for children Make sure that the daily energy balance complies with the recommended age norm and the activity undertaken by the child.
According to current nutritional standards of the National Institute of Public Health - National Research Institute (2024) it is assumed that the recommended energy intake, depending on the age, height and weight, gender of the child and moderate physical activity, is from 712-1163 kcal per day for 1-3 year olds, and to 2244 (girls) i 2707 kcal (boys) in the case of 16-18 year olds. Detailed data is presented in the table below.
*median values of height and weight according to WHO growth standards for children aged 1-3 years and from representative studies of the Polish population within the OLA and OLAF projects for children and adolescents aged 3-18 years
What is worth choosing as snacks for children?
To healthy snacks for children we include:
- Fresh vegetables - unprocessed (also in salads);
- fresh fruit - including mousses and salads prepared from them;
- fermented milk products - such as yoghurt, buttermilk and homogenized cheese.
Fresh vegetables and fruits contain valuable vitamins, minerals and fiber, while fermented dairy products are a source of wholesome protein and calcium.
For snacks for children, but in small amounts (due to the high amount of calories), you can also use:
- whole grain cereal products - cereal and whole grain cookies;
- nuts - in its natural form, without additives;
- dried fruits - no added sugar.
Whole grain cereal products are a source of fiber and complex carbohydrates, nuts - minerals and fatty acids beneficial to health, and dried fruit, apart from minerals, contain a lot of fiber.
Healthy snacks for kids should replace products with high energy value and / or low nutritional value, such as: sweets, salty sticks or chips, cakes and cookies, corn crisps.
How to prepare healthy snacks for kids?
Jako healthy snacks for children fresh vegetables and fruits are most often recommended. To encourage our children to eat them, it is best to serve them in the form of colorful, appropriately flavored compositions, e.g. apple, mandarin or orange pieces peeled from a white shell, banana slices, pieces of fresh or cooked vegetables cut into interesting shapes. Valuable snack for children are dairy products, e.g. plain yoghurt, which can be served with fresh fruit or fruit purees.
Recommended products
Head of the Department of Assessment and Development of Cooperation at the Institute of Mother and Child
According to nutritional recommendations baby's diet should be individualized, adjusted to his needs and appetite. In the nutrition of children, the following should be especially taken care of:
- a variety of diet in terms of the selection of food products,
- regulating the diet in terms of the frequency of meals consumed,
- moderately - adjusting the portion size meals / dishes to suit the needs of the child,
- avoiding excess salt and sugar and additives (e.g. dyes, preservatives).
Model food plate
In composing the diet of the youngest children, including preparing snacks, the so-called model food plate, 
which shows the share of individual product groups expressed in the amount of servings in the child's menu:
- protein products: 4-5 servings,
- cereal products: 5 servings,
- vegetables: 5 servings,
- fruit: 4 servings,
- fats: 1-2 servings.
Model food plate it concerns not only eating but also drinking. Remember about the right amount of fluids your child should drink during the day. Good quality water (spring and mineral) - ideally it should be bottled and have a positive opinion of the pediatric unit.
Conscious nutrition is the key to health
Appropriate food selection is the key to proper nutrition. In the case of older children and adolescents, the choice of certain food products is often dictated by the example of parents / guardians and peers, TV advertising and becoming independent with age.
Therefore, efforts should be made to educate children and young people to make informed choices and to use the available food wisely.
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