Boost Their Mornings

They say "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day". Essentially because a good breakfast will release energy slowly and keep us from snacking til lunchtime. But children are different, even though they may well finish their breakfast that morning, their stomachs are only small and they normally burn more energy than we do - through all that running around! So, they'll need a little energy boost between brekkie and lunch. This is when they normally reach for snacks. But there are healthier options than crisps and cookies. This is where introducing healthy foods early comes in handy! My girls both love fresh fruit, bananas and berries etc. And these are the best snacks, but if your children aren't that keen on plain old fresh fruits, there's plenty of other healthy options...

• Downsize! Swap full-size chocolate bars for treat size ones, large muffins with mini ones and 4 biscuits for just 2.

• Give dried fruit a try: bags of dried fruit come in many combinations and taste completely different to fresh fruit, and small snack size bags are available too!

• Make a finger buffet: Serve up vegetable sticks (carrot, cucumber, peppers) with plain yogurt as a dip, along with crackers, breadsticks, rice cakes and cubes of cheese.