What can I give children after school?
Children always seem to be starving when they come home from school! Now is a good time to offer a healthy snack. It will bridge the gap between lunch and tea and, if they are playing sport or playing games, it will fuel their muscles and help their performance.
Bread, toast, crackers, and fruit are good choices as they are high in carbohydrate and also provide a range of vitamins and minerals. Balance the snack with a glass of milk, a handful of nuts or seeds, a carton of yoghurt or a piece of cheese. These foods all provide protein and calcium and combined with a carbohydrate food, give a more sustained release of energy.
Don’t give in to demands for sweets, biscuits and chocolate bars. It’s easy to think that they deserve a treat after school but, once they get into the healthy habit, they will be equally happy with healthy foods.
If they will be playing sport they will need a snack that will help keep up their energy and stop them tiring before the end. Even if they will be doing homework or a similar sedentary activity, they will need a snack that will maintain concentration and stave off hunger
AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS
Accompany with a drink of water or deluted fruit juice
- A piece of fresh fruit and a glass of milk
- Wholemeal toast and Marmite with a handful of nuts
- Cereal bar, breakfast bar or energy bar
- A carton of yoghurt and a small bag of dried fruit
- A bowl of breakfast cereal with milk
- Mini-pancake or scone and a carton of fromage frais
- Crackers with cheese
- Homemade fruit muffins of cakes
- Fruit smoothies
- Peanut butter sandwich
