Taming the Sweet Tooth Season With Healthy Snacks

By Jodie Lynn

Holidays are right around the corner. Families will be bombarded with holiday treats at home, school and from kindhearted neighbors (teacher's too). Parents can't be around to monitor what their kids eat all of the time, especially after school.

Here's a little help in getting them to eat healthy during the "forbidden sweet treat" days and weeks to come. It's not going to be easy but give it a whirl!

Before leaving in the mornings, set up an assortment of healthy snacks for the kids to chose from when they get home.

• Bowl of washed fruit, preferably blueberries, strawberries or raspberries (frozen is fine).
• Cut up veggies, those deep in color offer the best nutritional value.
• Granola bars - look for the ones that say: "No trans-fat."

When dinner time comes around, whatever they eat, use the pizza cutter on it, everything is cut up easily and you can control the size.

If they are old enough, let them help to decide on the snacks, even if their choices may sound odd to us. If they will eat it and it‘s nutritious, give it a try.

Instead of plain graham cracker cookies, add peanut butter to the top and a sprinkle of either raisins or a few slivers of almonds.

Let them have a little candy, pie or cake. Offer it on special occasions and monitor the portion size. One of our favorite things to do is to make brownies using a store brand bag of brownie mix, (again, look for the words: no trans-fat), add one cup of all purpose wheat flour to the mix, an extra egg, switch to apple sauce instead of the required oil, 1/2 cup of uncooked oatmeal, 1/2 cup of thinly sliced zucchini and three tablespoons of low fat peanut butter. It is moist and low-fat and can be used for a snack, dessert or even for a quick breakfast on the run (and they think they are eating the real "forbidden sweet treat").

Be mentally prepared by reminding yourself that the time right before dinner is crazy and plan on giving them a little mom time. Even if you have been there for most of the day, this ritual can build a family tradition. This can be easily accomplished by setting the timer on your microwave or oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

When it beeps or rings, it’s time for you to begin dinner. If they are old enough, let them help prepare dinner by cutting up some of the vegetables or by setting the table.

© Jodie Lynn