the snack tray

Well, it's Tuesday, I think. So my schedule says talk about "Making Home," which means we can talk about food... again. For those of you who care nothing about this, we are almost finished... I can't go on much longer - it's making me miserably hungry!!! Many of you have asked (in person) about our snack tray. This is it. Pretty simple. It cost like $4 at Wal Mart. I fill it each morning and those are our snacks for the day. We started doing this a while back after reading about Lori's family's muffin tin breakfasts. At the time, we were having a hard time with snacking and portion control. Now we sit at the table to eat a couple of sections per snack (depending on the day - what's in them and what our activity level has been pre-snack, etc.). It helps me know what we've eaten each day (ratio of veggies, fruits, protein, fat, carbs, junk, etc.), while still allowing the kids to feel like they are choosing the snack. They also know that if they eat all of the yummy stuff at the first of the day, they are left with the super foods that are a little less exciting for later in the day...  We ARE learning a lot about SUPER FOODS these days, though, and what wonderful things they can do for our bodies and our "princess skin" and learning to love them for those reasons.  Again, this is one of those things that I have researched as quite a while. Below I will list a few friends we rely on for encouragement, sites we look to for inspiration, and books we've read for education. 

Would love to add YOU to this list! 
Comment with your tried and trues!

PS - We are bento box lunchers! It's a perfect way to feed preschoolers and toddlers the little finger foods they love and it's super easy for teachers as they don't have as many bags and lids to open, etc. Laptop Lunches is a wonderful site full of fun ideas and WEEKLY idea newsletters. A mama's best friend! Also, this fabulous blog has the millions of fabulous ideas of ways you can use your muffin tins - not just for snacks - check out the Muffin Tin Mom.

Friends

Sites

Books



Comments

  1. JULIA!! What an awesome idea. I love it! Does each person in the house get his/her own tray? Or, is one tray for you and AJ? Also, where did you get the ratios of good/veggies vs. bad/treats?

    Can you tell I know nothing about the food pyramid?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This one's for all 3 girls. It would definitely work for your 3 kiddos.... just alter what you put in it a bit and it will work for all of you :) The "ratios" are just what I've decided are "good" for our family. Everyone has her own concerns. This photo is actually a couple of weeks old as it has taken me some time to get to this and our "ratios" have changed. This weeks tray looks a lot different. More veg+protein/a little less sweet stuff (even if it IS "good for you"). Just trying to get back into some healthier routines now that it's "routine" time. Check out some of the books/sites and do some poking around. You'll come up with some things you like! The food pyramid looks a lot different now than it did when we learned about it as kids. Check out these sights for some fun and basic "gov info" on kids nutrition:
    http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/kids-pyramid.html
    http://www.letsmove.gov/
    http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Julia,

    What I love about this snacking tin is that it allows your child to choose (promoting empowerment) the snack they desire out of a plethora of good choices. It is portioned out appropriately and it encourages the snacks to be consumed throughout the week, which maximizes nutrition. I am so impressed by this idea that I am gonna feature it on Mommy Dietitian. Great job, Mom...and Friend!

    Healthy Regards,
    Angela
    http://www.mommydietitian.com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment