snacks vs. treats- repost

Since I closed down the old blog I've had quite a few people looking for this post, so I'll repost it here:

I know so many (too many) people who honestly don't know the difference between a snack and a treat. They are not happy with an apple or a piece of toast, it has to be a bag of chips, store-bought overly-sugared cookies, or something equally junky.

Don't get me wrong, we love chips and cookies too- but they are occasional treats, not part of our daily snacking.

snack~ noun 1. a small portion of food or drink or a light meal, esp. one eaten between regular meals.

treat~ noun 1. something considered choice to eat 2. an occurrence that causes special pleasure or delight

Two very different things.

The long list of healthy snacks that the kids can grab whenever they are hungry:

nuts and seeds
whole-grain pretzels
dried fruit

*the kids love to combine a variety of the above into a "bowl of stuff", AKA homemade trail mix

~ raw fruit
~ raw veggies
~ hummus or baba ganouj and whole-grain crackers or pita
~ tabouleh
~ a bowl of whole-grain cereal (or granola) with milk (rice milk for Baby) or yogurt
~ whole-grain or whole-wheat bread (or toast) with butter or peanut butter
~ leftover soup
~ supper leftovers
~ a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese or peanut butter
~ homemade cookies (made with whole wheat flour and other healthy ingredients)
~ a granola bar (organic, not overly sweetened, or homemade)
~ a whole wheat tortilla spread with peanut butter and topped with a banana
~ a whole wheat tortilla spread with cream cheese and sprinkled with dried cranberries
~ a whole wheat English muffin topped with cream cheese or peanut butter
~ a homemade muffin (made with whole wheat flour and other healthy ingredients)
~ a bowl of oatmeal
~ a slice of cheese
~ baked corn chips and salsa or guacamole
~ a bowl of applesauce
~ cooked, cold chickpeas (Baby eats them like popcorn!)
~ popcorn
~ a hard-boiled egg
~ a scrambled egg
~ a sandwich (on whole wheat or whole grain bread with any combination of healthy ingredients) ~ yogurt
~ a smoothie (yogurt and fruit)

**or any combination of the above, depending on appetite