Snacks for children at school can often be nerve-wracking for parents. Without a doubt, it is definitely important that children eat breakfast or at least take a healthy snack to school. Getting the necessary energy from food should be at the top of the agenda for any healthy child's diet. However, healthy snacks and the right snack at break time often seem like two completely different worlds for children. So if you want to avoid those little discussions in the morning about the perfect snack for school, you should definitely read this blog post.
Discover healthy verival breakfasts for children
Snacks for children – everything you need to know
Children are well known to be real bundles of energy. However, to keep them that way and to ensure that your child grows up healthy and happy, the right nutrition is very important in any case. The German Nutrition Society recommends five portions of fruit or vegetables for children.
Since this is already proving to be very difficult for adults, it is even more important for children. In particular, snacks between meals should contain as many vegetables and fruits as possible.
The biggest mistakes when it comes to snacks for children
Time pressure and stress are the most common reasons for failed child nutrition. Chocolate bars, pretzels and ready-made pizzas may be prepared or bought very quickly, but should be avoided in the long term. The increased sugar and fat content is not beneficial for growing children and should be avoided as much as possible.
Sugar and fat are highly addictive, especially in childhood, and have a negative impact on health. This may cause problems later on that could have been avoided. These include diabetes and other conditions.
Healthy breakfast for children: It's that important
While we sleep at night, our energy stores are depleted. In the morning, they need to be replenished so that we can start the day full of energy. That's why a healthy breakfast is the most important basis for getting the day off to a good start.
If you skip breakfast in the morning, you'll quickly notice how your energy level drops during the morning. In children, this is noticeable at school when concentration wanes and everything becomes more important, except school.
Children who eat a meal in the morning are not only able to perform better, they also perform better in the afternoon. This energy boost in the second half of the day does not occur if children skip breakfast.
Breakfast as a concentration boost
Breakfast is particularly important for schoolchildren, because if you don't give your body energy in the morning, you can expect a drop in performance. In children, this is particularly evident in their attention and concentration in class. Schoolchildren who skip breakfast often experience concentration problems as early as mid-morning. They find it difficult to follow lessons attentively and are quickly distracted.
A healthy breakfast makes your child fitter!
Not only does breakfast affect children's mental performance, but a healthy breakfast also increases their physical stamina. According to a study by ETH Zurich, children who eat breakfast regularly perform better in terms of motor skills. This was determined on the basis of their motor skills in sports.
What snacks are suitable for children at school?
Especially at school, your child should always have a snack with them so that they don't have to go hungry. The food at school may often be quite tasty, but at least school snacks are not really healthy.
Basically, there are no limits to your imagination. Of course, you can take anything with you. Be it sandwiches with different fillings, fruit, vegetables, yoghurt, overnight oats, porridge or muesli. The most important thing is that they don't contain a lot of sugar or fat – that would be counterproductive.
But if your child can get enough nutrients and variety at school, too, nothing stands in the way of a successful and energetic day! This way, concentration can be maintained throughout the entire lesson.
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Which snacks for children are really healthy?
Since children can often be very fussy eaters, it is not always easy to find the right healthy snack. Tasty and healthy are often very close, but for children this is often not the case.
Nuts as the perfect snack for children
Nuts are definitely very healthy – and almost every child loves nuts in a variety of forms. However, you should be careful not to add too many nuts to your child's school snack. Nuts contain a lot of healthy fat, but even with healthy fat there is an upper limit. A simple rule for nuts is to eat a maximum of a handful a day.
Overnight oats or porridge
If breakfast is sometimes too stressful or there is no time for a full breakfast, then why not pack a healthy breakfast for your child? Oats are the local superfood and with the right preparation, there is almost no child who doesn't like these delicious flakes! Especially when combined with healthy toppings such as nuts, seeds and fruit, porridge or overnight oats are a sure-fire hit on the breakfast plate and as a snack at school.
