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Low-Carb Kids – Healthy Snacks For After School

One of the trickiest things parents find when they go sugar free or low carb is what to give children for after school snacks. It’s hard to change our mindset from giving our children sweet treats such as muesli bars, cereal, toast and spreads, cakes or baking, to giving them savoury snacks.

Try to cut down on how much and how often they snack too. It is so much easier to encourage children to eat their dinner when they’re hungry.

Healthy sugar free snacks need to be portable while driving to sports and activities. We are so used to having food on hand that has a long shelf life and comes in a packet. We are the first generation to grow up consuming so many preservatives and so many packaged snacks. Americans now spend more on snacks than meals.

If those preservatives are stopping the bacteria from growing in our food, what is it doing to the beneficial bacteria in our bodies? Our gut health is incredibly important with 75% of our serotonin (happy hormone) and our immunity being made in our gut. Sometimes there is no other option, I’m realistic, but let’s see if we can do the best we can as often as we can, then there is less pressure on the occasions when we can’t.

Have healthy sugar free snacks in the car such as nuts, eggs, cheese cubes, cold meat etc. They make just as much mess as a packet of crackers or crisps (probably less). Or pack each child a little lunch box for the car to contain any mess. At home, afternoon tea doesn’t have to be a big deal.

Leftovers are under-utilised. They’re easy and nutritious. Cook extra sausages or extra drumsticks for lunch or snacks. When I have the oven on, I always cook an extra batch of sausages or chicken purely for the next few days lunch or snacks. It’s about thinking differently, cooking extra, and making it as easy as you can for yourself.

Very rarely do I have time to make pancakes after school, but if I do, I make a double or triple batch and keep them for their lunch boxes.

Healthy Sugar Free Snacks List - what a superb idea! Definitely one to print off for the fridge.Click to Tweet

Click here for a FREE printable list of Healthy Sugar Free Snacks for After School.

Healthy Sugar Free Snacks

Photo credit : Life Hacker

This is a great infographic showing how certain foods leave you crashing soon after eating them. So we may think bread, toast and cereal fills our children up, but they will soon be hungry again. These foods feed them energy but no nourishment or nutrients.

The best foods are those based on good quality protein and good healthy fats. Sure children can have unprocessed carbs such as sweet potatoes and fruit, but in limited amounts. It is the whole food approach that is important.

• Take a look at my Top 10 Low Carb Snacks
• Take a look at my Low Carb Snacks recipe archives
• Top 20 Low Carb Snacks
• Low Carb Kids 1 – beginners guide, tips and tricks
• Low Carb Kids 2 – ultimate ‘school lunch planner’ with free printable PDF
• Low Carb Kids 3 – 2 weeks of my children’s school lunches
• Low Carb Kids 4 – how to make a low carb school lunch box and more ideas
• Low Carb Kids 6 – an entire month of school lunch ideasLow Carb Kids 7 – My guest post on Diet Dr, “How To Raise Children On Real Low Carb Food”.
• Low Carb Kids 7 – My guest post on Diet Dr, “How To Raise Children On Real Low Carb Food”.
• Low Carb Kids 8 – How to help your child eat real food – with an action plan
• Top 10 Myths Of Low-Carb Kids

My favourite ‘Healthy Sugar Free Snacks’ for after school –

• By far the one I make the most is a large vegetable tray which I continue to add to through the week. This is great to have in the fridge to make packing school lunches easier in the morning. Each time they eat all the veggies in the tray, top it up. By leaving the tray with them, you know they have had plenty of vegetables even before dinner. Serve the veggies with plenty of dips, grated cheese or cream cheese. They are far more likely to nibble away just to eat the dip. We all know with junk food how it can disappear if left in front of us, well use this to our advantage and leave the veggies out.
• Smoothies.  Base smoothies on low sugar fruit such as berries, add some leafy greens such as spinach and some good healthy fat to fill them up such as coconut cream. My 7 yr old makes himself banana, peanut butter, chia and coconut cream.
• Eggs any which way. Boiled (boil 10 or so at a time to always have them on hand for snacks and lunches), fried, scrambled, poached. devilled eggs, paleo scotch eggs.
• Cheese, cheese, cheese. Sticks, cubes, grated. Any old how but this is s great way to fill up children for longer.
• Flavoured waters instead of juice or fizzy drinks.
• Ham rolls.
• Unsweetened yoghurt with some berries, coconut cream and chocolate grain free granola.
• Leftover dinners are KING!
• Sausages cooked when the oven is on for dinner.
• Beef jerky/biltong.
• Pepperoni pizza bites.
• Crustless quiches.
• Pancakes with berries and cream.
• Chia is not just for breakfast. Make it any way you like.
• Low carb, sugar free baking treats.
• Defrosted prawns.
• Berries and cream.
• Avocado and salt
• Apple slices with peanut butter/tahini/almond butter etc.
• Chopped up apple or pear with cinnamon sprinkled on top.

For all the following recipes, head over to my recipe finder and subscribe fro FREE recipes when I post them.

If you would like to learn how to become a low carb family who ditches the soda and the junk food, you may wish to look at my latest eBook “Low Carb Easy Family Meals – 35 easy recipes.” Click here to read more.