Our kids need to stay active and with the right healthy snacks for kids, they will have the right nutrients to keep them off the couch and outside playing. It has been said over and over again that we are what we eat, and

there is some truth to this statement. If you feed your children junk food all the time, they will become lethargic and can even become overweight.

Healthy Snacks for Kids to Help Keep them Active and Nurtured

This is not a good way to teach children healthy eating habits. There are many reasons why snacking is a good thing, as long as you are not allowing your children to snack on junk foods all the time. Many of the healthier options are very tasty and kids enjoy them. Here is a short healthy snack list to help you choose new snacks for your kids.

A List of Healthy Snacks

- Popcorn
- Bananas
- Whole Grain peanut butter bread
- Natural Yogurt
- Apple slices with peanut butter for dipping
- Carrot sticks
- Celery with peanut butter
- Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews

These are just a few of the healthy kid’s snacks you can choose for after school or during the day. If you want to teach your children the right eating habits, then you want to choose snacks for them that are healthy. Even a granola bar or another healthy snack is a good choice. This does not mean they cannot enjoy their snacks. Try a few different healthy snacks until you find a few that your children enjoy.

Another thing you can use healthy snacks for is weight loss. Did you know that snacking can help to speed up your metabolism? This means you can use healthy snacks for weight loss, which is a great way to ensure you stick to your plan. By changing your snacking to a better choice, you can cut out hundreds of calories every day and they will help to keep your energy level up.

A Few Healthy Snacks to Choose for Weight Loss

There are many healthy snacks you can choose for weight loss. Of course, the same snacks listed above for children will work well for adults, too. However, some of the snacks are better for weight loss than others. If you choose the right foods, you can actually speed up the weight loss process as some foods help your body naturally shed pounds.

1. Celery/Broccoli

When you eat celery or broccoli (in the raw form), you will get many great nutrients to aid your body in many different ways. Your body will also burn more calories between chewing and digesting these vegetables than they contain. This means you can burn calories just by eating these two vegetable. Of course, it does not help if you dip them in ranch dressing, so skip the dressing all together. If you need a little extra flavor, try peanut butter for the celery and a little bit, of “I can’t believe it is not butter” melted for dipping the broccoli.

2. Fruits

Since fruits contain natural sugars, it is important to keep this to a minimum of one or two pieces a day, but they are still a great snack. The natural sugars are easier to digest and better for your body than processed white sugars. Fruit helps to keep your body regular, as well, and some of the best choices are strawberries, bananas, apples, blueberries, oranges, and grapes.

3. Flax Seeds

Flax seeds might not be all that easy to eat on their own, but they are full of nutrients. They can be added to larger meals, used as a topper for celery and peanut butter, or added to whole grain cereal or granola. This will help you to get some of the nutrients that you need to fight weight gain and they also help to fight both prostate and breast cancer.

4. Unsalted Raw Nuts

Almonds, pistachios, and other nuts are great for your body. They fill you up by providing protein and oils that your body needs. The problem is most nuts are coated with things we don’t need like heavy amounts of salt, sugar, or other coatings. You want to be sure you are getting nuts that are unsalted and either raw or roasted.

5. Sunflower Seeds and Pumpkin Seeds

Rich in vitamin E, protein, calcium, iron, selenium, and many other nutrients that help with weight loss. The one thing you do have to be careful of is getting seeds that are coated in heavy salt contents. Some brands are better than others are and you just have to read the packaging to see how salty they will be.

6. Yogurt

Yogurt is a great healthy snack and will help with weight loss and your digestive system. There are many types of yogurt, however, that are not as good for you as others are. You want to get natural yogurt with no additives. You can add your own fruit to it and have a great healthy snack for weight loss.

Whether you are trying to make sure, your children get the best healthy snacks every day or you are trying to snack in a way that will help with your weight loss, you can use these two lists to help. Snacking is a natural part of our eating habits and if you choose healthy snacks, you will be able to lose more weight and teach your children a nutritious way to eat.