We talked, within our Special on Infant Feeding in Babies and more about the importance of a healthy snack In the previous topic and today we continue, with some ideas and proposals to give the importance it deserves to this meal.
Drink in children's snack
Water It is the ideal drink if the child has spent several hours without drinking, hydration should be a priority with water. But, of course, we can choose the snack to give you a good glass of milk or a natural juice. What is not convenient is to use canister juices or industrial milkshakes daily. We will always look for the option of fresh and less manipulated products as possible.
As I said the snack is a good time to dairy: milk, yogurts, some custard or a homemade flan, a milkshake with fruit with milk or yogurt, will depend on the child's appetite and tastes.
Proteins and sweets in children's snack
A sandwich or a sandwich, preferably with quality products and homemade bread, are a snack suitable for children with more appetite and have a diet that includes fruit in other meals. A good bread with slices of tomato and ham is another option that already includes a raw vegetable product. A cooked egg and a sliced tomato with burgos cheese.
In the snack we can also include sweet: biscuits or biscuits, but you should always prioritize the homemade ones, and avoid, first of all, the industrial pastries in a habitual way. That if one day we are going for a walk and we give him some chololate cookies, nothing happens, provided that it is something sporadic, not usual and that the child knows how to take it like this.
Each child's appetite is different
Although the general recommendations is to have a strong breakfast and a smooth dinner, saving this, it is necessary to remember that each person and every child is different.
One way for them to be more hungry at breakfast is to allow time for this important meal, although that, if we have to get up early, is complicated. But if we have made a good snack and a softer dinner, the child may be hungrier in the morning.
Likewise, we tend to incorporate more caloric and protein foods at lunch and dinner, but that is not essential. If our experience is that our child has little appetite at noon, it is not necessary to insist on making a very strong meal: legumes and a dairy can meet your needs and then, on the snack, you can put up scallops with salad.
The snack is cultural
Nothing is mandatory and The organization of meals is something cultural With what we can afford as much flexibility as we want. And if when you want to eat more our son is on the snack we can take advantage of it to give him more food, nothing happens if he arrives with less appetite for dinner.
When I was living in England I got used to their schedules and the different distribution of food. A king's breakfast (those eggs with sausages and beans, that rich), an almost testimonial meal that used to be a sandwich and a fruit, a delicious snack (my landlady gave us pancakes and fruit salad, ham and cheese, bread with butter , cucumber sandwich, flan) and a very soft and early dinner in which potatoes, corn and peas were never lacking. Although I missed a good steak or stew I couldn't complain.
A good and healthy snack It is necessary for children, because it covers their energy and nutrient needs and we can use it to introduce in it the foods that are less present in the other meals, with a lot of flexibility, but always trying not to resort to packaged juices and industrial pastries .
That is to say, the snack is a very important meal because we must distribute food intakes throughout the day and, for children, the time to relax in the middle of the afternoon is a good opportunity to complete their nutritional needs with a good snack.
But as I said, the snack is also a cultural issue and we should not be rigid: eating five or six times a day is the key and eating balanced, the rest is optional and we can freely play with it. The important thing is to enjoy and eat well, as we are dealing in depth in our Special on Infant Feeding in Babies and more.
