10 Best Healthy Snacks for Kids in 2022 (Nutritionist-Reviewed)

Kara Swanson is a certified nutritionist and the founder of Life Well Lived. She is married to her best friend and the proud mother of three. Her passion is to make nutrition simple, easy, and delicious! You can find her amazing nutrition plans and learn tips and tricks to staying healthy on her website, Instagram, or Facebook.

The largest factor in what makes a snack healthy or not is its ingredients list, so definitely make sure to take a closer look at it before purchasing any one snack.

Kids actually tend not to get the recommended levels of fruits and vegetables per day, so snack time is the perfect time to sneak in some nutritious servings for your little ones! 

In general, moderately active kids ages two to three should have one cup each of veggies and fruit per day. Kids aged four to eight should have 1.5 cups of fruits and 1.5 to two cups of veggies per day, while kids aged nine to 13 should have anywhere from 1.5 to two cups of fruits and two to three cups of veggies per day.

Fat may seem like an issue with many foods, as they have been linked with heart disease, but it can actually be good for you. 

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the healthiest, but saturated fats are still fine, as long as you don't intake them at levels that are more than 10% of your calorie count per day. They take a while to digest too, so they help keep you satisfied for longer.

Protein has a bevy of benefits when consumed. It helps reduce hunger, increase muscle mass, increases how much fat is burned, and boost your metabolism, amongst other great effects. Like fat, protein also helps you stay full for longer, so they're a great addition to prevent cravings and to satiate hunger in children.

Snacks can be fun and healthy at the same time! They can come in adorable shapes, such as bunnies or stars, or come with extras, such as collectible cards. Besides being tasty and nutritious, and if your child is a picky eater, snacks that have additional content can keep your children happy and wanting more. 

If you do end up with a snack that's in regular old rectangle shapes, you can also add your own touches to the lunchbox overall to make it more fun for the kids—such as cutting out shaped sandwiches with cookie cutters or arranging the food to look like a cartoon character. This element of fun will encourage your kids to eat what's there.

If you're worried about your kids not getting enough servings of any one certain food group, you can always pack their lunches with other extras to supplement their healthy snacks. 

For instance, snacks don't always have dairy included. Feel free to add in milk, yogurt, or cheeses into their lunch boxes to give them their daily recommended serving. You can find more information on serving sizes for kids here.

Also, when packing their lunches in general, make sure to balance out each part of their meal. Think of the rainbow when prepping, and make sure to add a lot of variety, so your kids can get used to eating nutrition-packed foods. 

Now that you know how to choose a healthy snack for your kid, expert Kara Swanson has a bit of advice on how to keep them on the right track. Always make sure to portion out foods and try to keep snacks limited to fresh and nutritious offerings!

If you're looking for a few more healthy options, check out these Veggie Pops recommended by certified nutritionist, Kara Swanson! They're perfectly crunchy and super addictive despite being made of real vegetables and clean ingredients.

Author: Jacqueline Oshiro

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