Healthy but nice snacks for 12 year old

[Weepingwillows12]

My son has put on weight over the last year or so so am just looking at how I can tweak things to help but without making a big deal of it. Do you do after school snacks or should I be pushing him to mealtime eating only? He is always hungry after school.

If you do snacks, can I get some ideas of healthy but still nice ones please? Left to his own devices it would be crisps, cake or sweets obviously but we try and limit those to occasionally.

Apple and peanut butter?

A piece of fruit e.g banana or apple to tide him over, or a small bowl of Greek yogurt with fruit. Cheese.

Oatcakes and houmous or peanut butter or cream cheese sort of thing?

carrot sticks and salsa or some sort of yoghurt dip (lower fat than mayo based ones)

fruit salad

boiled eggs

Is he actually hungry or just used to having a snack? If his school lunch is higher in protein it may keep him fuller for longer.

If he still wants a snack after school… crunchy veg (carrots, celery) with hummus, banana and peanut butter on a slice of toast, a mug of soup, fruit bowl, yogurt and fruit, some nuts and grapes with cheese, a few oatcakes…

My dd is a snacker with a sweet tooth , struggles to eat large main meals.

She likes:

A fridge/fruit bowl stocked with fruit - grapes, bananas, mango, apples, tangerines, kiwis, blueberries

A glass of Ovaltine or a hot chocolate (got a cheap “frother” for the milk)

Apple & cinnamon rice cakes

Toast or a crumpet with spread

Hummus and bread sticks

Raw Red pepper and carrot or cucumbers cut into strips

Grated cheese (sometimes grilled on toast, if there is a long gap until dinner)

chunk Baguette or sourdough bread with real butter

handful of peanuts

She also likes lots of unhealthy things but tries to be good! A lot of it is habit snacking, to take the edge off hunger after a long walk home.

What does your ds eat at lunch and what time? Does he buy snacks on his way home?

You could also try edamame beans! Full of protein

Some mini tortilla wraps
Packet of pre cooked chicken
Bag of salad
Some sort of sauce/dressing

Let him make his own mini wraps.

I think hungry. He is not eating good quality food at school. I set a monetary value but he has free choice and seems to be picking pizza, pastries etc. We had a chat about going for the hot main dinner and taking a packed lunch more etc.

I don't think he is buying snacks on his way home as I can see what he spends on his rooster. He may be taking cash in but I don't think so. He eats quite early at school. 12ish.

I know this is probably lazy parenting but I work full time and mostly in the office so I need him to make his own snack. I stopped buying crisps so they weren't an option but need to maybe write on a board his options to stop him going to the bad choices. My DH is at home but working and can't stop to make snacks like I do when I am working at home due to the nature of his work.

Yes they do often eat their lunch early at school. Because of this I found my dc were starving by the time they got home...so they would eat their dinner literally as soon as they got through the door! I found if they didn't they'd end up snacking endlessly until dinner

I find having easy access snacks feeds the kids better, I have couscous type salads in fridge in boxes, same as fruit ready cut, veg ready cut, wraps etc waffles in freezer and pancakes for toaster reheat, salads fridge. My fridge feels more like a shop on bottom two shelves 😂 kids will happily help themselves take portions or the whole box. Dips in there too. My kids are well versed in serving themselves and friends so its relatively hands off and they know how to microwave. Overnight oats too is fine, pasta salads or pasta with sauces. Sometimes if they're lucky there will be cake/cookies. Tortilla wraps with goodies. Nuts on the counter always, some breadsticks or crackers. Can even cut up cheese in airtight box just not too much has to be eaten in a day so it doesn't get dry.
I also have cold tea in the fridge fruit type so they don't have juice. We don't actually have juice or fizzy drinks in the household nor crisps etc but that's personal preference, juice made my youngest unwell with cramps on the toilet so we just cut out of our diet etc.
There's loads more you can make day before/the morning and leave for later. Helps everyone eat healthy! I'm the hangout house though so I prep things when I can so that I don't get bothered when I'm busy plus I then cook throughout the day.

Is he drinking enough? Start with a big drink upon arrival home before a smaller snack portion

Muffins

Fruit
Yogurt
Rice cakes with or without peanut butter
Crackers and cheese
Toast
Cereal
Carrots/celery with humous
Hard boiled eggs
Popcorn
Pre made egg muffins
Wraps
Potatoe waffles

I'm in the same position op. Following with interest.
I try to feed mine as much protein as I can.

He likes:

Sesame snaps
Homous
Corn cakes
Cucumber
Chopped apple
Grapes
Cherries
Nuts
Popcorn
Sunflower seeds

I am always dismayed by what he buys at the corner shop. But I don't want to chew his ear off all the time.

Could you make him a tuperware box of items from pp and leave it in the fridge for him getting home after school. You could put a post it note on it with things like "hope you've had a good day" "Love you" "want to go swimming this weekend?"

Then it's you leaving him a little present each day and not making a big issue with snacking. Also you could just buy crisps, cake etc as a weekend treat rather than it being in the house daily.

Good luck op

I’d actually get him some protein based snacks to fill him up so he doesn’t reach for the junk food. Babybel/mini cheeses or Greek yoghurt with a plain granola and a squirt of honey are popular with my teen to keep him going before dinner. Mine also quite likes cooking so anything eggs based is another win (he sometimes does a cheesey egg wrap thing he’s seen on TikTok).

He might be prepping for a growth spurt too so don’t fret too much.