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How to snack properly…..

Is snacking a healthy habit to get my kids into? 
 
To snack or not to snack? Confusion on whether to give your child something small between meals is quite topical as ‘snacking’ has been somewhat demonized. This is thanks to the never ending fat and sugar debates that surround the food industry and the growing rate of childhood obesity.  Snacking is healthy and can benefit your growing munchkin(s) when done properly. Here are some top tips to snacking healthily:
 
It’s all about timing 
Children are great at understanding their hunger and will naturally feel hungry at certain intervals over the day. This is due to the stomach emptying and energy levels reducing over time as it’s being used through learning, play, general body needs and growth.  For this reason, they will need something small between meals to ‘top up’. ie. Morning tea, afternoon tea and supper.
 
It’s about portion size 
Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have noticed how servings for both adults and children have increased over the last 20-30 years. For this reason, it is important to be aware of what an appropriate portion size is for your child.
A rough guide to snack ideas:
80g Fresh fruit
80g Canned fruit in natural juice
150-200g Yoghurt
3-4 Wholegrain crackers with 30g cheese
Cream cheese (50g) with vegetable sticks
Occasional small chocolate/ cake/ biscuits (~150kcals)
Fruit Smoothie (200ml)
 
Snack and treats are different, not the same.  
A ‘snack’ is an occasion of eating, not a type of food. Snacks that are high in fat and sugars (sweets, cakes, chocolate, crisps, biscuits, etc…) tend to be those with lower nutritional benefits (reduced fibre, vitamins and minerals) and for this reason, it is good to associate these snacks as ‘treats’ or ‘sometimes’ foods. Don’t know how to judge a food label? Check out a post I did here (http://www.dietduchess.com/2013/12/12/the-dos-and-donts-to-reading-food-labels/) on the Dos and Don’ts to reading food labels.
 
It’s not a reward 
Food is never a reward. Trust me on this, you don’t want your child to grow up with an association of food = reward/ comfort. As an obesity dietitian, I daily support patients trying to get out of the habit of comfort eating and it’s a hard one to crack at times.  Instead of food, consider reward charts, stickers, an extra 15 minute at their favourite playground, colouring sheets, etc.
 
It’s not a distraction 
Just like adults, kids can be bored and will wander into the kitchen for a ‘little something’. Consider when your child last ate and when you know they are next eating. If it has been a while or it will be a while, they are likely hungry and a snack is justifiable.  If not, distract them.
 
Fussy eating doesn’t just occur at meal times 
Snack time is also an occasion when fussy eating can be displayed. A general rule for fussy eating – offer the snack to your child around 17 times. If they’re not keen after this amount of exposure, they generally don’t like the snack (taste and or texture). Struggling with fussy eating? Chat to your GP who can refer you to a dietitan for support.
 
Role model 
You’re a superhero in your child’s eyes, so to help in-still healthy habits into your child’s lifestyle, reflect this.  Snacking is healthy for both adults and children a like, so if your child sees you regularly eating a variety of healthy choices as snacks they too will slowly adopt this. Remember: ‘the door swings both ways!’ If you eat for boredom/ stress/ comfort they may learn these unhealthy behaviours too. For this reason, if you feel you are finding it difficult with managing your eating habits or your child’s for that matter, seek support by chatting to your GP or a dietitian.
 
Now your turn, what’s your ‘go to’ snack option? Mine’s a small whole meal pita toasted with cheese and Vegemite.
 
Perryn Carroll – Registered Dietitian MNutrDiet BSP&ExSc
Twitter: @PerrynCarroll
perryn
 

5 important things to know about weaning

  1. Do not start early.

By 17 weeks or so your little one will start watching your every move, including everything you touch and what you eat.  If they are doing this, counts your stars that your baby has good eyesight, but don’t be fooled by thinking that means they want what is in your hand.  Babies are physiologically ready to wean between 24-26 weeks; starting earlier then this puts pressure on them to perform a skill their body isn’t ready for – it can put pressure on their stomach, intestines and kidneys to absorb a food they are not ready for (which may lead to long-term complications e.g. leaky gut, allergies etc) and it is more work for you, as you are trying to feed someone that isn’t ready to eat.  You have your whole life to shop, cook and clean up after them – don’t rush it!

And if you think your little one is hungry, just remember that that milk contains more calories than any weaning food, so a truly hungry baby is going to be better off with another feed rather then anything solid.

  1. Learning to chew takes practice

In the same way you didn’t expect your little one to nail rolling over, sitting or crawling day 1, it is the same with chewing.  They will gag and even have the odd vomit.  They are also likely to try and re-eat what they’ve just vomited or gagged!  It can create some less memorable moments, but gagging is normal and will happen more than once as your little one masters the concept of putting food in their mouth and then sorts out chewing.  Try not to act overly concerned when they gag or vomit – even though it can be a bit scary.  If they know they can get a reaction from you, it can become a way of gaining attention.  And most of all, don’t revert back to purees – gagging is a normal part of learning and no reason to take steps backwards.

  1.   Do not buy any fancy equipment

Of course the companies that sell the fancy equipment are going to tell you that you need them, but truly you don’t.  The only piece of equipment you really need to have in the kitchen is a potato masher to make mashed food and then lumpy-mashed food.  From there you can start cutting the meals into small pieces (ok so a knife is beneficial too).  Having lots of little freezer-friendly containers of various sizes is a definite bonus, but save your pennies that you would have spent on a puree-type machine and spend it on a massage for yourself.  You’ll enjoy it much more and won’t have to find space in the cupboard for it later on either.

  1.   Finger-foods are your best-friend.

To teach your baby to chew, the best foods are finger-foods and there aren’t many foods that can’t be offered to a baby to hold and chew/suck.  In every meal there will always be something your baby can hold to get used to the texture and have that ‘control’ over the meal that they desperately want.  Pasta, strips of meat, vegetable sticks, bread ‘soldiers’, sliced fruit, flakes of fish, chunks of potato or sweet potato… And as your little one gets more confident they will probably want to start feeding themselves the rest of the meal too.  Within weeks your little one will be able to sit and eat whilst you can do other stuff! Bliss! Check your email, call a friend, start preparing another meal, or even eat your own meal – you will love finger foods and the independence it brings you both.

  1.  It will be messy, messy, messy…

Whilst finger-food and self-feeding are good ways to avoid fussy eating, it is a messy business.  For as many things that successfully go in your baby’s mouth, there will be little bits squashed onto fingers, rubbed into eyes and hair, wiped onto highchairs, under table-tops, down table-legs, thrown onto the floor, kicked onto another chair… The list goes on.  I swear I have a 1mx1m space in my kitchen that should be the cleanest place in Britain as I’m on my hands and knees wiping it down after every snack and meal.  Instead I continue to find bits of rice, smears of yoghurt, breadcrumbs and the odd dehydrated blueberry in places you swear you cleaned earlier.  Oh and couscous? I recommend it from a Dietitian’s view on variety, but it is truly the worst thing in the world to clean up.  You have been warned.

Contributed by our guest blogger Fiona Nave, who is a Registered Dietitian. You can find her at Diet Angels and on Twitter @FionaNave

Fiona