I’m so pleased to welcome my friend Jamie, from Walkin in High Cotton. Jamie is a blog friend, a twitter buddy, and thanks to the 2:1 Conference, an IRL friend!!
She has some amazing healthy and fun kid approved snack ideas for you today! Enjoy!
I don’t know about you, but my crew’s favorite meal of the day is snack time. And while I won’t say that we never default to cereal bars or fruit snacks, we really try to use fresh fruits and veggies as the base for our snack times–especially in the summer. Natural sugars and juices are great for refreshing and re-hydrating busy kiddos on those hot afternoons, and a little dipping or sipping sometimes wins our picky 4 year old over to try something he normally wouldn’t look twice at.
Another class of favorites is dips. It can be super-easy to mix up a cool, creamy dip for fruits and veggies.
* 1/3 block of cream cheese (softened) and a cup of whipped cream mixed together and chilled is a rich topping for fruit. {Any flavor of yogurt can be mixed with equal parts whipped cream as well.}
*Crushed pineapple mixed with whipped cream makes a flavorful option to spread in celery.
*Want a special chocolatey treat? Mix sugar-free/fat-free chocolate pudding with equal parts whipped cream and chill. Yum. The whipped cream adds a little sturdiness to the dip for youngsters–and gives them something to mix as Kitchen Helpers.
Plus you can add sprinkles or food coloring for more fun! Just remember, this snack is best when the dip is just a condiment to fresh fruits and veggies.
Then, of course, there’s the snack presentation:
*How about making fruit kabobs instead of just using a plate?
*How about turning cherries, grapes, or grape tomatoes into caterpillars with a dab of frosting and mini chocolate chips for eyes?
*How about apples slices instead of wedges, that can be used to make sandwiches with peanut butter and raisins?
Family Fun Magazine has some fun ideas for simple foods you’ll have on hand. Some super creative mom cut cheddar cheese slices to look like flames and arranged it with pretzel sticks for logs to make “campfire” snacks. How fun is that?! I also love Pinterest for finding (and saving!) great ideas. I created a whole board just of fun food ideas for kids if you’re looking for more ideas.
If you’re looking for a non-perishable snack, trial mix is always great. But my kids tend to pick out their favorite parts and leave the rest. Here’s an trial mix idea that’s worked for us recently:
Mix the dry ingredients you want (we used broken pretzel sticks, dried berries and bananas, raisins, nuts, and peanut butter cheerios) and then drizzle with melted chocolate, form into clumps on wax paper, and let cool. A tasty treat and they can’t pick anything out!
Another variation would be to half-melt your chocolate, add a tablespoon (or two!) of creamy peanut butter and finished by melting and mixing both together and pour that over your dry ingredients–YUM!
If you’re really feeling brave, how about homemade granola bars? We’re going to be trying this recipe soon.
Do you have a favorite summer snack?
