Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

 

You finished doing your homework for the day, picked up your toys, and it’s time to watch your favorite TV show.  You are hungry and tired, but dinner will not be served until after another hour.



You search the kitchen cupboard for something tasty to munch on. But wait, you should think twice before you grab that bag of potato chips or piece of candy.



Kids who snack too much on the wrong foods have more problems, such as, gaining weight, tooth cavities, stomach ache, and just feeling lazy.



Snacking in itself is not a bad habit; it is the foods that you choose to snack on which can make it either bad for your health or good.



If you gobble down a chocolate bar, you will eat too much sugar and butter which could be bad for you.



But if you bite into a juicy apple, you will get some extra vitamins and fiber that your body really needs.



When you want a salty snack, stay away from potato chips because they are the bad guys when it comes to snacks.



Potato chips, corn chips, and cheese puffs contain way too many calories and too much fat.



Imagine that when you eat a small bag of potato chips, the fat that you get is equal to drinking a quarter of a cup of oil (one-fourth cup).



Eating too much oils can lead to weight gain, skin problems, poor digestion, and can be bad for the heart and blood vessels.



There are lots of better salty snacks to choose from instead of chips. How about pretzels, breadsticks, or crackers? They are much lower in fat.



Put a slice of cheese on your cracker, and you just made a snack that has calcium, which helps keep your bones strong.



Olives are salty and they have vitamin E and the type of fat that is actually good for your body.



Nuts, all types of nuts, like peanuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, contain the type of fats that are excellent for the brain.



Pop-corn is a great snack for kids who love the salty taste.



As long as you do not put too much butter on it, pop-corn is low in fat and it has fiber too which keeps your digestive system working smoothly.



If you are like me when I was a kid and you always get that strong feeling like you might die if you do not eat something sweet, do not worry; there are lots of sweet treats that are healthy too.



Dates taste just as sweet as a candy bar but dates are good for you and they contain vitamins and minerals like iron and calcium.



You can make your own creative date treats. Take out the seed, and fill the date with rice krispies or corn flakes or an almond, or a tiny piece of chocolate to make a healthy dessert for yourself, and any friends or guests who visit you.



Some fruits are so sweet, refreshing, and delicious that they beat any candy.



Tasty examples of fruits that will get your mouth watering just as we speak are watermelons, strawberries, cherries, grapes, apples, peaches.



Everyone knows that a glass of cold milk tastes so much butter when you have a cookie with it to dip into.



Some cookies are better for your health than others. It is best to choose oatmeal cookies, raisin cookies, or fig bars, or date filled cookies. A bowl of cereal is a healthy snack that is easy for you to serve on your own without the help of an adult.



The key thing about cereal to remember is this stay away from the colored cereals because they have artificial chemicals and it is also best to stay away from the chocolate covered or frosted cereals because they have too much sugar.



The cereals that a smart kid eats are corn flakes, bran flakes, cheerios, rice krispies, granola and oats cereal, and shredded wheat. From now on, snack time is going to be tasty, fun, and healthy too.