What does a 100kcal snack look like?

Advice from the NHS to limit children’s shop-bought snacks to a maximum of two a day, each under 100 calories, is designed to make our lives easier – helping parents to make quick, healthier decisions when buying food at the supermarket.

To ensure a balanced diet, it’s important to choose healthy snacks for kids. Figures from Public Health England show that the average primary school child could be consuming a whopping three times more added sugar than recommended daily limits, with the average child eating at least three sugar-laden items a day – often in the form of snacks or sugary drinks.

In response, the NHS’s Change4Life campaign encourages parents to choose healthier options, especially when they are out and about or doing the weekly shop. The Change4Life food scanner app is another useful tool which can show parents how much sugar, salt and saturated fat is in a packaged product.

What about homemade snacks?

The current advice relates to shop-bought snacks only – this means that homemade snacks for kids are excluded from the two a day, 100 calorie limit. This is because making your own recipe puts you in control of the ingredients and therefore they are likely to be lower in sugar, salt, saturated fat and additives. It's worth remembering that fruit and vegetables are not limited and are always the best choice for children in-between meals.

Find more ideas for healthy snacks...

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Our best snacks for kids recipes

What healthy snacks do your kids love? Let us know in the comments below...