10 Low Cost Healthy Snack Ideas

To keep children healthy they need to be fed healthy foods. The foods that children need are divided into the food groups. Children need so many servings per day of foods from each of the food groups to maintain optimal health.

Food isn't cheap. Nothing is anymore. The cost of life goes up as the economy goes down. What can we do? How can we still feed our kids well when we can't afford to buy as much as we used to? There answer is simple. Save money on food to get more for the money you have to spend.

The most expensive foods on the shelves are the snacks. Brand name gummy treats, chocolate this and that, and other various sweet items in glittering packages that taste good appeal to kids. Parents buy these items and give them as snacks.

Children need snacks throughout the day. Kids usually even have a snack time at school. The reason why is because kids are growing. They are also active. They need constant fuel. They need a supplement between meals to have enough energy to do all they do and to be healthy. When children do not have enough nutrition they become ill. It's like a fire trying to burn when there's no more fuel to feed it.

Most of the snacks are all nicely packaged and so expensive. Many of them are full of empty calories. They may fill the belly and taste good but that does not mean they are delivering nutrition. When the cost per serving is so high and the nutritional value is so low there is only one thing to do. That one thing is to give your children low cost healthy snacks. Here are ten low cost healthy snack ideas.

1. An apple. Have you heard that saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." It is actually true. Apples are very good for you. They actually have many health benefiting qualities. An apple can help to stop diarrhea and event help to prevent it. When constipation occurs an apple can help too. Apples also help to keep the blood sugar balanced. Apples are also cheap! Bag of apples costs maybe three dollars. You'll get a whole bunch of apples for that three dollars vs. six packs of gummy treats for three or more dollars. You can get more snack servings from apples than you can from gummy treats.

2. Bananas make excellent snacks. They are a serving from the fruit group and deliver potassium which is essential to good health and development. Bananas taste great. They have the sweetness that kids crave and the nutrition that parents love. Bananas cost less that fifty cents per pound. A two pound bunch usually contains about eight bananas. That's eight snack servings of something nutritious for one dollar or less.

3. Pears are another healthy snack that kids love. The fruit group is just full of them. Children need four to five servings of fruit per day. All fruits have a positive effect on children's health. Fruits contain things that our bodies need. This includes adults as well so why not have a piece of fruit with your child? Fresh pears are delicious and don't cost much at all. Canned pears are another option. The cost per serving is less than it would be for a package of cookies and the nutritional value is far greater.

4. Plums. Kids love plums for the super sweet taste. That's why I love them too. Plums another inexpensive healthy fruit snack idea. Little, round and purple but full of big nutritional value. Plums are full of fiber which is good for the digestive system. They are also a fruit that provides energy. With a great taste and a low cost on top of their nutritional value plums make for an inexpensive healthy snack.

5. Peaches. Peaches are another low cost fruit. They are very nutritious and have a sweet tangy taste to them that children love. Peaches can be bought fresh or in a can. Canned peaches are often appealing to children who won't eat fresh peaches because of the sweet syrup they are in. Peaches make an excellent snack all around.

6. Oranges are another low cost fruit snack that is full of nutritional value. Citric acid is what oranges are most known for but there are several other vitamins found in oranges such as vitamin C. Kids love to peel oranges too. I'm not sure why, but they seem to think it is fun. Oranges cost far less per serving than the fancy packaged snacks do and are far more nutritious.

7. Grapes are yet another low cost fruit snack idea. For a couple of dollars you can get a whole lot of grapes. If you were to purchase a packaged grape flavored snack you would get maybe eight servings for four dollars. When you buy grapes you get close to twenty servings for the same amount. Grapes are very good for children and have that sweet fruit taste that kids want.

8. Melon is another low cost fruit. Watermelon, honey dew melon, cantaloupe, etc. are all full of nutritional value. They can be bought whole rather than pre cut to save even more. Cut open the melon and slice away. A watermelon is quite large. It can provide several servings for only a couple of dollars. Other varieties of melon also go a long way. Any type of melon is a low cost healthy fruit snack.

9. Berries are also great for snacks. Blueberries contain many vitamins, as do strawberries, black berries, and raspberries. Kids like the tangy taste and eat them right up. In many areas blackberries and raspberries grow wild. So do strawberries and blueberries. If you find a bush growing weed around it. Tend to it and you'll have snacks for free!

10. The last healthy fruit snack is fruit salad. When you regularly give fruit as a snack you will have a variety of fruits in your home. Why not chop and slice them all up and mix them together? Create a fruit salad to wow the kids while serving them the nutrition they need. Thanks for reading and take care!