Healthy snack ideas

Read the transcript for this film 'no sugar and low sugar alternatives'

Mealtimes for young children should provide the opportunity to explore different tastes, smells and colours of food.

Eating is fun and your baby will learn this too. Try not to worry about the mess.

Make sure you give your child a variety of foods. A varied, tasty and enjoyable diet in a child's first years will help your baby and toddler grow and develop their maximum potential, but also help them develop lifelong healthy eating habits.

Try to include something from each of the four food groups throughout the day:

• Starchy foods - bread, rice, potatoes, pasta and other starch foods
• Fruit and vegetables
• Dairy - e.g. milk, yogurt and cheese
• Protein - meat, fish, beans and eggs

Pre-school children have small appetites and need regular meals and sometimes healthy snacks in-between to help their growth and development.

Try to give your child healthy, sugar-free snacks between meals to prevent tooth decay. There are some snack foods that can be harmful to children's teeth if eaten frequently. These include soft drinks, sweets, chocolate confectionary, chocolate and cream-filled biscuits, sugary desserts, highly sweetened cereals and sugared sticky yogurts.

Suggestions for healthy snacks from one year old

• Bite-sized fresh fruit - apple, pear, satsuma, orange, banana, kiwi, melon or strawberries.
• Chopped raw vegetables - carrot, pepper, cucumber, celery, cherry tomato and courgette.
• Toast & bread - toast, bread rolls, baps, baguette with a small amount of polyunsaturated spread.
• Small sarnies - sandwiches with cheese, tuna, thin slices of meat. Pitta bread pockets – on their own or with a filling.
• Muffins, pancakes & crumpets - specificially, English muffins, Scotch pancakes & crumpets.
• Potato or corn snacks.
• Oatcakes & other nibbles - Low salt oatcakes, rice cakes, crackers, and crispbreads.
• Yoghurts - Natural yoghurt or plain fromage frais with fresh fruit.

Dried fruit has a high nutritional value and contributes to one of their five-a-day. However, as it sticks to teeth and contains a lot of sugar, it can cause dental decay; it should be given at mealtimes only. Find out more about hidden sugars in food and drink.

Plan ahead and take healthy snacks with you when you are out and about, in case suitable snacks aren't available to buy.