Summer is here with a vengeance and my kids typical snacks just won’t work anymore. Normally, once a week I heat up the oven and make homemade granola bars, oatmeal cookies, a yummy trail mix and a pretzel/honey/cereal snack. But now with 90-degree weather happening every day I want nothing to do with my oven. So I have had to rely on items from the fridge to mix something up quickly. I’ve found a few favorites that I am sure will become staples.
My first favorite is, of course, just good ‘ol fruit and veggies. Nothing is better than fresh fruit with some yogurt dip or celery and carrots with hummus. This becomes boring when it’s eaten every day so I have to try and liven fruit and veggies up a bit. A great twist on both items is a skewer. With the Fourth of July quickly approaching, we have tried a red, white and blue fruit skewer. It’s very simple: Take a few marshmallows and put a few at the end of a skewer then place blueberries and a few more marshmallows and then some grapes and finally strawberries or raspberries and finish it off with some marshmallows. My kids love this and it can be done with any fruit or veggie.
Another great staple is yogurt. It’s great on its own or as a parfait with granola (homemade if possible) and fruit. I’ll even put some crumbled up cookies in it. I’m hoping to try and make some homemade Greek yogurt with the kids help.
There is a snack that I found on Taste of Home website that the kids just eat up called 1-2-3 Snack Mix. It’s basically dried cranberries, goldfish and nuts. My kids can’t get enough of this.
A great staple that I think everyone loves is popcorn. It’s full of fiber and very healthy if air popped. My kids each pick a seasoning to put on their individual bowl like cinnamon or parmesan. Again, very quick and easy and inexpensive.
I also try to mix up their drinks. Water is best in summer everyone knows this, but again so boring. I get some ice cube trays and freeze water with different fruits inside. The kids think it a special treat. We also completely live off of smoothies with both fruit and veggies in them. Did you know you can’t taste fresh spinach when it’s blended with fruit and yogurt? I’m going to try and make some homemade blueberry frozen yogurt this weekend and some fruit juice popsicles with fruit.
The idea is to be creative and don’t go for the store bought standbys but to use those as guides. Ask your kids what they might like. Their answers might surprise you.
Tags: kids snacks, summer snacks
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