Well it won't be long till our kids and grandchildren head off to school, and this should be an exciting time in our children's life.  One way to get them off to school on the right foot is to start with high calcium snacks.  It's imperative to get our children on a good routine of the necessary bone supplements regardless of whether there's osteoporosis in the family or not.

The majority of bone mass is accumulated by the age of 18, so it's never too early to start these necessary supplements and primarily foods high in calcium, D, potassium, phosphorous, K and zinc.  By doing this, you'll be setting an example that your kids can carry on through out life to prevent or slow bone loss.

Since most of us are very busy in the morning trying to get ready for work and getting the kids off to school, it doesn't leave a lot of time to get the after school snacks ready.  Most of these suggestions can be done the night before to save time, and who doesn't need to do that.  Once you have a large selection of snack ideas, your kids won't be able to wait to see what the next days snack will hold, that is easy for you to make.

Here are a few weekend and after school snacks to consider that are high in calcium and that most kids love.

Frozen Peach Pops

            20 ounces frozen sweetened peaches

            Reserved peach juice from frozen peaches (if unsweetened

            peaches are used; add 4 Tablespoons sugar to juice)

            1 envelop unflavored gelatin

            2 cups plain yogurt

            Also needed:

            12 3-ounce paper cups

            12 wooden ice cream sticks

Thaw peaches completely.  Press thoroughly to remove all juice.  Place drained juice (and sugar, if used) in a saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin.  Cook over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves.  Blend peaches, yogurt and juice with gelatin in a blender until smooth.  Place cups in a baking pan and fill each with fruit mixture.  Cover each cup with waxed paper; make a slit in the paper over the center of each cup and insert a stick for each pop.  Freeze until firm.  Run warm water on the outside of cup to loosen it from pop before serving.

            Servings: 12 pops

            Calories per serving: 73

            Calcium per serving: 70 mg