Summer Vacation is Just around the Corner… Gear up with Healthy Snacks for the Kids
More freedom and a less structured routine in the summer can lead to more unhealthy snacking for many kids. With summer vacation and more time on their hands, they often think they are hungry when they’re really just bored. Avoid the summer weight gain and learn how to limit the junk food and offer easy and healthy snacks.
Summer time is a great time for kids to enjoy the outside and play hard. However, getting your child to continue to eat healthy during summer vacation can be a challenge sometimes. During the school year children have routine mealtimes and specific times for exercise. When summer vacation starts, the every day routine goes out the window and kids have more time to just hang out. This month we share healthy snack ideas and tips to make your child’s summer sizzle with fun!
Here’s what you can do:
- Keep kids on a schedule for meals and snacks. This helps them feel the signs of hunger and stops the mindless snacking between meals.
- Make the kitchen off limits during the day unless it’s time for a meal or a planned snack.
- Even though the days are longer and the kids might stay up longer, consider setting a time when the kitchen is closed for the night
Tips for packing healthy lunches in the summer time:
- Some types of fruits travel easier in a lunch bag like grapes, orange slices or cherries. Choose fruits that won’t get bruised as easily as others.
- Keep a handful of water bottles in your freezer. Throw one in the lunch bag in the morning and it will keep the food cold and be melted by lunch.
- Have several cold packs in your freezer ready for any last minute trips to the park or pool.
- Keep a lunch box size cooler in the car filled with high fiber healthy granola bars, nuts, water, and whole grain crackers. Just in case you make any unplanned stops and your kids are saying, “I’m starving!”
- Pre-portion snacks that you buy at the grocery store into baggies or plastic containers immediately so that they are ready to go for the week.
Healthy food choices for lunch:
- Taco wraps; simply roll up a thin slice of turkey or chicken in a small whole wheat flour taco shell. Add some mustard, crispy lettuce or thinly sliced tomatoes for variety. Or spread peanut butter, light cream cheese, etc.
- Substitute bagels and whole grain breads for doughnuts, sweet rolls and sugary pastries.
- Make a cheese quesadilla with different kinds of shredded cheese such as Monterey Jack and Cheddar. Wrap it up in foil and save the rest for later!
- Cold pasta salad with your favorite vegetables. Try the colored pasta or choose pasta with fun shapes.
- Cheese pizza on an English muffin. Simply slice the muffin in half, spread pizza sauce on the bottom and cover with shredded cheese. Pop it in the toaster oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts.
Healthy summer snacks for kids:
- Veggies and dip; carrots, celery, broccoli and peppers and dip in low fat ranch dressing.
- Smoothies: blend nonfat plain yogurt, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries and ice in a blender.
- Fruit kabobs; dice up your favorite fruits and line them up on a wooden skewer.
- Baby carrots and a side of hummus.
- Slice a banana in half and smear peanut butter on top.
- Baked tortilla chips with white bean dip.
- Keep a bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables that are clean and ready to eat on the kitchen table or front and center in the refrigerator so that the kids can reach it.
- Frozen blueberries or strawberries on top of non fat yogurt make a refreshing afternoon snack. Make your own frozen snacks using unsweetened fruit juice, water and seedless watermelon chunks. Pour into ice cube trays, add wooden sticks and freeze
- Half a turkey sandwich on 100% whole wheat bread with a sliced apple.
- String cheese and whole wheat crackers.
- Low fat graham crackers with peanut butter.
Finally, create at least 3 meals that take less than 15 minutes to prepare that you can keep on hand. This will help when your child is starving and you just walked in the door. Consider a grilled cheese sandwich or scrambled eggs instead of stopping for fast food.
Kids and Healthy Summer Snacks
Useful Links and Tools
What Snacks To Bring When It's Your Turn
Fun, Free Printable- Healthy Snacks Agreement - get the kids involved and make it a fun challenge to eat healthy snacks
Kids Printable - Eating Healthy Snacks Tracking Sheet - put up this fun tracking sheet so kids can color it each time they select a healthy snack!
With all the summertime activities kids will be thirsty. Make sure your child is not confusing thirst for hunger. A lot of children will think they are hungry but all they really need to do is drink some water. Make an effort to keep water as the main beverage for your kids all summer long. Keep the refrigerator stocked with bottles of water or have water bottles available to fill up with cold water. Juices, fruit punch and sodas can have a lot of added sugar and empty calories - keep these drinks for a special occasion. A typical serving of fruit juice is ¾ cup. Make sure the label states 100% fruit juice. You can try adding some juice to plain soda water or to water to give water a little fruit flavor.
Healthy summer snacks are key to keeping your child well nourished during summer vacation. When children get hungry, they can easily turn to quick unhealthy snacks, vending machines or fast food restaurants to satisfy their snacking needs. With a little bit of planning, you can keep your child on track for a healthy summer with their favorite healthy and tasty snacks to nibble on! Involve them in the planning, keep it fun, and they will be onboard with the snack selections. Enjoy the summer!
Written on May 2009
Last updated: May 2009
Quick Links
Family Nutrition News
Read our recent articles
Daily Tips Calendar
Print and post fun daily tips.
Interactive Nutrition Tools
Free meal planner, BMI, and more!
Family Nutrition Blog
The latest news facts and tips.
Printable Healthy Living Tips
Fun and easy tips - for the whole family.
Kids Fun Links
Explorers - Kids’ Page
Kids monthly healthy tips
Back to Main Nutrition Articles Page
