Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Any ideas for kid-friendly snacks?

I don't yet have a child of snacking age but I would try...
Healthy cookies and brownies from healthy herbivore
Fudge babies (search for them, chocolate covered Katie's website has lots of recipes...basically homemade larabars)
Homemade Tortilla chips and salsa
Brown rice pudding
Granola bars (I have a recipe on this site called chewy granola bars that is yummy and super healthy...and cheap!)
Hummus and whole grain crackers or veggies
Mary's gone crackers

Here are a few snacks my 9-year-old likes.

Popcorn - I use a microwave popper, and a little spray bottle of water to get the salt to stick

"Banana split" - this is half a banana sliced lengthwise, topped with plain soy yoghurt and a few blueberries and strawberries

Pitta bread and hummus

Chocolate chip cookies from the Happy Herbivore Cookbook.

Didn't you get the February newsletter? The whole recipe section is written by Heather again and this time concentrates on snacks for kids:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2013nl/feb/recipes.htm

Are you the one that buys the food or is he? I am a mom and I do not buy much other than pretzels as far as packaged snacks go. If the kids are hungry I make them a pB&J or tell them to eat some fruits or carrots. They are trim and healthy lil people, that are rarely sick.

On Sunday, we make chocolate chip cookies or brownies because it is a feast day and since we are Catholic we celebrate Sunday with some desserts. I see no problem with enjoying sweets on Sunday, I think they look forward to them this way too and enjoy them more than if they had them all the time.

I'm not sure what to say if he buys them, except to say that they have no nutrional value and are not helping the body.

Have you tried oven fries? I cut up a few potatoes in the shape of French fries, then place in a bowl and sprinkle them with pepper, mrs. Dash, paprika, onion and garlic powder. Layer on a cookie sheet, bake in preheated oven at 475 for about 20 minutes, or until crispy and bubbly. Wait for the bubbles! Sprinkle them with a little salt, and go at 'em. Also, be generous with the seasonings.

My kids love them!

See_katie_run, I'll try the oven fries. My son loves french fries, so he should like those.

He's not a big PB & J fan, but he does like pretzels.

I think he needs to snack less and eat more dinner.

The oven fries sound great, I'll have to try them, maybe tonight, my kids love french fries.

Just curious if you've tried food presentation? Finding ways to appeal to your son? If he likes Lego, maybe you could have his characters holding carrots sticks on his plate, and standing on top of some healthy banana muffins instead of staves/swords/whatever. Or maybe build a lego platter to surprise him with?

What about food structures with toothpicks? Maybe you can use fruit/apple chunks to build something, and leave a little pile of toothpicks and apples so he can finish and build what he wants?

My mother-in-law came up with the craziest names for stuff. Not healthy, but she would make tomato soup and throw hot dogs cut in half, and say they were having "Bloody Fingers" for dinner. I'd never heard of "Ants on a Log" (celery, PB and a few raisins "climbing" on top) until I met my husband.

I guess, in summary, maybe you should let him play with his food. Play with it for him. I don't get crazy every day, but nearly every day, I shape sandwiches, or make a picture out of the food for my children. EVERY time I do it, sure, they play with it, but every scrap ends up in their mouths.