Snacks are an essential part of every child’s daily balanced diet. The best time for snacks is when they come home from school so that they get energy to concentrate on homework and play outside instead of settling down in front of the TV.
Most nutritious snacks can be made in no time at all using ingredients easily available at home. You should always have fresh fruits available at home. Cucumbers and celery sticks should also be present in the house and included in the snacks served to the kids. As nuts are excellent sources of protein and have a long shelf life, make sure that there are plenty of them around to use in snacks.
Instead of potato chips, you can stock up on healthier corn chips and tortillas. Peanut butter can be very versatile and provides adequate energy for children, and it’s an ingredient found in most homes. Honey, which is a natural sweetener can be used to replace sugar while preparing snacks. Oats which are a great source of fiber are also found in most homes and can be used in preparing some delicious munchies.
Vegetables such as avocados, which are not usually liked by the kids, can also be turned into delicious snacks by using some innovativeness on your part. Kids just love popcorn and you can combine it with other ingredients to make some great snacks. Dried fruits such as prunes and raisins can also be used in snacks and they too have excellent nutritional properties. Lastly, of course, there is milk which can be utilized for whipping up any number of delicacies and beverages.
Here are some recipes which I have tried myself and can tell you from experience that kids are going to love these!
1. Ants on a Log
Ingredients:
½ cup of any nut butter such as cashew or almond
¼ cup raisins
5 stalks celery
Method
Spread the nut butter over the celery sticks, sprinkle the raisins over them and serve. Instead of celery, you can use bok choi for mild flavor or even a toasted slice of whole grain bread cut up into strips.
2. Potato Pizza
Ingredients
Potatoes (250 gms)
Tomatoes (100 gms)
Boiled yellow corn (quarter cup)
Capsicum (1)
Onion chopped
Mushrooms
Olives (2-3)
Method
Mash the boiled potatoes and add salt. Prepare tomato puree, adding an adequate amount of salt. Make flat, small pancakes with the potato mixture. Layer it with the tomato puree or sauce, and garnish with capsicum, corn, olives, onion, and mushrooms. Add grated cheese on top. Bake this in an oven for 15 minutes at 400F, and then serve hot.
3. Peanut Butter Pinwheels
Ingredients
Peanut butter
Honey
Tortilla
Granola
Method
Spread some chunky or creamy peanut butter and some honey over a fresh flour tortilla and sprinkle it with some granola. Make rolls of these and cut them up into bite-sized pin wheels.
4. Goofy Waldorf Salad
Ingredients
1 cup grated carrot
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tbsp mayonnaise
4 ice cream cones
Method
In a mixing bowl, stir in all the ingredients together and mix well. Fill the ice cream cones with the mixture and serve. Kids will simply adore this one!
5. Spiced Peach Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients
1 cup oats
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1/3 cup apple sauce
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup diced and pitted peaches
½ tbsp sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Method
Grease muffin cups and preheat oven at 400F. Mix together buttermilk, oats, brown sugar, molasses, apple sauce, and the eggs in a bowl. Stir in cooking soda, baking powder and flour in a separate bowl. Fold in the peaches and scoop the batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Combine the cinnamon powder and sugar, and sprinkle over the muffins. Bake for a further span of 3 minutes or till it’s done.
6. Avocado Salsa Dip
Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
Some mild salsa
1 tbsp lemon juice
Corn chips
Method
Cut the avocados lengthwise and remove the stone, scooping out the flesh. Combine lemon juice, avocado and salsa in a mixing bowl and mash it well. Serve with crisp corn chips.
7. Honey Rice Crispy Snack
Ingredients
½ cup honey
½ cup sugar
1/2 cups rice cereal
½ cup candy sprinkles
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup peanuts or raisins
Method
Mix together sugar, peanut butter, and honey in a mixing bowl and stir well. Add the raisins and cereals. Make the mixture into small balls, roll them in sprinkles and put them on cookie sheets or wax paper. Refrigerate these for an hour. The cookies are done when they feel firm.
8. Grasshopper Guts
Ingredients
1 cup peanuts
3 cups chow mein noodles
1-5 ounce packet of butterscotch chips
Method
Over a low heat, melt the butterscotch bits in a saucepan, stirring continuously. Stir in chow mein noodles and peanuts to the melted chips and remove from the heat. Drop teaspoons of this mixture on wax paper and allow them to cool.
9. Munchies Popcorn
Ingredients
2 cups popcorn
3/4 cup honey
1 ½ cups peanuts
Method
Heat the honey over a flame in a saucepan, bringing it to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Mix the peanuts and popcorn in a large bowl and set aside. Remove the honey from the flame and pour over the peanuts and popcorn, making use of a greased spoon to stir it in gently. Allow to cool and serve it to kids.
You will be surprised to see how quickly these snacks disappear from the table. Happy making and happy eating!