Are they ever NOT hungry?
About twenty minutes after every meal my children will groan that they are STARVING. I actually need a full-time cook just to satisfy their hunger issues. I usually try to just reach for the fruit bowl but kids being kids, it’s not exciting enough for them. If we have a play date over, they literally want me to start carving fruit into characters from the smurfs. In an effort to provide healthy, yet amusing snack ideas for your children I have compiled a handy snack hack list that will only take a few minutes to prepare:
1. Yogurt pops
This is more of a desert snack and is perfect for those play dates! Just combine greek yogurt with a little milk. Mix in some fresh blueberries or raspberries and a handful of granola. Pop into the freezer moulds and leave for at least two hours. Loosen with a little hot water to tip out of the moulds. I dare them to be hungry 20 minutes later!
(Image via Emma Christensen)
2. Snack Basket
Wouldn’t it be amazing if children could get their own snacks? Unfortunately, my little monkeys would go to town on portion size. A great way to fix this is to organise a snack basket with snacks like popcorn and crackers in individual zip-lock bags. Whenever they open their mouth to declare that they are STARVING, just whip out the snack basket and let them pick something for themselves. This works well for fridge snacks too. Just put together a box with chopped fruit or drinks they love, like sugar-free Ribena minis. The little ones will be full up on healthy snacks which will hopefully give you half an hour to cook the next meal!
3. Chopped up Apple
Place a rubber band around your sliced apple and it won’t go brown! This is a great discovery, especially for lunchboxes. There is nothing worse than children turning up their noses at brown cut fruit after about 60 seconds. I’m not being dramatic here but this is simply life changing.
(Image via wimp.com)
4. Dips
Add a dollop of hummus to plastic cups and chop in some cucumber and carrots, or even peppers. This is a quick and easy way to get veggies into your children without too much of a mess.
(Image via livingonalatte)
5. Anything on a stick
You can put anything on a skewer in my house and my children will pounce on it. These colourful fruit sticks are packed full of vitamins and are fun to make with the kids. For an extra treat, they can dip them in chocolate or sprinkle with coconut. This is a great way to get children to eat fruit and it has a very short preparation time. Get the children to count each piece of fruit on the skewer for an extra learning moment! Next time I wonder if they would notice if I used Broccoli!
(Image via Craftionary)
Let us know your child’s favourite snacks! Or how you sneak healthy goodness into them without them noticing!
