Fun Kid Snack Ideas

As soon as my kids burst in through the front door from school, their stomachs are usually getting the better of them.

“What’s there to eat?”

“Where are the chips?”

“Mooooom!”

Preparing afterschool (or even during school) snacks for your kids doesn’t have to be a time consuming chore. Here are some easy and nutritious snack ideas that will keep your kids both healthy and happy until it’s time to set the dinner table:

The After-School Appetizer

• 8 cups Chex cereal
• 1 cup M&Ms (if your child is a fan of peanut butter or almonds you can change to those flavor M&Ms)
• 1 cup Raisins
• 2 cups pretzels, small rounds work best

All you have to do is mix them together! Store this mix in a glass jar and offer half a cup to your child per serving.

The Refresher

• Fresh fruit juice
• Ice cube tray
• Tooth picks
• Plastic wrap

To make this quick afterschool snack, all you need to do is to pour the fruit juice in to the ice cube tray. Cover the tray in plastic wrap, and then poke the tooth picks through the plastic into the fruit juice. Allow at least 4 hours for your fruit juice to freeze fully.

TIP: A great alternative is investing in some Popsicle molds and adding 1 cup of fresh fruit and 2 personal sized containers of plain yogurt into a bowl. After mixing these together, pour them into the Popsicle moles and seal them. Allow up to 8 hours for them to freeze. You’ll them have delicious frozen yogurt pops at your fingertips!

Sweet ‘n Crunchy Crispy Rice Snack

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1-1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup multicolored candy sprinkles (or M&M's)
• Optional: 1/2 cup Raisins or Peanuts

Mix together the sugar, honey and peanut butter and stir until mixed well. Then, stir in the crispy rice cereal and raisins. With your hands, shape the mixture into 1 inch balls and roll them in the sprinkles (or M&Ms) and place them on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. After an hour, serve and enjoy!

Garlic Hummus and Pita Snack

This is the one hummus recipe I can actually get my kids to eat! You need:

• 1 can chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pinch of oregano
• 6 pitas

Mash together the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, chickpeas and oregano in a food processor or blender. Cut the pitas into small wedges, and serve them with your humus!

TIP: Add wholegrain chips on the side if your child isn’t a fan of pita bread.

If you’re not into sugar snacks and sweets, cut them out from the recipes above and see if your children will eat them. If they will, great. If not, try adding honey or Stevia extract to the mix to sweeten things up naturally.

photo by Imgz