Mom, I'm Home And I Want A Snack

The kids are home from school and they are starving and want a snack. They haven’t had anything for 3 hours at lunch. Will they reach for the bag of potato chips or fruit wedges and dip? Hey, how about a piece of chocolate cake and some milk or even a coke? Yum-yum!!! You see, helping our kids eat nutritional snacks is easy if they are the only choice. But what if it's not the only choice? What will they be inclined to do? Don’t buy the junk foods at the store and your children won’t have to resist eating them. Why tempt them? Here are some fun ideas for snack time at home.

Kids love to dip. So, make foods that they can dip with. Vegetables are a given, but fruits are also good with a fruit dip. You can make one using some whipping cream and jello mix. This sounds really sweet and sugary, but you are getting them to eat fruit as well. Limit their dip to a spoonful so they don’t put too much on each piece.

Why don't you add some creativity to the display. You can make the food fun to eat. For instance, you can slice apples and cut them into bites and serve them with toothpicks or skewers. Add bites of bananas or other fruits between the apple bites. Yum-yum!!!

Fast snacks are another choice. Some are enchanted with bagels with peanut butter, rice cakes, and fruit. How about nutrition bars, granola bars, and fruit rollups? All these are some quick ideas. Add a glass of fruit juice and your kids will be set.

There are lots of recipes that you can find for your kid’s after school snack. If you don’t have time to bake during the day, why don't you make a batch of cookies or other snack on the weekend and freeze the dough or the cooked food? Then before the kids get home from school, pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw, or cook it. Providing nutritious snacks gives your kids the energy they need to make it to dinner time.