Fruit and vegetables as delicious snacks for children in between meals
Fruits like apples, pears, bananas or berries are perfect as a delicious snack in between. Sweet, nutritious and simply delicious, most fruits are ready to eat. For vegetables, you can choose from carrots, cucumbers, radishes or small tomatoes. Carrots and cucumbers with a small sour cream dip and fresh herbs are always a favorite, even with children. Fruits and vegetables are full of healthy nutrients and vitamins and should therefore be part of every diet.
Homemade bars are a real snack for children
Homemade granola bars are a great tool for providing children with a tasty snack. With homemade bars, you can control how much sugar ends up in the product – or you can bake bars that are completely sugar-free, which is the best solution for children. Baking together can also be used as a way to pass the time – getting children involved in daily cooking can also help to reduce their fear of the “unknown”, which may subsequently make the odd discussion at the dinner table obsolete.
The best snack recipes for children
So that you don't have to grope in the dark when it comes to recipe ideas for children, we have put together our best breakfast and snack ideas for children here:
Sugar-free Bircher cereal bars with dates
Ingredients
- 150 g Bircher Porridge
- 150 g Bircher Muesli
- 80 g dates
- 30 g flaxseed
- 20 g quinoa pops
- 30 g cashew nuts or nuts of your choice
- 1 apple grated
- 2 tsp. lemon juice
- 1 tsp. salt
Preparation
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Put the flaxseeds in a bowl with a little water and let them swell. Coarsely chop the nuts of your choice. Grate the apple.
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Place Bircher Porridge, Bircher Muesli, Quinoa Pops, salt, and nuts in a bowl and mix. Then add the apple, sliced dates, lemon juice, and finally the swollen flax seeds and mix well.
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Spread the mixture evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Bake at 180 degrees for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and cut.
Nutritional values
Recipe: Bircher Porridge cookies
Ingredients
- 100 g Verival Bircher Porridge
- 40 g flour
- 50 ml milk or plant-based drink
- 50 g honey or agave syrup
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Choice of chocolate chips
Preparation
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Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
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For the dough, mix all the ingredients together.
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Place the dough in small portions on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
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Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes.
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Let cool and enjoy.
Nutritional values
Bircher breakfast in a glass
Ingredients
- 30 g Bircher Porridge
- ½ apple
- 3-4 tbsp. yogurt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- Milk
Preparation
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Let the porridge boil briefly with milk or water, turn down the heat, and let it steep for about 3 minutes. Then pour into a glass.
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Cut the apple into cubes and simmer with a little milk and cinnamon until the apple pieces become slightly soft.
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Add a few tablespoons of yogurt, like Greek or plain yogurt, to the porridge.
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Finally, layer the apple pieces on top as a third layer in the glass and garnish with a few cashews.
Video
Nutritional values
Chocolate Crunchy Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 3 eggs
- 1 knife tip of bourbon vanilla
- 1 pinch of salt
- 50 grams of coconut oil
- 80 grams wholemeal spelt flour
- 120 grams of ground hazelnuts or almonds
- 30 grams of cocoa (unsweetened)
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 80 ml milk (or a milk alternative)
- 60 grams of VERIVAL Chocolate Max and a little more to sprinkle
Preparation
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First, preheat the oven to 180°C top/bottom heat and line a muffin tray with paper liners.
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Mash the bananas with a fork and set aside for a moment.
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Then lightly whisk the eggs with salt and bourbon vanilla for about 5 minutes.
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Add the banana puree and coconut oil and stir together.
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Then sift the wholemeal spelt flour into the bowl along with the baking powder and cocoa and add it with a whisk.
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Fold in the milk with the ground hazelnuts and finally the Verival Chocolate Max Crunchys.
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Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins, sprinkle with the Verival Organic Chocolate Max Crunchys, and bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes.
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Allow the chocolate crunchy breakfast muffins to cool completely before consuming.
