Want to know an excellent recipe for teaching kids good snack habits? Get your kids involved in preparing them. The trick to making this strategy work like magic is to get them in the kitchen when they're not terribly hungry. You want to show them how to prepare their own snacks for the following day or week. Preparing snacks ahead of time teaches your kids that they don't have to be hungry to prepare food-- they can prepare it now, and eat it later when they do get hungry. The practice of preparing healthy snacks together teaches your kids to associate a fun activity with eating well.

When children are old enough to handle a knife responsibly, show them how to slice and chop fresh celery into edible-sized sticks. They can spread peanut butter into the sticks and then have fun counting how many sticks they created. Try the same with apple slices. Place sticks and slices in plastic wrap and stow them in the fridge for a yummy snack later.

Kids, and hey, let's face it, adults too, can often get so hungry that when they reach for a snack it's a fast pick, something yummy for instant gratification. These quick, available snacks are all the more tempting to kids because they often come packaged with hidden toys and feature familiar television characters on their colorful wrappings. Commercial snack food manufacturers spend lots of money on marketing campaigns. Their goal is to make their snack food appear to be more fun than 'homemade.'

You want to make it just as fun for kids to grab an apple slice or a celery stick smeared with peanut butter, as it is to snap up a bag of potato chips or handful of candy. Empty calories early in life can lead to extra pounds that your kids may have a tough time shedding off as they mature. Replace sugary or fatty snacks with fruits and vegetables whenever possible, by making them more appealing for children.