Healthy Snacks for Preschoolers
Daycare Meal Planning Helps Develop Healthy Eating Habits
All children should be offered snacks in mid-morning and mid-afternoon. According to the National Network for Childcare, a preschooler's total caloric intake is about 1,000-1,200 calories and snacks should provide an estimated 20 to 25 percent of those calories.
Because snacks make up about one forth of a preschooler’s total caloric intake, snacks should be nutritious and help children reach the proper number of servings per day from some of the most important food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains and calcium (milk). With regard to these particular food groups, the United States Department of Agriculture’s toddler food pyramid indicates that a 2-year old child who engages in 60 minutes of exercise each day should consume 3 ounces of grains, 1 cup of vegetables, one cup of fruit, and 2 cups of milk daily.
Dr. Karrie Kalich, assistant professor of health science at Keene State College, author of the forthcoming book Early Sprouts, and creator of the Early Sprouts curriculum provides [Interview, January, 2009] the following one week sample preschool snack menu:
Mid-Morning Snacks for Preschoolers
Monday: Whole wheat pita and sunflower seed butter
Tuesday: Bite Size Shredded Oat Squares and pear, plum, peach apple, or other in-season fruit
Wednesday: Orange slices and Ak Mak crackers
Thursday: Carrots and Wheat Chex Cereal (cook carrots for toddlers and cut lengthwise for younger preschoolers)
Friday: Kashi Autumn Harvest Cereal and strawberry banana smoothie (1.5 cups lowfat vanilla yogurt, two bananas, 2 cups of milk, 1.5 cups frozen strawberries blended until smooth)
Mid-Afternoon Snacks for Preschoolers
Monday: Sliced Cabot 50% reduced cheddar cheese and apple, pear, plum, or peach slices (depending on season and availability)
Tuesday: Kashi Cinnamon Harvest Cereal and apple or pear slices
Wednesday: Whole wheat penne or kamut spirals (sprayed lightly with olive oil) and defrosted froze peas with grated Parmesan on the side
Thursday: Banana slices or other left over fruit and low-fat vanilla yogurt (cut bananas into small slices and serve over low-fat vanilla)
Friday: 100% whole wheat graham crackers and cucumber slices
This sample menu is for children 2-4 years old. To modify this snack menu for children under the age of two, be sure to Use full-fat dairy. Always provide fresh water with each snack.
Childcare providers and preschool teachers serve as nutrition mentors. This means they should model healthy eating habits themselves and offer children a wide range of nutritious choices and provide fun and informative nutrition activities in order to help children adopt a long-term healthy lifestyle. The United States Department of Agriculture as well as the National Food Service Management Institute offer a wide range of resources and tools for childcare providers.
Healthy Daycare Snacks
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