Ok everyone, let's list all the healthy snacks we can think of for after school and for during school vacations and breaks.
Don't just say "cut up vegetables", say things like "celery sticks and peanut butter".
Okee doke?
It's important to squeeze healthy foods into our children's diets, but it's EASY to give them junk food instead. Let's talk about ways to get healthier goodies into our kids. We all know they won't go out of their way to prepare them themselves ;-)
I was thinking that some easy and nutritious snacks would be:
Whole wheat crackers with peanut butter (you could even add honey or molasses in place of refined sugar)
carrot sticks with either peanut butter or low-fat ranch
Apple wedges
Popcorn without butter, While the popcorn is hot, you could add parmesan cheese for flavor. Then the kids would also get some protein.
Keep bananas around for munching on
Whole wheat crackers with slices of cheese
Cheese quesadillas (you can also add veggies or meat if you'd like) These can be cut into wedges.
Many of these can be made ahead of time, wrapped in plastic and stored so that children can grab and go later. I sometimes have leftover quesadillas for my GKs. I wrap them up and then, when they want a snack, I heat them up in the microwave.
Location: Originally from the Home of the only 6 times Super Bowl Champs!
Posts: 12,062
My kids love apples--either "as is" or apple slices with sugar free caramel dipping sauce once in a while.
They also like baby carrots and ranch dressing.
chunked Strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe and/or honeydew layered in an ice cream cone with berry yogurt. This goes over big especially in this heat!
Frozen 100% juice pops made by freezing juice in popsicle holders
English muffin pizzas are great for an after school snack
A mix of raisins, pnuts, mini pretzels and a few M&Ms. I occasionally add sunflower seeds to this.
Ham and cheese roll ups nuked to warm up.
Sugar free Jello measured out in lunchbox-sized containers
Mini pretzel sticks with little cheese cubes so that Andy can "spear" them to eat them.
zucchini bread or applesauce bread
Mini muffins --I make 'Minis' out of the applesauce bread or zucchini bread recipe.
Andy loves Triscuits, Wheat Thins or even Saltine crackers with meat and cheese--homemade Lunchables.
My kids will eat a lot of stuff if it's stuffed in a tortilla. I will spread one with pb&j, roll it up and slice into pinwheel pieces for a snack. This works great with lettuce, cheese and a little Ranch dressing, too.
Now that school is starting again, I am on the lookout for new ideas. I try to make sure that Andy has a main course (usually a sammy), a fruit, a veggie and a snack of some sort + a drink for his lunchbox.
__________________ A kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or
an exclamation point. That's basic spelling
that every woman ought to know. ~ Mistinguett
I'm part of the Steeler Nation
right here in Mt. Holly, NC!
We're bruised and broken but
will return next year!
My kids like cut up celery with cream cheese or cheese whiz and raisins on it~ants on a log
Smoothies we just use milk ice cubes and fruit to make them or frozen yougurt.
Granola with a scoop of yougurt on it
Apple slices with peanut butter
plain rice cakes with peanut butter
frozen grapes
pita wedges heated and served with hummous
pretzels with cheese whiz as a dip
a salad
bagels with cream cheese
fruit salad
Hugs Debbie
__________________
Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
frozen English Peas, celery, carrots
plums, oranges, frozen bananas, grapes,
cantelope, and other kinds of fruit
peanut butter with crackers, or sandwich,
peanut butter and jelly crackers,
cheese crackers, cheese sticks,
yogart, plain cereal like cheerios by themselves,
String cheese is great and a good source of protein too! Also very portable.
Bagels with cream cheese.
English-muffin pizzas are great for after-school. My kids enjoy a "hot" but nutritious snack and it's easy to time them for school-bus arrival.
Baby carrots with ranch or creamy Italian salad dressing as a "dip."
"Make your own trail mix" that the kids can help with. 1 cup each of:
Cheerios/Rice Chex/Corn Chex type cereal
Chocolate chips or M&Ms (these are neater!) or Reeses Pieces (also neater)
Raisins or other dried fruit
Granola clusters
Roasted peanuts
Banana chips
Soy nuts
Mini pretzels
Mini marshmallows
Mix it all in a big container. It's great for packing in lunchboxes or for afterschool snacks. Kids like to help make it and they can choose their favorite ingredients to include.
Kids love to cook! There are so many different recipes that children can be a part of, share yours here!
Visit my blogs 
