As the school year begins and life becomes more hectic, chances are you will have to adjust to lots of on-the-go snacking and meals.  No matter how healthy the family meals are, kids will still want to eat snacks between those meals.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing as long as your provide healthy snacks for your children.  If you stock up on healthy items that taste great you won’t have to worry about their snack cravings ruining their appetite or their health.

You can keep some snacks handy for the kids in desk drawers or on lower shelves in the pantry.

Fruit is always a great option for kid’s snacks.  It is naturally sweet so most children love it.  It can be served dozens of ways.  For an easy solution buy individual fruit cups or pop top cans of things like mandarin oranges.  Give the kids a fork and a healthy snack.  To keep the calories low opt for things with light varieties of syrup.

Dried fruit is a great option for quick snacking.  Raisins, apricots, figs, and dates might not sound like a child’s favorite snack but after tasting them a few times children love them.  A small box of raisins has 130 calories and no fat, so the snack is healthy too.

Nuts are a great snacking option for children and adults alike.  They are filling and always able to satisfy that need for a salty snack.  Certain nuts also have other nutritional benefits.  Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids that protect against heart disease. Keep the serving size small – 1 ounce has 160 calories and is plenty to satisfy.

Animal Cookies are a delicious and low calorie snacking option.  Sixteen cookies contain only 120 calories and plenty of fun biting the heads off of lions and hippos.

Granola and cereal bars can be a healthy and delicious snack if you choose the right ones.  Whole grain granola bars that are low in fat and sugars will keep kids happy and satisfied.

Popcorn is a snack that anyone can love and kids adore it.  Use low-fat or single serving popcorn in a bag or microwave popcorn.  You can spice it up by spraying it with zero calorie vegetable spray and adding parmesan cheese, garlic powder, or other spices (not salt).   Kids will love the salty snack, especially if they get to watch a movie while eating it.