Apple Smiles!

You can cater to your child’s sweet tooth with this snack that won’t scare the dentist!

What you will need:

• apples of any kind
• slivered almonds

These apple snacks are delicious and fun to make. Start by coring and quartering the apple (cutting it into four pieces). Next, cut a wedge from the skin side of each quarter. Now invite your kids to place the slivered almonds into the wedges – these are the teeth!

Your kids can arrange the almond teeth any way they want. Once there is a whole set of almond teeth it’s crunch time!

Nutrition facts on the snack:

I’m sure you have heard the old saying “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Although apples alone may not keep the doctor away, they are still very nutritious and great to include in your child’s diet. Serving a variety of healthy foods, like apples, and getting your kids active are great ways to keep them healthy.

Fibre and many vitamins like vitamin C are found in apples. As you know from earlier posts, these are excellent nutrients to include in your child’s diet each day. Kids need enough nutrients from foods to give them energy.

Almonds are great sources of protein and healthy fats. You might be wondering why I used the words “healthy” and “fat” in the same sentence. This is because not all fat is bad for you! In fact, the body needs fat to work properly. It is best to serve your child foods with healthy fats, instead of unhealthier fats like trans fat and saturated fats.

Some examples of foods with healthy fats are:

·      avocados

·      nuts

·      peanut butter

·      olive, canola, sunflower, peanut and sesame oils

·      tofu

·      soy milk

Some examples of foods with unhealthy fats are:

·      chocolate bars

·      packaged cookies, donuts, pastries

·      French fries

·      gravy

·      ice cream

If you would like to learn more about “healthy” vs. “unhealthy” fats, check out the Heart & Stroke Foundation website at: http://www.heartandstroke.ca/

Tip: If you don't use the cut-up apple wedges right away, add some lemon juice or orange juice to them to stop them from turning brown!

Recipe adapted from: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/apple-bites-688193/

Photo credit: http://blog.mindbites.com/wp-content/uploads/0807_applebites.jpg