This is Part 3 of the Getting Ready for Summer Series.
For those of us who have children in school outside the home, keeping up with the constant appetite of young, growing children can be a challenge. Today, I want to provide you with tips to make summer snacking easier and give you ideas for snacks to have on hand.
Tips for Summer Snacking:
Keep snacks simple. Having snacks that require little prep work will make things so much easier. There are so many cute snack ideas on Pinterest. I’ve found that the kids don’t even care when I go overboard. They barely notice, and I end up frustrated.
Use cute snack ideas as an activity for your kids. Any time you can turn creating a snack into an activity with your kids, it becomes an experience and a teaching opportunity, which is always worth it.
Have plenty of healthy options available. Getting kids to make healthy food choices can be a challenge, but if you have plenty of options available, it becomes easier.
Make snacks accessible. Giving kids the freedom to choose their own snacks takes the burden from you and gives them a level of autonomy. By controlling the choices available, you won’t have to worry about what they choose.
Don’t overbuy perishable foods in an effort to have plenty of healthy options available. Be conscious of how much your family is able to eat and consider healthy options that aren’t that have a longer shelf life in addition to fresh foods. Kids often have simpler palletes and are okay with eating the same foods often, so I like to find healthy(ish) options that I can buy in bulk.
Snack Options:
Produce
- apples
- bananas
- berries
- broccoli
- carrots
- cauliflower
- celery
- cucumbers
- grapes
- grape tomatoes
- kiwi
- oranges
- pineapple
Easy Protein Options
- hard-boiled eggs
- nut butters
- nuts
- pepperoni
- rolled-up, sliced deli meats or meat with cheese
- salami
Packaged Snacks
- applesauce
- cheese cubes, slices, or sticks
- chips and salsa or guacamole
- vegetable or fruit chips
- crackers (plain, flavored, or filled)
- dried fruit
- dry cereal
- fruit cups
- fruit strips/snacks
- granola bars
- JELLO gelatin or pudding
- olives
- pickles
- popcorn
- pretzels
- sunflower seeds
- trail mix
- yogurt
Easy-to-Prepare Foods
- bagels with cream cheese
- celery sticks filled with cream cheese or peanut butter
- egg salad
- English muffins with nut butter
- mini muffins/puffins
- sandwich cut-outs (using cookie cutters to make shapes from prepared sandwiches)
- skewered snacks (fruit, grape tomatoes, sliced deli meats, cheese cubes)
- tortilla roll-ups (with deli meat, cheese, lettuce and/or veggies)
- tuna salad
Ideas with More Prep
- apple cookies (apple slices topped with nut butter and seeds or dried fruit)
- deviled eggs
- dirt pudding cups (or sand using vanilla ingredients)
- English muffin pizzas
- make-your-own snack mix (there are so many recipes on Pinterest)
- pigs-in-a-blanket
- smoothies
Cold Treats
- ice cream
- frozen fruit – plain or dipped in yogurt or chocolate
- popsicles – can be bought or you can make your own with fruit juice, Gatorade, sliced fruit in water or juice
I hope these tips and list help you be more prepared for summertime. Food is the fuel our kids need to make it through the day. If you kids are anything like mine, going too long between snacks can lead to meltdowns. Having plenty of easy, nourishing options on hand will make summer easier for everyone.
Please share your own easy options that you keep on hand for kids’ snacks!
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