As a parent, you have to make sure your children remain well fed. But making sure what they eat is healthy can be difficult. It becomes especially difficult if your child has a glucose allergy, diabetes or another eating disorder. It can be difficult to find the right foods, make them taste good and make healthy meals. Finding great ideas for quick meals can help parents save time, while still allowing them to monitor what their children eat.
Making the right choices for your children often presents challenges. If your child suffers from one of the many different eating disorders or you just want to choose healthy snacks, read the labels and use online tools to help track the different nutrients they need.
Now that Mackenzie has started preschool again, she’s in a group that is very hands on for the parents. And every 5 weeks or so, the parents are expected to cook for the kids. I have to admit that it’s a new experience for me to have to really focus on a lot of different influences such as vegetarians and other special diet requests. So I’ve been doing some research and making lists of what I can possibly make that will appeal to everyone.
photo credit: Wendy Copley via photopin cc
A Quick Snack Idea for Peanut Allergies
If your child suffers from a nut allergy, it can be difficult to find good snacks since many common snacks contain nuts of some sort (or traces of them). But making your own healthy yet tasty treats is often the easiest solution. Chocolate-dipped fruits, such as berries and bananas, nut-free granola and yogurt parfaits can provide a delicious and healthy snack. Many different types of fruit can be added to a parfait or dipped in chocolate. This provides the sweet taste your child loves and the healthy nutrients they need.
Safe Choices for Kids with Diabetes
Diabetes is a very serious disease and many become diagnosed every year. If your child suffers from diabetes, their diet is very important. Some foods won’t provide what they need and others foods might contain too much sugar. Here’s a short list of some of the safe choices for children with diabetes:
- Graham Crackers
- Low-Fat Crackers
- Pretzels
- Trail Mix
- Vanilla Wafers
- Low-Fat Cheese
- Fruit Smoothies (made with non-fat yogurt, skim milk and fresh fruit)
- Air-Popped Popcorn
- String Cheese
- Carrot Sticks
- Apple Wedges
- Melon Balls
- Grapes
- Cucumber Slices
- Low-Fat Yogurt
- Unsweetened Fruit Juices
Easy Snacks for Lactose Intolerant Children
Moms often struggle with choosing snacks fitting the diet of their lactose intolerant child. It’s important to read labels before feeding your child anything that could contain lactose. Good choices include Nutter Butters, fruit snacks, certain popcorn brands (read the label first), cookies made with lactose-free butter, Lactaid ice cream, fruit and graham crackers. The best thing you can do, as a parent of a lactose intolerant child, is read the labels of anything you plan to offer to your child.
