Healthy After-School Snacks Your Kids Will Love

Whether it’s afterschool activities, sports, riding bikes, skateboarding, dancing, or just playing with friends, this is the time of year when kids are spending more time outdoors and being active. Kids engaged in active play—even if they’re just playing physically active video games—are burning anywhere from 175 to 400 calories per hour. So it should come as no surprise that they often come home hungry. That means they need after school snacks to fuel all of that play!

However, not all snacks are created equal, and as parents, we all worry about the quality of snacks that our kids reach for when they’re done playing. Sugary soda pop and bags of non-nutritional chips may be convenient, but they aren’t exactly the best fuel for growing bodies, let alone healthy teeth. So here are a handful of alternative after school snacks from your Kansas City family dentist that your kids—and their smiles—will love!

• Apple slices with peanut butter dip
• Bananas and grapes
• Cheese sticks and yogurt cups
• Fruit and yogurt parfait
• Homemade hummus and pita chips
• Deviled eggs
• Plain bagels with low-fat cream cheese
• Seasoned rice cakes
• Sliced chicken or turkey on whole wheat bread
• Tomatoes and cucumbers with salad dressing
• Tuna salad

Besides being delicious and nutritious, these snacks are typically high in calcium, phosphorous, protein, and vitamins D and C, while also being low in fat and acidity. This is important for growing healthy bodies, strong bones, and happy smiles. Foods and beverages that are sugary or high in acidity can be especially bad for your children’s teeth, while snacks that lack protein and other nutrients may provide a boost of quick energy but aren’t actually very filling.

In addition to healthy snacks, it’s important to keep something to drink in the fridge. That can be as simple as a cold pitcher of water with a few slices of lemon or orange, which is a perfect thirst quencher after active play. Otherwise, thirsty kids may reach for sugary soda or energy drinks, which can be harmful for teeth and also don’t do much to promote overall health. Of course, if you can manage it, it’s also a good idea to get your kids to brush their teeth after they snack—maybe before they go back outside for more fun and games!

Nutrition is an important part of a growing child’s overall health, not to mention their dental health. That’s why at Blacker Family Dental in Kansas City, MO, we treat every aspect of your child’s health as equally important, and we want to be a partner in your family’s total health and wellness. Call (816) 763-8400 or click here to schedule an appointment for your family today!