7 ways to fit healthy choices into your hectic life
4. Choose real snacks.
American kids eat about three snacks a day, mostly at home; a 2014 study found that snacks’ nutritional quality declines as older kids make more of their own food choices. So make snacks count.
Replace chips, cookies, and crackers with healthier fuel like fresh or dried fruit, nuts, low-fat string cheese, yogurt, and baby carrots.
Keep hummus, savory or plain yogurts, and salsa in the fridge alongside bags of cut-up celery and jicama sticks.
Have kids choose their favorite fruits at the store and leave some in a bowl on the kitchen counter.
Make smoothies ahead of time (they’ll keep for a few hours in the fridge) to give ravenous kids immediately after school. An easy combo: Blend 1/2 banana or 1/2 cup frozen berries, 1 cup milk (any kind), 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1-2 tablespoons peanut butter, a dash of honey, and three or four ice cubes.
Say no to soda. Drink water, and if you must, flavor it with something healthy, like fresh citrus or herbs or Kiddrinx, a new stevia-sweetened, high-vitamin powder.
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