healthy snack ideas??

[Jena]

hi

so difficult child is not a happy girl. she weighed in today at 140. she has gained 60lbs. since portland.

she's hysterical on and off. it's def. adding to her depression. i cleared cabinets out trying to fill it with healthy stuff. yet i can't cut sugar completely on her. also the zyprexa's adding weight without even over eating.

i do carrots, celery with low calorie ranch, i've tried cutting up vegetables in a bowl with the dip yet she won't eat those. i do granola bars yet too much calories in them. i always have fruit on hand.

any ideas?? i don't want to buy the junk in stores that has the fake sweetner in it......

 

[Mattsmom277]

To encourage more fruit and to help introduce new ones, perhaps a healthy fruit dip. I just made a divine dip yesterday and it has no sugar, it is low in fat and it is so delicious it honestly cures every sugar craving I have. I often crave chocolate, cakes, ice cream etc. This dip quenches the craving. It's very simple. I use greek yogurt as it is very thick and packed full of more than double protein of regular brands but you can use any plain unflavored yogurt (might want to strain to remove some water though). Add in some vanilla (I use extract) and some splenda to taste. It can also be made using splenda brown sugar blend. Squeeze in a very small amount of fresh lemon juice (I use one slice of lemon and don't completely drain it of juice as the lemon shouldn't be overbearing in the dip). When you can make fruit taste like dessert or candy, I am betting it will be consumed more often.

 

[AnnieO]

String cheese is fun and healthy, and low fat.

My Dad can't have a lot of fatty stuff, so she uses lemon yogurt as a fruit dip. I love the cream cheese fruit dip but it's kinda fattening. You can also try lo-fat sour cream, a smidge of lemon juice and honey on fruit.

How about yogurt with pretzels?

Also - I eat plain cereal as a snack. Usually something like honey nut cheerios. If I really need sugar, I add - you got it - a little honey! Frosted shredded wheat is also good, 'cause there's really not that much sugar.

And watch out for lo-cal - many times, it's high fat. And low fat high-cal. ugh.

 

[Jena]

i have the low fat string cheese she doesnt' like it. she eats pretzels also. she really isn't eating badly at all. i've been watching her. she has 3 meals a day not huge ones. healthy ones. she gets one fruit snack and one snack that's fun to eat....... could be carrots and dip or 2 cookies etc.

it's the medication im battling. it's all her belly. none of her clothes fit at all. not even the sweatpants or stretchies. just 7 days ago she weighed in at 132 today she's 140.

 

[InsaneCdn]

A "younger kid" trick might work, too... try frozen corn or peas... still frozen. Some kids want something munchy/crunchy/cold/different... and its still healthy.

 

[AnnieO]

OK Jena? Amazing about the string cheese... LOL I love the stuff. BUT.

If she has gained eight pounds in seven days that's something WRONG. Don't tell her - tell the doctor (out of her hearing).

It may be the medication, but usually it's not that extreme - unless she's hiding food in her room and you aren't seeing it - you said she was hoarding...

 

[HaoZi]

Pretzels tend to be high-cal, and all that extra salt might be causing water retention in addition to everything else. Kiddo still hasn't dropped her Zyprexa weight even though she's back to eating pre-Zyprexa (as opposed to eating meals that would make Paul Bunyon choke). Have you switched to low cal low carb bread? Maybe low-carb wraps would make sandwiches more fun to make and eat. I also used to use the low-carb wraps as the crust for a thin crust pizza, perfect size for one person.

 

[AnnieO]

>guilty look< about the pretzels... I forget that not everyone likes the little fat-free, crunchy pretzel sticks I do with no salt on the outside...

Tortillas are good, as long as they are not made with lard... Most commercial brands aren't. Also whole-grain bread (which has texture and taste). Whole grain bagels maybe?

I'm thinking more along the lines of snacking in a healthy manner, without dieting...

 

[Hound dog]

Jena

If difficult child is gaining that fast and is not overeating or in her room hoarding/sneaking she needs to go to fam doctor asap for some tests. May be her medications, but medications don't make you gain that fast usually.

Popcicles are fantastic. They help the sweet craving and are 20 cals each no fat. You're not going to get lower than that. Popcicle brand also has an unsweet version of a fudgecicle that is yummy. Sweetner is ok, just don't go crazy with it.

A bowl of cereal. Sweet or unsweet does not matter. I love to snack on cereal without milk. It's low in calories, fills you up, and is good for you. (yes even the sweet kind)

Apple slices and peanut butter. (dip the apples in a tablespoon of peanutbutter)

Normal string cheese. Show her how to pull it apart into lil strips to make it last longer (that's the fun part lol) and nibble instead of chomp.

Grahm crackers.

Look up online to find normal portion sizes. They're no where near what you'd think they are......that helps tons by itself and you drop weight without thinking you're going hungry.

Try to increase her exercise.

I like these as they really do help with the sweet issue and the nibble issue. My kids loved them. And katie dropped more than 20-30 lbs each summer using these as snacks. She always had a weight issue as a kid. I never said a word about it. She just came here and ate what my kids ate and was outside from dawn to dusk. lol

But really? If she's still adding pounds at that rate she needs checked.

Hugs

 

[graceupongrace]

Jena,

Just adding in a vote to have difficult child checked. To swing from underweight to overweight, regardless of what's causing it, is very hard on the body, and the latest rapid gain is worrisome.

As far as snacks, I like to keep celery sticks, carrots, cherry tomatoes, radishes and sliced cucumbers around. Plain nonfat yogurt with some dill and salt and pepper makes a good dip.

 

[jal]

Popcorn - just buy plain corn kernals, put 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of kernals in a brown lunch bag and fold down the top. Pop in microwave using the popcorn button. No butter or salt and eat plain.

 

[Shari]

Another vote that 8 pounds in a week isn't just a medication.

And also, at her age, a lot of girls get a thick middle before they stretch out. That part doesn't concern me so much as the 8 pounds, tho. Also, those stupid commercials about stress adding belly fat - while the commercials are stupid, there is some truth to that. But 8 pounds? TOO much.

And as someone who's had to deal with blood sugar issues, in my humble opinion several small healthy meals instead of 3 big ones are the way to go. But that's just me. I just think that's more how nature intended us to be, too. Kinda like horses...they were made to graze all day, and if you cram all their nutrients into one meal instead, you run a risk of lots of problems that don't exist in the wild.