Helping Kids Snack Healthy

Life Hacks

This post may include affiliate links. See my full disclosure here.

This post has been sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Cooking for, feeding and cleaning up after kids has to be one of the most time-consuming and stressful parts of our days as moms. Add in a crazy schedule and the need to feed our kids healthy meals and snacks, and it just gets overwhelming. Today I’m sharing some of our best kids’ kitchen hacks and how to help them become more independent when grabbing healthy snacks. Feed your kids simple, healthy snacks and drinks with ZICO® Coconut Water, Odwalla® Mango Tango® and fresh-cut fruit from Albertsons!





Well, starting last week, back-to-school life is back in full force for our family! I thought I was done with the lazy, wandering days of summer without schedules and deadlines, but now I may have overcommitted! We’ve got 3 kids in 2 different sports, 4 kids in piano (with 2 different teachers), a homeschool co-op, preschool for the 2 littles, church activities for the 3 big kids, and Luke and I are now in charge of two of those regular activities! Whew. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Prepping and cooking healthy meals for my whole family is probably one of my top 3 stressors of all time…and it comes around 3 times a day, every day! Without a meal plan, fresh groceries and a few tricks up my sleeve, the kitchen and hungry kids fall into chaos quickly. Luckily, we’ve been working on instilling independence in the kitchen for quite a few years so I’m actually beginning to see some of the payoff! Admittedly, I didn’t (and still don’t) always want to let them help but it really does pay off in the long run. Plus, I’m hoping my kids won’t end up like that one hopeless college roommate who doesn’t even know how to boil water.

Smoothies are my number 1 go-to for quick, healthy breakfasts and snacks, but I don’t really trust most of my kids to use the blender independently. Odwalla Mango Tango is a great substitute! Not only are Odwalla smoothies good for you and full of nothing but fresh- fruit and juices, they are as easy for my kids to enjoy as opening a bottle. And my kids LOVE them. Pair them with a piece of peanut butter toast and you’ve got a healthy, nutritious breakfast!

In fact, right now you can save $1 on fresh cut fruit when you buy any 2 Odwalla 15.2 fl oz or ZICO 13.5 floz. Offer valid with THIS digital coupon.





When it comes to afternoon snacks, I’m always hoping to give my kids something nutritious without ruining their appetite for dinner. Liam recently started an after-school wrestling program, and the coach reminds them to rehydrate after every practice. Instead of giving him sports drinks full of sugar and dyes, I buy coconut water! ZICO Coconut Water (they also have lots of other flavors) makes it easy to just hand him a yummy flavored drink and be done.

We also love ZICO Coconut Water (flavored or plain) as a base in our homemade smoothies. They make me feel good about giving my kids needed electrolytes but without any added harmful ingredients or preservatives.

Lastly, I always love setting out fresh fruit for my kids when they come in from playing outside or from a sport or activity. This fresh cut fruit was available at my local Albertsons on an end cap, right by the produce section. I grabbed a couple containers to create these fruit kebabs that my kids are OBSESSED with! Seriously, Finn will eat an entire watermelon all by himself if it’s skewered on a stick. I like to snip the sharp ends off the sticks after making them so that no one can poke anyone’s eye out. You can’t beat the ease and convenience of getting fresh fruit all cut
up and ready to go.

Did you know that Albertsons has a mobile app, too? Once you download it and register, you can select your local store and get personalized coupons and free products with the app. It’s called their Just for U program, and it’s pretty awesome!

Does your family have any other healthy snack hacks? I’d love to hear them!



 

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