Tummy yummy snack box

After you stock your kids' new snack box for the first time, help them manage it well. Here are few tips that you can follow

Keep the box full of healthy, balanced offerings. Shoot for one or two items from each food group listed above, and make sure fruits and veggies stay fresh.

For younger kids, decide ahead of time when they will get to choose a snack from the box. They might get to pick one or two items after school, or before bedtime… but not a half hour before dinner, for example.

Store snacks in clear containers, so kids can easily see what's available.

If your kids don't reach for a particular item in the snack box on their own, pull it out and include it with a snack that you serve them. They might just try it.

Get creative! We put all kinds of leftovers in small jars in the snack box: fried rice, whole grain English muffin pizzas, roasted veggies, you name it.

Lastly, hard as it may be, avoid commenting on your kids' choices. Let them choose what they want (even if they ignore the veggies for a while.) Remind yourself that the process of choosing and learning is just as important as the nutrition they get from their snack.

There's no doubt about it: feeding your family well takes work! But a self-serve snack box can be the humble beginnings of a lifetime of food autonomy for your kids.