Registered Dietician, Connie Evers, joined us today with some great tips on how to get our kids to choose healthy snacks over junk food!

1. Offer   Sweet Alternatives At Eye Level - Instead of unhealthy, sugary  snacks  offer, sweet fruits  (clementines  mandarins  etc.)  as a great  way to get more  fresh produce into kids diets. Make sure that you have fruit on the kitchen counter to catch your  child’s eye when they come  home from school.
2. Homework Helper - In the late  afternoon  (when kids are super hungry), set out a bowl of nuts nearby the children as they work on their homework. Include  foods such mini-sandwiches, and string  cheese.  Bowl of Pistacchios and Fruit   
3. Eat a rainbow - Challenge your   child to “eat a rainbow” of fruits and vegetables. When shopping with  your  child, make it a game to find produce that is red, green,  blue/purple, orange,  brown and white. When you get home, use the foods  you purchased to prepare a  colorful snack.
4. Cure  those pre-dinner hungries - You can  feed the 5:00 PM  pre-dinner hungries with fresh, crunchy fruits and  vegetables. Kids  will also eat more fruits and vegetables if they are  presented  alongside a dip. Adding a flavored yogurt as a natual dip for fresh   fruit plate is a great way to cure the hungries and won't spoil a  child's  appetite for dinner.
5. Plan a snack adventure -  Involve your child  in snack planning, shopping for ingredients and  simple food preparation  activities. Partner with your child to devise  a healthy snack list that  includes  foods from all five food  groups. Create fun and cute recipes  and don’t forget to give your new  creations a special name like Yo-ban-ola  (Yogurt Bananna and Granola)  Yo-cut-ola (Yogurt, Clementines and  Granola).

For more information about Connie Evers and her books, go to this website.