After School Snacks
August 15, 2010 by Marci
Growing up, I looked forward to coming home from school to a great after school snack. My mom always had something for us. Something good. There were the tried and true snack favorites like homemade cookies and crackers and cheese (sometimes she would splurge on the Easy Cheese in a can!! – what kid doesn’t like that?!) There were plenty of new surprises, too. I remember coming home one day to S’mores made in the microwave- still love those- and on another Mom served us fruit kabobs (a real novelty at the time).
With my kids, I always have something for my kids to snack on after school (whether they go to school or stay home – more on that later) Although, I have to admit, I do get into a rut sometimes. It seems they get tired of wheat thins or yogurt everyday. I have found these simple tips help me to not disappoint my kids and ensure that they have something to fuel up with after a hard day of learning.
1) Make a list. List all the snack possibilities you have available for your kids. Think of it as your snack menu. That takes the irritation out of the never ending – “What do we have to eat around here?” Adjust your list as you run out of items so that you can see when you need to restock.
2) Think outside the box. When a lot of us think of snack foods, we think of stuff that comes in little boxes or bags. Potato chips, cheetos, hostess cupcakes…that kind of stuff. I call that fake food. For the most part, those foods have no nutritional value. They can be loaded with preservatives and chemicals. If we are looking for a snack to fuel us up, then these are not good choices – at all. Instead of looking for the typical processed snack foods, think fresh foods. Fruits, veggies, fresh dairy or minimally processed foods.
3) Get creative. Look at old favorites in new ways. Try making fruit kabobs, tortilla wraps, or meat and cheese roll-ups. Make a new dip for fruits and veggies.
4) Ask your kids what they like. Get your kids involved with the snack choices. Is there something that they have had at a friend’s house that they would like to have at home? Is there something they would like to try? Take some of the burden off yourself!
5) Designate a snack shelf. We have always had a special snack shelf that the kids knew that they had full access to. They don’t have to ask if they can have a snack if it is on that shelf. I try to keep this shelf as healthy as possible and I rotate snacks in and out so it doesn’t get boring. Right now on the shelf, there are dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, wheat thins and homemade granola bars.
6) Get help. There are lots of snack cookbooks and websites with great snack ideas out there. I just found this list of ideas from Delish.com. My favorite snack cookbook right now is “Healthy Snacks To-Go” from Katie at Kitchen Stewardship. I reviewed this book back in July and we are still enjoying the recipes and snack ideas.
Hopefully, these tips will help you make snack time a fun, healthy time at your house that your kids will look forward to.
Got any snacking tips to share? I’d love to hear them!!
Comments (3)
After school my kids are starving!!
We like popcorn on the stove, baked tator tots with melted cheese on top, nibble off a veggie tray for fruit tray, trail mix or granolla bars with yogurt just to name a few.
Great topic!
great tips – I’ve been wanting to try my hand at home made granola bars, now I’ve got some motivation as my eldest starts school in just a few weeks!
We also like to sprinkle shredded cheeze over corn/flour tortilla chips and melt it in the microwave!! yummers!
I love this post! My kids are always saying, “I “nursty” or “I hungry, I want a “nack”. I think my next to-do is to branch out a bit more in the snack arena myself. My kids love packaged stuff. But I think modeling and eating healthy fruits and veggies for snacks myself could persuade them otherwise. Or, here’s to hoping anyway.