Snack box while Social Distancing

Anyone else’s kids constantly snack while at home? Yeah, mine too. Since we began staying home due to Covid-19, my kids constantly ask for snacks. Just had breakfast? “Mom, can I have a snack”? Ate lunch? “Mom, can I have a snack”? Finished with dinner? “Mom, can I have a snack”? The first few days of social distancing our snack section was full and I am guilty to admit within a few days, it was nearly empty. That’s when I knew if we were going to be doing social distancing for 6-8 weeks, I needed to change how we did things.

Although I have no problem feeding them snacks through out the day, I definitely don’t want it to become a habit of just constant snacking. I was scrolling Facebook the other night when I came across the idea of putting your kids snacks for the day in a tray or box. Kids can grab what they want at snack time but that is all they will have for the day. I thought what a good idea! So I gave it a try and wow, what a difference. To begin with I had to remind them that those were the snacks for the day. Once they realized mom wasn’t going to just say yes, they stopped asking for frequent snacks.

I definitely think being able to visualize their options helps a lot. Toddlers love choosing and being independent. Each day I have changed out the snacks I give but I put them in their little snack box for them to choose. I make sure to put things I know they like but also things that are healthy that way they aren’t just eating crackers or sweet granola bars all day. For cold items, I like to write it on a paper that they can “cash in” when they want the item. Save the papers for the coming days and it becomes fun for the kids. This is also a great way to try to not only limit frequent snacking, but save money on wasting of food. When my kids often snack, I find they more than not end up with snack left over that I have to throw away.

Some snack ideas:

•fruit cups

•fruits and vegetables

•peanut butter pouch

•applesauce

•cheese

•goldfish

•saltines

•lunch meat in squares

•no bake oatmeal squares

•protein bars/shakes

•dry cereal

•rice cake with toping

•nuts and seeds

•veggie straws

•jerky

•baked goods

With the kids being home from preschool indefinitely, I knew I had to get snacking under control. This has worked wonders for us and hope it helps for your family as well!

Xoxo

Christian