Winning Snack Time!
Do your kids come home from school tired, wired, and hungry all at the same time?
Mine, too. How do we satisfy them with a snack that is nutritionally beneficial, as well as fun? Here's some tried and true classics my kids have just loved over the years!
Apple Cups - This requires some forethought when selecting apples; They need to be able to stand right. Wash, chop the tops, and use a spoon or melon baller to hollow out the apple core a bit to create a cup shape. Discard the core. You can now fill this cup with juice, water, trail mix, nuts, or even some marshmallows and candy. The edible bowl/cup means less mess for you, and kids of all ages enjoy the convienence of the tastey apple cup!
(Try a similar twist on potatoes! Roast the cups, cook and mash the insides you remove and refill with mashed potatoes when the cups have finished roasting and cooled. Even the pickiest of eaters have a hard time passing up these fun spuds!)
Celery Logs - This classic standby is STILL a winner in our book! A simple snack that can be prepared before picking up the kids, or by the kids (with help, of course.) Wash and trim your celery, then fill with peanut butter or hazelnut spread. To this we can add pretzel sticks for legs, raisins for eyes and make a buggy friend. We could add a few candies to be ants crossing our logs, your only limit is your imagination!
The bottom line is these snacks are fun, (mostly) healthy, and they are easy to make. It does not take hours of planning and preparing to give your child a fun whimsical snack! (Why is it always best when Mom made it? Because Mom made it, she didn't unwrap it.) Go to your pantry and see what you can come up with, then tell me about it! What snacks creations are favorited around your home? :)
