vegetables, Greek yogurt and air-popped popcorn such as Skinny Pop. Feeding little mouths Though you never know when a snack attack might strike your child, don’t let a lack of preparation spoil their mood or their appetite. Volzke recommends combining convenience and health with unsweetened squeezable applesauce, string cheeses, cereals lower in sugar like Kix, Wheat Chex, Life or multi-grain Cheerios. Other favorites are nuts, Greek yogurt and the old stand-by of fruits and veggies. Volzke suggests freezing your grapes for a yummy cold treat. Schaack also has many suggestions for little ones: apples with almond butter, baby carrots and bell pepper strips dipped in hummus, squeezable applesauce packets (choose unsweetened to reduce added sugar), whole grain crackers and cheese slices, Siggi’s yogurt tubes and celery with peanut butter, adding raisins to make “ants on a log.” Fruit smoothies are a hit with children; she explains that you can blend your own mix of fruit, yogurt, and liquid, even adding a handful of spinach as you blend for a serving of veggies that goes undetected! Volzke adds to make sure your child is at least 2 years old before you give them honey and suggests waiting until a child is closer to age 3 before offering peanut butter because it has an extremely sticky texture that is actually a choking hazard. Also, try to avoid juice, even if 100%; a child should not have more than 4 oz. of juice daily up to the age of six. Remember – 4 oz. equals 1/2 cup. Need a protein boost? If you are looking for a snack higher in protein, Schaack suggests string cheese and hard-boiled eggs, each containing 7 grams of protein. Edamame, or green soybeans, contain 11 grams of protein in a ½ cup serving without pods. You can find these in pods or without pods in the freezer section. Greek yogurt is another suggestion given by both Schaack and Volzke. Greek yogurt has around 1418 grams of protein in a serving, nearly double the protein and less sugar than regular yogurt. Both women suggest choosing plain Greek yogurt and adding your own fruit or 1 tsp. of honey for flavor. Jerky is another option, containing 7 to 9 grams of protein depending on the serving size. Schaack suggests brands such as Epic, Organic Prairie, Krave and Tanka, which have less preservatives and lower sodium than most other brands of jerky. Volzke includes nuts such as almonds and walnuts, Hy-Vee Protein granola bars, Think Thin & Cliff protein bars. She also suggests individual containers of FairLife milk, which have half the sugar, more calcium and twice the protein of regular milk. Going gluten-free? Those who adhere to a gluten-free diet do not have to look too far to find choices that fit within their dietary guidelines. Volzke notes that Charity, Yankton’s HealthMarket Manager, does a great job at noting the items that are gluten free and Yankton’s Health Market has even dedicated an entire aisle to gluten-free products. Schaack explains that fruits and vegetables are gluten free. Other gluten-free snack options are bars such as Kind Bars, Lara Bars, GoMacro and RXBAR, nuts and seeds, Blue Diamond Nut Thins Crackers with hummus and many of the items previously listed (except for the cereals) are gluten free. Going glutenfree doesn’t mean letting your taste buds get bored! What’s in a name? Veggies chips and veggie straws…they sound healthy so they are, aren’t they? How about crackers that are “made with whole wheat?” This surely sounds healthy. Not so much, it turns out. As Volzke vNUTRITION continued on page 23 Protecting what’s most important to you. Affordable Life Insurance... Rhonda L. Wesseln, Agent not just for you, but for the ones you love. 1023 W. 9th Street Yankton, SD 57078 Bus: 605-665-4411 rhonda@rhondainsuresyou.com State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI), State Farm LIfe and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI), Bloomington, IL HERVOICEvSEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016v19