Are you looking for some fun and easy-to-make snack ideas for your kids? Growing youngsters tend to have large appetites and will appreciate something delicious to snack on in between meals, especially in the mid-morning and evening.

There are plenty of healthy recipes you can make at home which will be better for your children’s nutritional requirements than packaged processed foods. As the latter usually contain preservatives, refined flour, sugars, and artificial additives, they are not good for your children’s long-term well-being. 

Image via Flickr by theglobalpanorama 

Here are some tasty snacks that won’t take you long to put together and which you can even make ahead of time and have ready for the kids to get independently when they feel hungry.

Fresh Fruit

Most children enjoy snacking on fresh fruit, so why not keep a fruit bowl within reach on the dining table or the kitchen counter? Make eye-catching arrangements of available seasonal fruit like apples, bananas, pears, grapes, mangoes, oranges, and strawberries. 

You can also slice and dice pineapples, watermelons, and cantaloupes, and keep them in the fridge for your children to pick and eat when they want.

Cheese

Keeping a variety of delicious cheeses on hand for your children to eat whenever they feel hungry will save you a few steps during snack time. Some favorite cheeses to try are Cottage Cheese, Brie, Camembert, Cheddar, Parmesan, and Mozzarella.

Aside from being fun to eat, cheese is a nutritious food that is rich in vitamins A and D, calcium, magnesium, protein, and fat, just what your growing children need to stay healthy.

Yogurt 

While you can buy readymade yogurt, a healthier option would be to make it at home. You will need to boil full-cream milk in a pan and let it cool before pouring into a bowl and adding a yogurt starter to it. That can be two spoonfuls of yogurt you already have or a yogurt starter powder. Cover the bowl and place in a warm place for at least five hours until the yogurt sets.

Yogurt is excellent for promoting good digestion and also is high in the protein and calcium that children need to strengthen their bones. Children also seem to love snacking on yogurt, especially if you mix in their favorite fruit.

Fruit Smoothies

You can make delicious fruit smoothies by blending milk, yogurt, ice, honey, and different fruits. Adjust the ice to make a thick or liquid smoothie. Some of the most popular smoothie recipes include bananas, apples, berries, strawberries, pineapple, and mangoes. 

To save time, keep the fruit smoothies ready in jars or jugs in the fridge. Your children will enjoy sipping them every week as they do their homework or when they take a break from their studies.

Jaggery, Nuts, and Dry Fruits

Jaggery is a concentrated product made from sugarcane juice and is a healthier alternative to sugar. Available in many online food stores, it facilitates digestion and boosts energy levels. Nuts like almonds, pecan nuts, cashew nuts, pistachios, and walnut are rich in unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Dry fruits like raisins, figs, dates, and apricots have a high content of dietary fibers, vitamins, and minerals.

Your children can eat the jaggery, nuts, and dry fruits separately, or you can use them to prepare energy bars.

To make an energy bar, grate the jaggery and heat it with butter. After it melts and thickens, add and mix in nuts, dry fruits, and honey. Pour the mixture into a mold and let cool at room temperature or place in the freezer to solidify. 

Corn Chaat

This is a simple recipe that is delicious and also quick to make. You will need fresh corn kernels, tomatoes, onions, coriander leaves, salt, cumin powder, chili powder, and chaat masala. If your local grocery doesn’t stock chaat masala, use lemon juice and salt. 

Boil the fresh corn kernels in salted water. Drain and let cool. Sprinkle salt, chili powder, cumin powder, chaat masala, and lemon juice over the corn and mix in well. Then add finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and coriander leaves. Top with butter and roasted cashew nuts. The corn chaat is ready to eat.

Steamed or Baked Sweet Potato

As sweet potatoes have a high content of beta carotene, they are an excellent food source for promoting healthy eyes and skin. They can also be a tasty alternative to French Fries. 

Wash the sweet potatoes and slice them without removing the skin. You can steam them and have your children eat them with honey. Or you can drizzle the slices with olive oil and salt and bake them for 20 minutes in the oven.

Vegetable Sandwiches

Take whole wheat brown bread slices and slather them with their favorite spread. For the sandwich filling, thinly slice vegetables they like. Finely chop coriander and mint and sprinkle them on the vegetables, and then add salt and pepper. 

Grill the sandwiches in a sandwich grill pan, toaster, or skillet. Slice the grilled sandwiches into bite-sized portions for your children to grab and go. They will be filling and healthy to eat as well.

Vegetable Spring Rolls

You may be able to buy readymade spring roll wrappers at your local grocery. If not, use thin bread slices. For the filling, heat oil in a pan and saute onions. Next, add finely sliced carrots, capsicum, and cabbage. Saute for five minutes before adding soy sauce and white vinegar. Then add spring onion greens, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper. Stir the mix for two minutes before turning off the gas. Let the stir-fried vegetables cool.

Wrap the vegetable filling in the spring roll wrappers or the bread and fry the rolls in oil in a deep pan. After the rolls turn golden-brown, transfer them onto a plate. Your children can eat them hot or cold with ketchup.

Involve your children in planning and cooking the snacks. Bear in mind, though, that, while these snacks are delicious and healthy, they are not your children’s main meals. So keep the portions small.

Do you have any snack recipes that your children enjoy? Get in touch with us at Creme de la Creme and let us know!