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Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Hungry, Hungry Hippos (I Mean, Kiddos)

My three children have been eating me out of house and home lately. It is either the fresh outdoor air and loads of exercise that they get each day or else they are going through growth spurts but they are literally hungry every second of the day.

They also eat like birds through. While they want to snack all day they do not want to sit down and get filled on a big meal. If I make them a sandwich for lunch they eat just half of it; if I make them half a sandwich they eat half of the half. And then half an hour later they are hungry again.

I think I solved the problem by making them little snack trays for lunch. In the effort to go more raw, healthy, and prevent food waste - these trays work. This tray is my 2 year olds (the rest of ours have larger quantities):

The kids enjoy having a range of choices and nibble off their plates. Whatever they don't finish I stick in the fridge and they pull it out when they get hungry. Within a few hours the trays are empty and they are usually full and can wait until supper.

Grapes, cantaloupe, broccoli, carrots, dip and a pretzel stick fill them up. It's amazing how everyday I can fill the tray with something different to give them a variety. Some days I add nuts, different fruits and vegetables, a granola bar, etc. It may not look like a lot but even I get full on these trays for lunch. Kids also like little muffin tins with a little bit of this and a little bit of that in each section. It is fun, healthy, and filling!

4 comments:

  1. Your lucky that your kids eat such a heathly snack. Mine are hungry all day too. I think it's all the summer activities.

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  2. Fantastic idea I am doing that. My kids always want to snack later and we waste food at meal times this solves a huge problem for me-thanks!

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  3. I think that I know why your kids are always hungry. I don't see any protein and very few carbs. Don't forget that kids still have to have some fat (good fat) in their diet for their brain development. Eating raw foods such as fresh fruits and veges is good for everyone. I know that when I had a tooth pulled several yeats ago, all I ate were bananas, cantalope and potatoes. I was constantly hungry. I just wish that your blog was around when my kids were little as this concept is a good idea.

    Beth

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Beth-
    Actually, we've just been doing this tray thing for about a week now and it is filling them up more then their meals of sandwiches (which were both a carb and a protein). They also tend to have a big glass of milk with their lunch which supplies protein. I will highlight other lunches that they eat so that you and other readers can see the variety.

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