One of the reasons why we started Axé Boom Boom was to encourage children to understand and apply the knowledge on exercises and good nutrition and the benefit that these give them. There were many motivators to do it and was what we say in one primary school, see below picture. Here you have children’s snack that they had after our capoeira session at that school. As you can see the majority of snacks there are salty crisps. 

At the same time, we saw many posters around this and other schools that says about healthy snacks and getting your 5-a-day of veggies and fruits. We started to wonder why there is a gap between the knowledge we get and the application of the information. We realised that it’s not the lack of knowledge, it’s lack of consistency in applying it. It’s easier to grab a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar than to prepare a snack. We’re all busy balancing family and work life however what we give to our little ones is develops their bodies so we encourage you to make better choices. In order to assist you we’ll give you some tips and 5 ideas for an easy to prepare snack for you and your little human.

Let’s snack

Apart of giving your child veggies and fruits during the main meals of the day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, you can include this as snack as well.

Firstly, what is a snack, when and how much to give it. 

Maybe straightforward thing but have you ever thought about what a snack actually is. A snack is a meal for a small hunger. It differs from main meals primarily in size and time of serving.

When to eat a snack?

A snack is a dish served between main meals, served only when a child is already hungry and there is still a lot of time left until lunch or dinner. Let’s not confuse boredom with hunger, we often like to munch on something and it is often out of boredom or habit when watching a movie.

Also, please remember that if you serve a snack just before the main meal, the child will most likely not eat the main meal because they will already be full. We know this well, because Gabryś often asks about a snack right before dinner.

“Have some water because dinner is in 10 minutes”
– Kasia’s advice 🙂

Finally, remember that snacks can be a challenge for “fussy eaters”. A child must feel hungry in order to eat. There is no chance of getting hungry if they are constantly snacking.

What’s the amount of snack?

A snack is not a main meal and is only supposed to help a child get through until lunch or dinner. If a child asks for food, then give them a small portion, something that will help fight the “small hunger” but will not fill them, so that they will have room to eat a full nutritious meal later. A few slices of apple with two spoons of plain Greek yogurt or a few sticks of carrot with a cracker or two will do the trick. 

Lastly, let’s talk nutrition

Try to make this small portion as nutritiousness as possible, and not just an empty filler. This is very important for a child that is constantly growing and developing. Try to serve snacks in such a way that they are composed of at least two products from different food groups. Slices of cucumber, although full of vitamins and better than crisps, are not a fully nutritiousness snack. Serve them with a rice crackers or humus. 

5 easy snacks for you and your little one

We’ve prepared a few easy to make snacks to assist you in giving your child their 5-a-day.

1. Our favourite are smoothies!!! Latest best choice for us is mango, pineapple, spinach and apple juice smoothie, we add oats to make the smoothie more nutritiousness. Mix handful of each veggie and fruit with 2-3 spoons of oats and cup of apple juice to create smoothies for 3 people. We freeze the mango and pineapple for this nice cold and refreshing taste. 
2. Cut veggies into sticks and serve with humus or yogurt deep. We love carrots and cucumbers and get them with just a plain Greek yogurt. Yummy!
3. Fruit salad served with corn or rice cracker for a sweet tooth. Cut your favourite fruits into small pieces mix and serve with crackers.
4. Veggie salad for a sour tooth. Mix a handful of green salad of your choice, we love spinach, lettuce or mix green salad leaves, with a 6-8 cocktail tomatoes cut in half, ½ of cucumbers cut into pieces, and ½ of pepper cut into pieces. Top it all with 1 spoon of olive oil and 1 spoon apple cider vinegar. Serve with oat crackers.
5. Veggie and fruit salad for sweet and sour tooth. Similarly, as the previous one, mix a handful of green salad of your choice, with a 6-8 cocktail tomatoes cut in half, ½ of cucumbers cut into pieces, and ½ of pepper cut into pieces and ½ of apple and ½ of orange cut into pieces. Top it all with olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Serve with oat crackers, corn or rice cakes.

Wants more?

Here is a short video made by NHS with some quick tips on what to do to add more veggies and fruits to your child diet. Go on NHS website to get even more inspirations.

We’d love to see more children following at least 5-a-day yet, there is still more work we have to make sure all children out there eat better so they can move better and be active for life. 

Let’s make it even better by eating better!

Keep training!

Kasia & Grześ