Breakfast at 6:45 a.m., if there's time to eat before the bus arrives. Lunch at 10 a.m. Or maybe lunch at 1:30 p.m.

Missed or oddly spaced meals wreak havoc with a child's ability to focus and learn, which is why schools advise that children should bring healthy snacks.

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Apples with peanut butter dipping sauce.
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"If they're eating a morning snack of a fruit roll-up, that's not giving them the nutrition they need to perform well," says registered dietitian Janice Newell Bissex, co-author of "The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers" (Broadway, $15.95).

Nutritious foods can help tide kids over more effectively than candy or cookies, which supply a quick burst of energy and empty calories but little else. Healthy snacks also can fill in the gaps for elements that need boosting in many children's daily diets: fruits, vegetables, whole grains and calcium.

Still, when the kid at the next desk is chowing down on Oreos, it may be tough to convince yours that soy chips or an apple measure up. And even if you're packing a child's favorite food, the same old snack, day after day, can wear thin.

We asked registered dietitians (and moms) to come up with some ideas for healthy, tasty snacks, as well as some guidelines for working in your child's favorite foods. Here are suggestions from Bissex and Rachel Brandeis, an Atlanta spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

• Try to include at least two food groups, such as carbohydrates and protein. Kids need carbs for energy and brain development, and protein helps them feel full longer. Think about a blueberry bran muffin with string cheese, graham crackers or vanilla wafers with peanut butter, hummus with pita bread or a yogurt drink that provides calcium, protein and carbohydrates (if your child's school allows them to bring drinks for snacks).

• Keep portion sizes appropriate for children.

• Work on adding whole grains, even in small amounts. Most children, like most adults, don't consume enough fiber. Think about some of the new trans-fat-free whole grain crackers, such as Annie's Naturals Whole Wheat Cheddar Bunnies or Kashi's TLC crackers. Add peanut butter or cheese for a protein boost. If you're packing pretzels, look for ones containing whole grains or sunflower seeds, for a vitamin E boost.

• If you're sending salty snacks, look for healthier versions, like crackers and chips without artery-clogging trans-fats. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish recently dropped trans-fats from its ingredient list. So did many Frito-Lay products, but keep in mind that fried chips aren't what most would consider a healthy snack. If you go that route, experiment with baked chips, pretzels or the Frito-Lay Naturals line, made without artificial ingredients or preservatives.

• Go nuts. Filled with protein and, for most, healthy fats, nuts help fill empty tummies. Mix almonds, peanuts, walnuts or pecans with dried fruits like raisins, cranberries and apricots for trail mix. Sprinkle in sunflower seeds, a favorite cereal or even some chocolate chips.

• Fruit cups are a snack staple and convenient, but some pack unexpected doses of high-fructose corn syrup (many applesauces), artificial colors or heavy syrups. To add variety and cut costs, buy in-season fruit — this time of year, think watermelon, plums, blackberries and pineapple — and make your own fruit cups. Cut into cubes or scoop with a melon baller, pack in a plastic storage container and add a toothpick or cocktail sword for picking up the fruit. If there's room, arrange the fruit on small skewers or toothpicks. If you're buying presliced apples, substitute peanut butter for the caramel dip, which may contain unhealthy fats, sugar or artificial sweeteners.

• Vegetables, cut up and paired with salad dressing, hummus or string cheese, deliver fiber and nutrients like beta-carotene, an antioxidant that can boost the body's immune system and guard against some types of cancer and heart disease (carrots) or vitamin C (red bell peppers).

• Sugar is OK, in limited amounts. Muffins made with whole grains or a little wheat germ, nuts and fruit — or even cookies packed with nutrients — are good snacks, Bissex says. Banana chocolate chip muffins and antioxidant-rich blueberry muffins satisfy kids' sweet tooths and parents' wishes to provide healthy snacks.

"When the sugar comes with all sorts of other great ingredients," she says, "I don't have a problem with a little extra sugar."