Healthy snacks - be specific! :)

[Amanda]

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 ;-)

Start sharing your ideas!

[DeBora4BobbyL]

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.

[ajrsmom]

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.

[debknechtel]

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

[bar_bar]

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,

[barbszy]

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.

[Mish]

Barb,
Thanks for that recepie i just might have to try and have that here at the house for my growing girls.
Mish

[barbszy]

When I was a kid, we used to have graham crackers topped with a spoonful of applesauce. YUM!

And in college a snack I used to eat was saltines with butter.

[boggsZ]

club crackers with pepperoni and cheese on them dd loves this snack

[megrayau]

I make mini quiche/frittata in muffin tins. Good for the lunch box.

Fresh fruit, disappears quicker if it's cut up.

Dd loves tinned tuna.