YUMMY SNACKING I don't remember my teachers or parents emphasizing "heathy snacks" when I was a child. Fruit was plentiful in my house, but so was every kind of food imaginable. I was "into" those little bake sets, the ones you could use to make miniature cakes. It was much later in my life that I discovered the need for, and the pleasure you could get from, eating healthfully. In the past, I have shared my love of healthy eating with my schoolchildren. I've created healthy snack programs. My Happy Feet kids get points toward a ribbon for bringing healthy snacks to club. And in each of my books, healthy eating takes a stand. Here are some of my newest ideas to be shared with you. PRINT and PACK! Snack-Facts-in-a-Sack A simple way to encourage your child to eat right and exercise. Just prepare the snack WITH your child, then print the "snack-fact" and pack it with a school snack. Start with: almond, banana, cucumber, and date snack-facts. Healthy eating is important for people of all ages. While you are busy thinking of ways to make your children healthy eaters and exercisers, you will be helping yourself, too - just as I help myself when I create these activities and recipes. (I just tried out the banana/chocolate snack - a much better choice than a piece of high-fat crusty apple pie that was tempting me.) Many of the foods will be served plain (a child's favorite way of eating). For example, cucumbers are served sliced with salt. A child would be more apt to eat them this way than chopped and mixed with other ingredients. Some of the recipes will appear as goody-treats, and that is great, but rest assured that the recipes were "healthified" so that the nutritional value outweighs the sweetness. Believe in your children. They want to be the best they can be. Show them the way and they will follow. Sometimes they may even take the lead. Check out the Happy Feet Kids EATING TIPS and learn from the animals. These tips are printed and stapled to the back of the Happy Feet Club folders. The children read these tips and act as healthy ambassadors to their classmates. Healthy eating can: 1. Keep your body lean and fit. 2. Allow you to maintain energy for exercise. 3. Help you stay healthy and disease free. Recipe from Happy Feet, Healthy Food, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating Happy Feet, Healthy Food, Your Child's First Journal of Exercise & Healthy Eating The Treasure of Health and Happiness Kids Running: Have Fun, Get Faster & Go Farther © 2009 Carol Goodrow